MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg didn't win a game on Saturday, Apr. 6. However, the Lions did do something they have been unable to do since their 12-game losing streak started last month and that's score runs.
After averaging just 1.7 runs per game during the Blue & White's recent skid, the ladies put up a seven-spot against the defending North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) South Division champions from Wilson. In the end though, Harrisburg fell to the Phoenix in both games of a doubleheader Saturday afternoon, 7-1 and 10-7.
Game number one saw starting pitcher Kara Boyd (Alexandria, Pa. / Juniata Valley) look strong in the contest's first two innings, sitting down the visitors 1-2-3 in both stanzas.
The turning point came in the top of the third when the Lions looked to be on the verge of working out of the half inning with just one run surrendered. With the bases loaded and two down, Wilson's Tara Fields hit a triple to left field, clearing the bases and upping the Phoenix's advantage to 4-0.
The home team got on the board in the bottom of the third when Boyd's two-out double to right field scored senior Danielle Ringel (McKees Rock, Pa. / Sto-Rox) from first base.
Boyd and sophomore Gabrielle Wolfe (New Milford, Pa. / Blue Ridge) switched places with Boyd going to shortstop and Wolfe taking over inside the circle. The fresh hurler breezed through the top of the fourth before surrendering a run in the top of the fifth.
The ladies looked poised to respond in the bottom of the stanza when freshman Jennifer Bear (Lebanon, Pa. / Cedar Crest) and Ringel used a walk and an error to reach base with no outs. Unfortunately, the Lions were unable to bring them in and cut into the deficit.
Wilson got two more runs in the top of the seventh and Harrisburg was unable to put together a big rally in the team's last chance from the plate.
Wolfe and Boyd both went 1-4 with the latter recording the Blue & White's lone RBI while freshmen Sydney Eelman (Lititz, Pa. / Warwick) and Rieley Loch (Madison Township, Pa. / North Pocono) notched the team's other hits.
Boyd went three innings on the rubber, giving up four hits and four runs with a strikeout. Wolfe pitched four innings and surrendered six hits and three runs in addition to striking out two Phoenix batters. Wilson's Nicole Musser threw a complete seven-inning game and gave up just four hits and one run to go along with her six strikeouts.
The Lions got off to a rocky start in the second outing. The visitors put together a string of seven hits in the first and took advantage of two Penn State Harrisburg errors in the same stanza to jump out to a 7-0 lead.
Boyd reclaimed the rubber from Wolfe in the second inning and settled in nicely, retiring the Phoenix in order in both the second and third innings.
Then, after struggling to put together a strong offensive stanza since the first week of March, the Blue & White strung together some hits, scored five runs and made Wilson pay for two errors in the bottom of the third.
Wolfe led off the inning with a walk. Boyd moved her along with a bunt single and a Wilson error on the play allowed Wolfe to score and moved Boyd to third base. Loch singled and drove in Boyd before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Sophomore Erika Love (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin East) walked and freshman Jasmine Yanich (Harrisburg, Pa. / Susquehanna Township) pinch ran for her. Ringel reached on the second Phoenix error of the inning and Loch plated on the play. Bear's RBI groundout scored Yanich and Eelman singled to right field, scoring Ringel and cutting the deficit to 7-5.
Boyd and her defense took care of business in the top of the fourth and Penn State Harrisburg added another run in the bottom half when Love's single to centerfield plated Wolfe. Just like that the Lions were back in the game.
Like good teams do, Wilson responded and gave itself some breathing room by adding a run in the top of the fifth before two unearned tallies in the top of the sixth.
The home team refused to roll over and die however, and Love recorded her second RBI of the day when her two-out single scored freshman Rachel Fisher (Lebanon, Pa. / Cedar Crest) from second base in the bottom of the sixth.
Trailing 10-7 in the final inning, Harrisburg had a chance to make some noise with runners on first and second and no outs. Unfortunately, a fly out and two strikeouts were all the Lions could muster and Wilson escaped with its second victory of the day.
Love went 2-2 at the plate and recorded two RBIs while Loch went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Wolfe plated twice and Boyd went 1-3 with a run scored. Bear and Eelman notched an RBI apiece. Boyd went 6.1 innings inside the circle and surrendered just four hits and one earned run in addition to striking out four Phoenix batters.
The pair of losses dropped the ladies to 3-15 on the year and 0-4 in conference play. The Lions have no time to dwell on the defeats, however. Penn State Harrisburg is back in action Sunday, Apr. 7 when the Blue & White travels to Penn State Abington for another NEAC doubleheader.