MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg's softball team used a combination of hot bats and timely pitching to complete the doubleheader sweep of conference foe Penn State Abington at Courtney Pollock Memorial Field on Saturday afternoon, April 2. The home team rolled to a 9-2 victory in game one before coming from behind to win the nightcap 11-5.

GAME 1

Penn State Harrisburg (11-6, 5-0 United East) racked up 13 singles and four walks and Carissa Yeager was outstanding inside the circle in a 9-2 game-one win over Penn College (9-6, 4-1 United East) on Saturday afternoon.

Madelyn Krantz continued her tear, going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI. Olivia Herncane went 2-for-3 and drove in a game-high three runs, while McKenzie Boozel and Madeline English also had multi-hit outings. Yeager allowed just two runs and struck out five en route to earning her 10th win of the season.

The hometown Lions struck first, scoring four runs on six hits in the bottom of the second inning. Lauren Hess, Krantz, and Herncane drove in one run apiece during the frame thanks to RBI singles.

After Penn State Abington cut the deficit in half in the top of the third, Penn State Harrisburg put up another crooked number in the bottom of the fourth. The Blue & White used a pair of walks, two hits, and a sacrifice fly to plate three more runs and push the advantage to 7-3.

Penn State Harrisburg put the finishing touches on the offensive output in the bottom of the sixth when Herncane and Reider came through with back-to-back RBI singles that drove in Krantz and Madelyn Lehigh, respectively.

GAME 2

After taking game one, Penn State Harrisburg (12-6, 6-0 United East) had to work a bit harder to complete the sweep, erasing a pair of deficits before running away with an 11-5 victory in the second outing of Saturday's doubleheader.

Steph Reider went 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored, while McKenzie Boozel finished 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored, and a game-high four RBI. Delaney Nevius was 2-for-4 with a homer, three RBI, and a run scored, while Madelyn Krantz, Madeline English, and Krysten Moore all had multi-hit outings.

The visitors jumped out to a 2-0 advantage in the top of the first inning but Penn State Harrisburg immediately answered back in the bottom of the stanza. Reider came through with a single that drove in Krantz and Boozel doubled to left center to plate Madelyn Lehigh and Reider.

Penn State Abington tied things up in the top of the second before pulling ahead 4-3 in the top of the fourth. The home team's bats came to life in a big way in the fifth, however, as both Boozel and Nevius hit two-run home runs before Krantz added an RBI triple to make it 8-4 Penn State Harrisburg after five.

The hometown Lions tacked on three more insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth thanks to an RBI single by Nevius and a two-RBI double by Moore. Penn State Abington got one back in the top of the seventh but it proved too little too late.

NOTABLES

- Carissa Yeager improved to 10-3 on the season after throwing a complete game in the opener and surrendering just two runs on seven hits and one walk. She also struck out five batters.

- Madelyn Krantz was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI in game one.

- Olivia Herncane went 2-for-3 with a game-high three RBI in the first outing.

- McKenzie Boozel and Madeline English each had multi-hit game ones.

- Steph Reider drove in a pair of runs in the opener, while Madelyn Lehigh and Lauren Hess each scored two of their own.

- Boozel went 2-for-4 with a home run, a game-high four RBI, and two runs scored in the second game.

- Reider was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI.

- Delaney Nevius had a great second outing, going 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.

- Krysten Moore finished 2-for-2 with a double, two RBI, and a run scored in the nightcap.

- Mary-Kate Penczkowski earned her second win of the year in game two, throwing the final six frames and allowing just one earned run to go along with four strikeouts.

WHO'S NEXT?

The Lions travel to Penn College for another United East doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon, April 5.

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