MORRISTOWN, N.J. - Entering the final week of the 2013 campaign, Penn State Harrisburg knew it would have to finish strong if it intended to play postseason softball. The Lions helped themselves a bit on Saturday, Apr. 13 by splitting a doubleheader with North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) opponent St. Elizabeth. The Blue & White fell in game one 6-2 before bouncing back with a 3-2 victory. Still, the ladies have some work to do to earn a playoff berth.
Penn State Harrisburg struggled to get the bats going in the opener and managed just two hits. In the early going, however, the base knocks came in a timely fashion. Freshman Rieley Loch (Madison Township, Pa. / North Pocono), the third batter of the game, walked and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Sophomore Erika Love (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin East) drove her in with a single to center field and gave the visitors an early 1-0 advantage.
Loch came up big once more when she launched a solo home run over the center field fence in the top of the third and upped her team's lead to 2-0. The shot was Loch's second homer of the season. Unfortunately, that would be the Blue & White's last hit of the contest.
In the bottom of the third stanza, St. Elizabeth came to life. The Screaming Eagles used three hits, three stolen bases, two Penn State Harrisburg errors and a hit batter to score four runs and swing the momentum in their favor.
The Lions did manage to load the bases in the top of the sixth inning thanks to a fielder's choice by freshman Sydney Eelman (Lititz, Pa. / Warwick) and walks by freshman Jennifer Bear (Lebanon, Pa. / Cedar Crest) and senior Katherine Bernari (Fredericksburg, Pa. / Northern Lebanon). But as they have failed to do at certain points this season, the Lions were unable to take advantage of the situation and were retired without adding any runs to the board.
The home team added two insurance runs in the bottom of the stanza and Harrisburg went down 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh.
Loch was 1-2 with an RBI and two runs scored while Love was 1-2 with an RBI of her own. Sophomore Gabrielle Wolfe (New Milford, Pa. / Blue Ridge) got the start inside the circle and threw three innings, giving up six hits and four runs while striking out five St. Elizabeth batters. Senior Kara Boyd (Alexandria, Pa. / Juniata Valley) finished the first outing, allowing four hits and two runs. She struck out three batters and in the process recorded her 300th collegiate strikeout.
The nightcap saw Penn State Harrisburg blaze the comeback trail. The Lions fell behind in the first inning when the Eagles' Kelly O'Dell flied out in foul territory and scored Valerie Lasko from third base, giving the home team an early one-run lead.
The Lions took advantage of a couple of St. Elizabeth mistakes in the top of the fourth inning. Boyd led off and reached base on an error before advancing to second base on a wild pitch. She stole third base and Love managed to work a walk before stealing a bag of her own. Eelman singled down the left field line, scoring Boyd and tying the score at 1-1. Sophomore Alli Trutt (Halifax, Pa. / Halifax) grounded out to shortstop and drove in Love on the play, giving the Blue & White its first lead of the game.
St. Elizabeth used two hits and a walk to tie the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth stanza but the Lions were able to limit the damage when Love threw out Lasko at the plate. After the Eagles managed two singles in the sixth, Boyd was able to get Lasko to ground out to shortstop to end the inning and the home team's threat.
Then, in the top of the seventh, Penn State Harrisburg executed their offense well enough to take back the lead. Freshman Jasmine Yanich (Harrisburg, Pa. / Susquehanna Township) worked a lead-off walk and Wolfe laid down a bunt to move her along. But Yanich wasn't satisfied with one base and the speedster's aggressiveness on the base path paid off when she took third base on Wolfe's sacrifice. Loch came up big at the plate again when she singled to center field two batters later. Yanich's proved to be the game-winning run.
Boyd struck out three St. Elizabeth batters in the bottom of the inning, sealing the win and the doubleheader split. The senior went the distance, hurling all seven innings and giving up nine hits and just one earned run in addition to striking out eight batters.
Loch was 3-4 with an RBI. Love went 1-3 and scored one run. Trutt went 1-3 with an RBI while Eelman was 1-4 with an RBI of her own.
The win kept Penn State Harrisburg's playoff hopes alive but with the lack of a sweep over the Screaming Eagles, the Lions still have plenty of work to do. With six games to go, the ladies need to win four games to secure a postseason berth in the NEAC championship tournament. They can cut the number in half with two wins over Gallaudet in the team's next matchups on Sunday, Apr. 21.