MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg jumped out to early leads in both games against the visitors from Albright on Friday, Mar. 22.  Unfortunately, both contests took a drastic turn for the worse when the opposing Lions went yard, leading to a pair of losses for the Blue & White.  Harrisburg fell 13-4 in the opener and 7-2 in the second outing.

Senior captain Kara Boyd (Alexandria, Pa. / Juniata Valley) looked good inside the circle early in game number one, striking out three batters to retire the side in the top of the first inning.  She helped herself in the bottom of stanza, reaching on an error by the first baseman.  Freshman Rachel Fisher (Lebanon, Pa. / Cedar Crest) moved her to second base with a bunt single and sophomore Gabrielle Wolfe (New Milford, Pa. / Blue Ridge) advanced them both with a sacrifice bunt.  Freshman Rieley Loch (Madison Township, Pa. / North Pocono) put her team on the board first when her single to left field plated Boyd.

The Lions showed off some defense when freshman catcher Sydney Eelman (Lititz, Pa. / Warwick) threw out Albright's Megan Gaughan at second base while attempting to swipe a bag in the top of the second inning.

The visitors finally put something together in the top of the third.  Shelby Snyder doubled down the left field line and Hillary Rodriguez was hit by a pitch.  Albright's next batter, Natalie Carlucci, launched a home run over the left field fence to give her team a 3-1 advantage.

Harrisburg cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the third.  Fisher doubled to get things started before advancing to third on a passed ball.  Freshman Erika Love (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin East) singled to right field to score Fisher three batters later, bringing the score to 3-2 Albright.   

Both teams went scoreless in the fourth but the visitors did some major damage in the top of the fifth when Elizabeth McBride hit Albright's second homerun of the game, this one a grand slam that gave her squad some breathing room at 7-2. 

From there, the Blue & White bats went cold while Albright added two runs in the six and four more in the seventh.  Penn State Harrisburg plated two runs in the bottom of the seventh when Loch's double scored Fisher and a Love groundout drove in Loch but it proved far too little too late.

Loch was 3-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored while Fisher went 2-4 at the plate and scored a run.  Love drove in two runs in her first outing of the spring.

The home team looked good to begin the nightcap.  In the first inning, Fisher singled down the third base line and Wolfe doubled to left field.  Loch and Love reached base via back-to-back Albright errors and Fisher and Wolfe scored on the plays, making it 2-0 Harrisburg early.

Wolfe and her defense behind her rolled through the first three innings as Albright's first 13 batters managed just two combined hits.  In the top of the fourth, however, a crucial mistake led to Albright runs.  With two outs and two on, a ground ball looked to be the out Harrisburg needed.  But a Blue & White error allowed both runners to plate and just like that the score was tied at two apiece.

Penn State Harrisburg's momentum was halted and things quickly turned in the visitors' favor.

In the top of the fifth, back-to-back singles and a walk loaded the bases for Albright.  With the count full, Aubrey Koch put the third ball of the day over the left field fence.  Her grand slam put the visitors up 6-2 and took the wind completely out of the Lions' sails. 

Love and sophomore Alli Trutt (Halifax, Pa. / Halifax) reached base in the bottom of the stanza with just one out.  But back-to-back Harrisburg strikeouts spelled the end and effectively sealed the sweep for Albright.

The second game was one of missed opportunities for the Blue & White.  Harrisburg left 11 runners on base and despite recording eight hits, managed just the two runs.

Fisher was 2-3 with a run scored and Boyd went 2-4 from the plate.  Love recorded the Lions' only RBI in the finale.

The losses dropped Penn State Harrisburg's record to 3-9 on the year.  The Blue & White are currently in the middle of a six-game skid.  The ladies will look to reverse the trend in their next contest, a doubleheader at Stevenson this Sunday, Mar. 24.