AURORA, N.Y. – Penn State Harrisburg softball left no doubt during the team's North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) doubleheader sweep of league foe Wells on Saturday afternoon, April 17. The Blue & White picked up a 15-4 win in the opening contest before wrapping things up with 20-2 victory in five innings in the nightcap.
GAME 1
Pitcher Courtney Fleisher picked up her first win of the spring and her offense gave her plenty of run support in a 15-4 victory over Wells in game one. Kaylee DeMatteo drove in a game-high three runs and five players had multi-hit outings.
Steph Reider got the scoring started with an RBI triple in the top of the first that scored Madelyn Krantz and Kaylee DeMatteo doubled the advantage thanks to an RBI groundout that plated Reider. The top of the second was an even bigger inning for the Lions, as they used four hits, a walk, and an error to tack on four more and push the lead to 6-0.
The visitors took advantage of two Wells errors in the third to add two more before the Express finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth after stringing together three hits in the frame. The Lions responded with a run in the top of the fifth when Sierra Dixon's sacrifice fly plated Samantha Weaver but the home team used three doubles to score three runs in the bottom half to cut the deficit to five.
The Blue & White responded with another run in the top of the sixth before blowing the game wide open with five in the top of the seventh, highlighted a DeMatteo triple that scored Steph Reider and Delaney Nevius.
GAME 2
The bats were on full display for Penn State Harrisburg to the tune of 21 hits, including seven of the extra-base variety, in the team's 20-2 five-inning victory over Wells in the second outing of Saturday's doubleheader.
The Lions combined to score 15 runs across the second and third innings, effectively putting the game out of reach before the Express had a chance to get anything going. During the crucial stretch, Delaney Nevius hit her second home run of the week, Samantha Weaver tripled to drive in a pair of runs, and Steph Reider doubled twice and brought four runs across.
Lauren Hess and Krysten Moore got into the RBI act in the fourth and fifth innings and by the time the home team finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, a comeback attempt was essentially impossible for the Express.
Mary-Kate Penczkowski also did her part inside the circle, throwing all five innings and allowing just two runs on six hits to go along with three strikeouts.
NOTABLES:
- Courtney Fleisher was strong in game one, getting all 21 outs and allowing just one run to go along with seven strikeouts.
- Kaylee DeMatteo went 3-for-5 with a triple, three RBI, and a run scored in the opener.
- Along with DeMatteo, Madelyn Krantz, Steph Reider, Delaney Nevius, and Samantha Weaver all had multi-hit performances in the first contest.
- Reider, Weaver, and Fleisher each scored three runs in the opener.
- In the nightcap, Reider finished 4-for-5 with two doubles, five RBI, and three runs scored.
- Nevius was also strong in the second outing, finishing a triple shy of the cycle, driving in four runs, and scoring three more.
- Krysten Moore provided production at the bottom of the lineup, going 4-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored.
- In addition to Reider and Nevius, Fleisher, Krantz, DeMatteo, and Regan Englehart all had multi-hit efforts in the nightcap.
- Starter Mary-Kate Penczkowski picked up her fourth win of the spring in game two.
- With the pair of victories, the Lions improved to 6-6 in conference play.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions continue conference play when they travel to Lancaster Bible for another doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon, April 20.