WESTMINSTER, Md. – Penn State Harrisburg traveled south to take on McDaniel in doubleheader action on Wednesday afternoon, Mar. 13. The Lions were slow out of the gate and fell in the opener 10-0. The ladies fought back from an early deficit in the second contest, tying the game before falling 5-4 in a hard-fought matchup.
Game number one saw the home team jump out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and never look back. The Green Terror got six more runs in the bottom of the second and that was all the scoring needed to preserve the victory.
Penn State Harrisburg sophomore Gabrielle Wolfe (New Milford, Pa. / Blue Ridge) provided the visitors' lone hit of the game, a double in the top of the first inning. The Lions struggled against McDaniel starter Caroline Brehm. Brehm allowed just the one hit and struck out ten Harrisburg batters. The ladies' four errors didn't help matters any.
The second outing saw a much different scenario unfold. The game remained scoreless through the first two and a half innings before the Green Terror used six hits to put four runs on the board in the bottom of the third. Freshman outfielder Jasmine Yanich (Harrisburg, Pa. / Susquehanna Township) limited the damage by gunning down McDaniel's Stephanie Maring at home plate to end the stanza.
Unlike the first go around, Harrisburg had an answer to the home team's offensive output. Freshman Rachel Fisher (Lebanon, Pa. / Cedar Crest) got things started in the top of the fifth with a walk and Wolfe moved her to third base with a double to left field. A McDaniel error allowed Fisher to score and Wolfe plated on a fielder's choice two batters later.
Freshman Jennifer Bear (Lebanon, Pa. / Cedar Crest) worked a walk with the bases loaded and picked up an RBI when senior Kat Bernardi (Fredericksburg, Pa. / Northern Lebanon) crossed the plate. The next batter, sophomore Alli Trutt (Halifax, Pa. / Halifax), was hit by a pitch. The McDaniel mistake scored freshman Sydney Eelman (Lititz, Pa. / Warwick) and tied the game at four-apiece.
Wolfe was strong inside the circle in the bottom of the fifth and sat down the home team 1-2-3. Brehm did the same to the Lions in the top of the sixth and a leadoff double by McDaniel's Tracy Davis proved crucial. Lindsey Bloom pinch ran for Davis and Leigh Bloom moved her to third with a sacrifice bunt. Stacey Armacost plated her with a single and the Green Terror took a 5-4 lead.
The Blue & White got one last chance to extend the game in the top of the seventh but Brehm's dominance continued and she struck out the side to end the contest.
Wolfe led the way at the plate, going 2-3 with a double, a walk and a run scored in the second outing. She currently leads the team with a .414 batting average. Bear and Trutt recorded the team's only RBIs and Bear notched one of Harrisburg's three hits; a single in the third inning.
The pair of losses drops Penn State Harrisburg to 3-7 on the year. The ladies have nearly a week off until their next contest. The Lions home opener takes place Tuesday, Mar. 19 when they host Juniata for another doubleheader.