MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - The Penn State Harrisburg Lady Lions captured their 15thNEAC win of the season as they beat Penn State Abington at home on Thursday, 8-0 and 11-3. The Lady Lions improved to 20-14 overall, 15-5 NEAC to further solidify second place in NEAC South standings.
In game one of the doubleheader, the Lady Lions took an early first inning lead behind Kara Boyd's (Alexandria, PA/Juniata Valley) leadoff homerun. Emily Pae (Harrisburg, PA/Susquehanna) notched a single to bring Christi Renno (McAlisterville, PA/East Juniata) home for an RBI, giving the Lady Lions a 2-0 lead at the end of the first inning.
In the third inning, the Lady Lions were able to take advantage of several Penn State Abington errors to add two more to the score. Penn State Harrisburg showed their dominance in the sixth inning, scoring four additional runs to bring the final score to 8-0.
Penn State Abington started off the second game strong, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. By the end of the fourth inning, the Lady Lions had tied up the game, 3-3 but quickly pulled away, scoring four runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Boyd recorded three hits and one RBI in four at-bats. Boyd also struck out six batters in four innings from the mound.
On Thursday, the Lady Lions honored their two seniors, Renno and Jessica Shuey (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin), before Thursday's contest. Renno and Shuey was both instrumental in building the softball program at Penn State Harrisburg and will be greatly missed by their teammates and coaches.
Thursday's game was the final game in regular season play. The Lady Lions will compete in NEAC South divisional play on Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30. The NEAC softball championship will be held on May 7, 2011.