MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg softball dropped a pair of North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) contests to the defending league champions from Penn State Berks at Courtney Pollock Memorial Field on Thursday afternoon, April 15. The Blue & White dropped an 8-1 decision to the visiting Lions in the opener before falling 11-2 in five innings in game two.

GAME 1

A big fifth inning for Penn State Berks put things out of reach for Penn State Harrisburg in game one of Thursday's conference doubleheader.

Trailing 2-0 heading into the top of the fifth, Penn State Harrisburg watched the visitors use four hits, including two doubles, to stretch the lead to six after four and a half frames. The home team got one back in the bottom of the stanza when Delaney Nevius launched her first home run of the season, a solo shot, over the fence in left field.

Unfortunately for Penn State Harrisburg, the visiting Lions used three hits to tack on two more insurance runs in the top of the seventh. Sarah Coolbaugh reached thanks to a single up the middle in the bottom of the inning but she proved to the team's last baserunner of the opening contest.

GAME 2

Despite staying within striking distance in the early going, errors hurt Penn State Harrisburg in the team's loss to Penn State Berks in the second contest of Thursday's twin bill.

After the visitors put up three runs in the top of the first, Penn State Harrisburg cut into the deficit when Courtney Fleisher's two-out double to right field drove in Sarah Coolbaugh in the bottom of the second. The home team stranded two in scoring position, however, and Penn State Berks made them pay for it in the top of the third, scoring six runs, all of the unearned variety, after a two-out error kept the inning alive.

Penn State Harrisburg stranded a runner in both the third and fourth innings, while the visitors added two more runs in the top of the fourth. Fleisher singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth and Madelyn Krantz brought her around with a double to right center field. The Lions were unable to bring Krantz across, however, and the game ended after five innings.

NOTABLES:

- Delaney Nevius had a nice game one, finishing 2-for-2 with a home run and a walk.

- Sierra Dixon got the start in game one, allowing five runs on six hits, while Courtney Fleisher relief appearance consisted of three runs on six hits and a pair of strikeouts.

- Fleisher and Steph Reider each had multi-hit outings in game two, with Fleisher scoring a run and driving in another.

- Fleisher also had a solid relief appearance in the second game, allowing just two hits in two innings of work.

- Madelyn Krantz swiped a pair of bags in the nightcap, increasing her team-leading total to four on the season.

WHO'S NEXT?

The Lions continue conference play when they travel to Wells for a pair of games on Saturday afternoon, April 17.