MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – In case you forgot, her name is Kara Boyd (Alexandria, Pa. / Juniata Valley). The Penn State Harrisburg senior pitched a gem and got some help from her defense in the Lions' 1-0 shutout victory over North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) leading Penn State Berks on Wednesday afternoon, Apr. 17. The Blue & White responded with one of its best efforts of the year after falling to the visitors 4-1 in the opening game of a doubleheader.
Boyd was stellar inside the circle, allowing just one hit and three walks in her seven innings of work. She also struck out eight Penn State Berks batters and scored the game-winning run.
Boyd and opposing starter Casey Hafer were locked in a pitcher's duel with neither young lady allowing a hit through the first four innings. Penn State Harrisburg finally got something going in the bottom of the fourth when Boyd lined a single to right field and took advantage of the outfielder's error, going all the way to third base on the play. Freshman Rieley Loch (Madison Township, Pa. / North Pocono) made the visitors pay for their mistake when she singled through the left side and scored Boyd to give the Blue & White a 1-0 lead it wouldn't relinquish.
After Berks' Marissa Gonzales walked to lead off the top of the fifth, the opposing Lions threatened when Missy Lamm picked up the team's lone hit of the game by singling through the left side. Things got worse when both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Colleen Loge's fly ball towards the alley in right center field was on the verge of giving Berks the lead when freshman center fielder Jasmine Yanich (Harrisburg, Pa. / Susquehanna Townhsip) showed off her range and made the defensive play of the day by making a run-saving catch to end the inning.
Penn State Berks last chance was thwarted by another Harrisburg outfielder when freshman Rachel Fisher (Lebanon, Pa. / Cedar Crest) kept a potential bloop single from dropping by making a tough catch in left field to begin the top of the seventh inning. Perhaps fittingly on an afternoon when she pitched so well, the final two batters grounded out Boyd.
"I'm pretty amped," said Boyd with a smile postgame. "I'm pretty sure I screamed in a lot of people's faces on a few of those strikeouts."
The opener was a bit of different story. The Lions were in it all game long but five errors kept them from making it a clean sweep on the day. Penn State Berks got on the board quickly when Lamb scored from third base on a wild pitch. It was the visitors' only earned run of the game.
Penn State Berks got two more runs in the top of the fourth when Gonzales's two-out double to left field scored Jess Epler and Marissa Ruggiero to make it 3-0. Unfortunately, a Harrisburg error to begin the stanza kept the home team from escaping out of the inning unscathed.
The visitors made it 4-0 in the top of the sixth thanks to Hafer sacrifice fly that scored Epler from third. If not for another three Harrisburg errors in the inning, the run would not have plated.
The Lions scored their first run of the afternoon in the bottom of the sixth when freshman Sydney Eelman (Lititz, Pa. / Warwick) singled to left center field, driving in Boyd from second base.
Aside from the costly errors, the Blue & White's propensity for leaving runners in scoring position made the difference. The Lions left a runner on second base in the bottom of the second and sixth innings as well as runners on second and third in the bottom of the fourth.
Despite the loss, the performance of sophomore Gabrielle Wolfe (New Milford, Pa. / Blue Ridge) did not go unnoticed. The captain pitched a complete seven inning game in the opener, allowing just six hits and one earned run. She also notched the team's only extra-base hit, a double to left field in the seventh. Most importantly, her effort sent a message to her teammates that was received loud and clear: eliminate the mistakes and victory will follow.
Game number two was proof positive.
Wolfe, Boyd and the Harrisburg defense limited Epler, the NEAC Player of the Year frontrunner and the NCAA's batting average leader coming into the doubleheader, to just 1-7 at the plate.
Not only did the victory end Penn State Berks' impressive win-streak, it handed the NEAC leaders their first conference loss of the season and just their third overall. The win also kept Penn State Harrisburg's playoff chances alive. With a 5-7 league record and eight games left to play, the Lions will have to be solid down the stretch if they plan on playing postseason softball. If they play with the kind of heart and determination that they did in the win over Berks, it's not out of the question.
After playing eight games in five days, Penn State Harrisburg gets a few days off before returning to the diamond against conference opponent St. Elizabeth on Saturday, Apr. 20.