ABINGTON, Pa. – The Penn State Harrisburg Softball Team traveled to Penn State Abington to take on their branch campus—and former Northeast Athletic Conference—rivals on Monday for an afternoon twin bill. The Abington Lions were overmatched from the start, as Harrisburg had their bats rolling early and often, winning both contests in convincing fashion. Here's how the games played out:
Game 1
Top 1 – Emily Parmer brought in the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly to right fielding, scoring Kayla Seyfert from third base. Amanda Hartman added another run in the next at-bat with an RBI single that brought home Katie Humphrey. 2-0 Harrisburg
Top 3 – The bats really got rolling in the third inning. After Amanda Hartman hit her first of two triples in the game to open up the inning, Dominique Emmett hit a double down that right field line to bring her home. After Emmett advanced to third on a ground out, Allison Hartman brought her home on a single to center field. Jenna Rupakus would launch a double to center field a couple of at-bats later brought home two runners in scoring position. Rupakus would score the final run of the inning on a Kayla Seyfert single to center field. 7-0 Harrisburg
Top 4 – Amanda Hartman's second triple of the game would lead to another run, as Emily Parmer was able to score from first base. 8-0 Harrisburg
Bottom 4 – Abington finally got on the board in the fourth inning. With two gone and a runner stationed at second base, Sam Goetz singled up the middle to bring home the baserunner. 8-1 Harrisburg
Bottom 5 – Abington chipped away at their deficit again in the fifth inning. Again, with two outs and a runner on second base, Samantha Friend knocked a double to center field to drive the run in. 8-2 Harrisburg
Bottom 6 – With runners on the corners and no one out, A Sam Goetz single to left field would shrink Harrisburg's deficit yet again, scoring the runner from third base. 8-3 Harrisburg
Top 7 – The momentum that Abington had grabbed would quickly be put to rest, as Harrisburg added two more runs to their lead. With two outs and runners on first and second base, Katie Shwenk would drive a double to right field far enough to score both baserunners. 10-3 Harrisburg
Penn State Harrisburg 10 Penn State Abington 3
WP: Allison Hartman (5-10) LP: Caitlyn Braiser (1-3)
Game 2
Top 2 – Harrisburg jumped out to an impressive five run lead in the second inning, all of which were scored with two outs. With two runners in scoring position, Jenna Rupakus singled both home with a single to center field. After stealing second base, Rupakus would come home on a Kayla Seyfert single through the left side. Seyfert advanced to second on the play before Erelle Sowers brought her home with another single to center. An Emily Parmer single in the following at-bat would score sowers for the final run of the inning. 5-0 Harrisburg
Top 4 – An Erelle Sowers two-run blast in the inning—her first of the season—added two more runs to the swelling lead. 7-0 Harrisburg
Top 5 – After already scratching off a single and a homerun earlier in the game, Erelle Sowers would move a step closer to her attempt at the cycle (she would fall a double shy) when she smacked a triple down the right field line that saw Kayla Seyfert and Kristen Evans both score. 9-0 Harrisburg
Bottom 5 – Isabel Hoch decided that nine unanswered runs was enough when she stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning. With a runner waiting on third base, Hoch would lift a homerun to center field. 9-2 Harrisburg
Bottom 7 – With Harrisburg only three outs away from their second win of the day, Abington decided to make things a little more interesting by scoring three runs before having the door shut on them. An RBI double and a 2-RBI single would not be enough to overcome the early deficit they had set for themselves, however. 9-5 Harrisburg
Penn State Harrisburg 9 Penn State Abington 5
WP: Amanda Hartman (5-8) LP: Emily Wren (6-5)
Standout Lions:
Erelle Sowers (4-8, HR, 3B, 5 RBI, 3 R)
Amanda Hartman (3-6, 2 3B, 2 RBI, R, BB)
Allison Hartman (7.0 IP, 6 K, 3 ER, W, CG)
Records:
Penn State Harrisburg: 14-18
Penn State Abington: 13-11
Up Next:
The Penn State Harrisburg Softball Team will enjoy a week off from play before returning home for their final two home games of the season on Tuesday, April 25th versus Juniata College. Game 1 first pitch is scheduled from 3:00 PM.