MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Friday, Apr. 27 was the Penn State Harrisburg softball team's senior day and the Lions turned in a performance that the seven members of the class of 2012 can be proud of.  The blue and white took North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) leading Wilson to the brink of defeat, nearly giving the Phoenix its first conference loss of the season.  In the team's home finale, the Lions fell to the visitors 3-0 in game one before dropping a 5-4 extra-inning heartbreaker in the night cap. 

Kara Boyd (Alexandria, PA/Juniata Valley) pitched a gem in the opener against one of the best offenses in the league.  The junior went four strong innings on the rubber, giving up just three hits and two runs against a Phoenix squad that recorded double-digit run totals 14 times this season.  Junior transfer Kristyan Gates (Hanover, PA/Hanover) also threw well in a relief appearance.  She went three innings and gave up just four hits and one unearned run. 

Penn State Harrisburg had its chances to get on the board but just couldn't convert with runners in scoring position.  The Lions left senior shortstop Paige Zechman (Robesania, PA/Conrad Weiser) stranded on second in the bottom of the first, and failed to bring in Gates following her towering double to left center in the second. 

Wilson got two runs in the fourth thanks to two hits, one being a double, and one blue and white error.

In the fifth, junior Kat Bernardi (Fredericksburg, PA/Northern Lebanon) reached base on a Phoenix error and pinch runner Ashley Foltz (Mount Joy, PA/Elizabethtown) advanced to second when senior second baseman Rachael Vettori (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) sacrificed her along with a bunt.  But again, that's as far as the Lions' base runner got.

The Phoenix added to their lead by picking up an unearned run in the top of the sixth.

With one away in the bottom of the stanza, it was Boyd who singled and advanced to second base on a wild pitch, but two straight pop ups left her stranded.

Game two was a much different story.

The Lions picked up two hits in the second inning, the same number they recorded in the entirety of the first contest.

They picked up where they left off in the third.  Freshman outfielder Gabby Wolfe (New Milford, PA/Blue Ridge) got things going with a single before advancing to second base on an error.  Boyd plated her when she smashed an RBI triple and senior catcher Emily Pae (Harrisburg, PA/Susquehanna Township) followed it up with an RBI single that gave the home team a 2-0 advantage.

The visitors answered back in the top of the fourth, cutting the deficit in half when they picked up and unearned run.

Two blue and white errors in the top of the fifth proved costly as Wilson scored the tying run despite recording just one hit in the stanza. 

From there, both team's bats went cold.  Tied 2-2 after seven, extra innings would be needed to settle this one.

Wilson's powerful offense came to life in the top of the eighth and plated three runs.  Penn State Harrisburg however, wouldn't go down without a fight.

With Wolfe on second base, Zechman laid down a picture perfect sacrifice bunt that moved the freshman along to third.  Boyd notched her second extra-base hit of the game when she doubled, plating Wolfe and drawing her team one-run closer.  Gates drove in Boyd with a single two batters later and advanced to second on the throw home.  Unfortunately for the Lions, Wilson got the final batter to fly out to center to end the thrilling contest.

Inside the circle, Brittany Kringer (Hazleton, PA/Hazleton) turned in one of the best efforts of her career against one of the most successful teams to ever take the field at Middletown.  The senior hurler threw a complete eight inning game, giving up just six hits and two earned runs to a squad that includes six .400-plus batters to go along with her five strikeouts. 

Wolfe, Boyd and Pae all went 2-4 at the plate, with Wolfe and Boyd scoring two runs apiece while the latter lady also recorded two RBIs.  Vettori and Kringer accounted for two of the blue and white's nine hits. 

Penn State Harrisburg outplayed the Phoenix for much of the game.  The Lions outhit the visitors 9-6 and scored three earned runs to Wilson's two.  The difference was the three errors by the home team that led to crucial runs for the Phoenix.

Despite the two losses, the Lions had plenty to be proud of on this day.  The ladies finished the 2012 regular season 18-20 overall and 12-8 in conference play, good enough for a share of second place in the NEAC's South Division.  The team will next be in action May 4-6 as a participant in the league's championship tournament.

Before the doubleheader, Penn State Harrisburg's seven senior players took the spotlight.  Third baseman Jess Campbell (Beaver Falls, PA/Beaver Falls), catcher TynNel Stoneroad (Millersburg, PA/Halifax), Kringer, outfielder Bre Green (Turtlepoint, PA/Port Allegany), Zechman, Pae and Vettori were all honored during the pre-game ceremonies.

Vettori has played in and started more games than any player in program history.  Pae is one of the best hitters ever to wear the blue and white, holding school records for most hits, runs scored and RBIs.  Zechman's career hits and runs scored numbers rank third best all-time while Green's runs scored total places her eighth in team history.  Kringer is one of the most successful pitchers ever to step foot on the rubber and she holds the school-record for most wins.  Stoneroad holds a share of the school-record for doubles in a single game and Campbell's career on-base percentage ranks her eighth in program history.

Head Coach Tonya Dengler deemed it a bittersweet day and had nothing but good things to say about the softball team's class of 2012.

"This group is very special to the coaching staff," she said.  "They hung in there when the team was experiencing growing pains and were instrumental in the growth and success of our program.  Some started out here as freshmen and a few others transferred in but it's the overall group dynamic that is special." 

"It's the different mix of personalities that make them so unique," she continued.  "They are leaders both on and off the field and it has been an amazing experience to watch them grow into the young women we see before us.  While we are proud of them, we are sad to see them go.  Rachael, Paige, Emily, Bre, Britt, TynNel and Jess...thank you for the memories."