MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg's softball surpassed the 20-win mark for the third straight season thanks to a doubleheader sweep of conference foe Gallaudet at Courtney  Pollock Memorial Field on Thursday afternoon, April 18. The Lions took game one 9-1 in five innings before sealing the sweep with an 11-1, five-inning victory in the nightcap.

GAME 1

Penn State Harrisburg (20-9, 9-4 United East) set the tone early with a four-run first inning, sparked by Madelyn Lehigh's lead-off triple in the bottom of the first. Lehigh was awarded home when the relay throw went out of play and the Lions never looked back. Lillian Feltenberger and Cara Biesecker combined to perfectly execute a bunt squeeze play that resulted in another run before a passed ball plated Olivia Herncane. Emily Cutman tacked on another with an RBI single to center field that drove in Feltenberger to push the lead to four after one stanza.

The Bison (4-19, 0-13 United East) got on the board with a single run in the third but Mackenzie Sawdey used two strikeouts to limit the damage and work out of a bases-loaded jam. She was rewarded when Sierra Sims hit her first collegiate home run in the bottom half – an inside-the-park round tripper that pushed the advantage back to four.

Sawdey retired the visitors in order in the top of the fifth and the Lions used five hits to post four runs and end the game early in the bottom of the frame. Kierstyn Smith singled to center to drive in a pair before a Lauren Hess fielder's choice resulted in Cutman coming across. Lehigh walked things off with a single to left center that scored Smith and sealed the game one win.

GAME 2

Penn State Harrisburg (21-9, 10-4 United East) set the single-game program record for triples by racking up five three baggers in a game two victory that sealed the doubleheader sweep of Gallaudet (4-20, 0-14 United East) on Thursday.

The Lions put up eight runs in the first two innings to put things out of reach in the early going. Back-to-back-to-back first-inning triples from Olivia Herncane, Sierra Sims, and Emily Cutman set the tone and allowed the home team to take a quick 4-0 lead after one.

Cara Biesecker tripled in the bottom of the second to score Maddy Lehigh from first base before Sims added her second triple of the game later in the frame to push the advantage to 8-0 through two. The visitors got on the board in the top of the fourth but they couldn't keep Penn State Harrisburg from answering in the bottom half, as a Rylee Martinez RBI double capped off a three-run frame.

Carissa Yeager put together a 1-2-3 top of the fifth inning to complete her excellent effort inside the circle and end the nightcap early.

NOTABLES

- Penn State Harrisburg set the single-game program record for triples with five in game two.

- The Lions have won eight of their last nine.

- Smith was 2-for-2 with two RBI and a run scored in game one.

- Sims finished 2-for-2 with an inside-the-park home run, two runs scored, and an RBI in the opener.

- Sawdey threw five innings and allowed just one earned run to go along with seven strikeouts in her 13th win of the spring.

- Lehigh and Cutman also had multi-hit first outings.

- Sims went 3-for-3 with a pair of triples, two RBI, and a run scored in game two.

- Herncane, Biesecker, and Cutman also tripled in the finale.

- Yeager earned her fifth win of the year in the nightcap, allowing just one run on two hits and tallying four strikeouts.

WHO'S NEXT?

The Lions continue conference play when they travel to Lancaster Bible for another United East doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.

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