MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Penn State Harrisburg's offense roared to life to the tune of a combined 27 runs in the team's two outings on Monday morning, Mar. 10. The Lions scored 17 unanswered in their 17-1 five inning victory over Arcadia in the first contest of the day and followed it up by shutting out Gordon 10-0 in the team's second five inning game. Sophomore Rieley Loch (Madison Township, Pa. / North Pocono), junior Gabrielle Wolfe (New Milford, Pa. / Blue Ridge) and sophomore Jackie Furch (Hallstead, Pa. / Blue Ridge) all homered in the win over Aradia with Wolfe adding a triple and two doubles over the course of both games.
Inside the circle, Wolfe picked up her second win of the season in the first outing while freshman Kayla Seyfert (Lebanon, Pa. / Cedar Crest) earned her first collegiate win in her first career start against Gordon. Wolfe pitched a complete game and allowed just one run on three hits to go along with her five strikeouts. Seyfert also went the distance, allowing just three hits and a walk in addition to striking out six batters.
Check out photos of the Lions' big day...
It didn't take long for the Blue & White bats to come to life. After falling behind 1-0 to Arcadia in the top of the first, the Lions put up 11 runs in the home half of the stanza. The onslaught began when Wolfe led off with a double to straightaway center field. She advanced to third on a wild pitch and freshman Amanda Hartman (Reading, Pa. / Oley Valley) walked. Loch reached base on a fielder's choice, as did ensuing batter in junior Erika Love (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin East), scoring Wolfe in the process. Freshman Leah Palm (Hummelstown, Pa. / Lower Dauphin) followed it up with an RBI walk and Furch drove in Loch with a single to right field. Junior Mackenzie Trafka (Middletown, Pa. / Middletown Area) reached base thanks to an Arcadia error, allowing Hartman to score, and freshman Keriann Saich (Hershey, Pa. / Hershey) plated Palm and Furch when she doubled to right field. Sophomore Jasmine Yanich (Harrisburg, Pa. / Susquehanna Township) kept it rolling with a walk and Trafka scored thanks to the second Arcadia error of the inning. Hartman's ensuing sacrifice fly to center field drove in Saich and Loch capped the big inning by homering over the left the field fence. Her second home run of the season plated Yanich and Wolfe, giving the Lions an advantage they would only build on as the game went on.
After Wolfe worked a 1-2-3 top of the second inning, Penn State Harrisburg picked up where it left off in the bottom of the frame, adding three more runs. Furch led off the stanza with a double to right center and Yanich worked a two-out at-bat to perfection a few batters later, singling to shallow left field and scoring Furch. Wolfe topped it off with her second pretty swing of the matchup; this one a home run to straightaway center field that upped the Lions' lead to 14-1.
Furch put an exclamation point on the Blue & White's offensive outburst when she sent one over the right field fence in the bottom of the third and scored Loch and Love who had each singled a few at-bats prior. That was all the ladies needed as Penn State Harrisburg breezed through the rest of the game and picked up the victory with relative ease.
Wolfe was 2-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Loch went 2-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Furch was 3-3 with a game-high four RBIs and three runs scored. Saich recorded two RBIs while Love and Yanich scored two runs apiece.
There was no letup in the team's second game of the afternoon against Gordon. Seyfert began her first career start in grand fashion when she struck out the side in the top of the first inning.
She helped herself out when she reached base on an error in the bottom of the frame and stole second base a few pitches later. Loch worked a walk and Seyfert advanced to third on a wild pitch. Seyfert's aggressiveness paid off when she plated thanks to the second Arcadia wild pitch of the inning. Love followed it up by tripling down the right field line, scoring Loch from second base in the process. Palm grounded out but picked up an RBI when her effort was good enough to score Love and give Penn State Harrisburg an early 3-0 lead.
Seyfert worked another quick half inning in the top of the second, downing Gordon in 1-2-3 fashion. Her offense rewarded her by adding four more runs in the bottom of the stanza. Yanich got things started by using her speed to beat out a bunt to down the third base line before stealing second and putting herself in scoring position. Wolfe reached base thanks to a Gordon throwing error and Yanich scored on the play. Loch singled and Love walked, loading the bases for Palm. The frosh came through when she singled to right field and drove in Wolfe and Loch. Love plated thanks to a wild pitch moments later and the Lions took a 7-0 advantage into the third inning.
It was more of the same in the bottom of the third. Trafka walked to lead off the home half of the inning before swiping second during the next at-bat. Junior Alisha House (Crownpoint, N.M. / Thoreau) followed her up by singling and Trafka took third base on another Gordon wild pitch. Wolfe tripled when she launched a ball over the left fielder's head, scoring Trafka and House in the process. Seyfert added to her cushion by aggressively taking two on a ball she flared down the right field line. Wolfe scored on the play to make it 10-0 Penn State Harrisburg.
Seyfert allowed just one hit in the top of the fourth before sitting Gordon down in order in the fifth inning, ending the game with another strikeout and sealing the team's third win of the young season.
Wolfe was 1-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Love was 1-1 with an RBI, two runs scored and two walks. Palm went 1-3 with a game-high three RBIs and Seyfert was 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
The pair of victories improved Penn State Harrisburg to 3-3 on the season. After starting the year 0-3, the ladies have been on a tear their last three outings, outscoring their opponents 40-1 in the team's last three games. The Lions will look to keep that production going when they finish up their Myrtle Beach spring break competition by taking on Mount Aloysius and Penn College tomorrow afternoon, Mar. 11.