MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg's softball team reached double digit wins on the season thanks to a non-conference doubleheader split with Elizabethtown at Courtney Pollock Memorial Field on Monday afternoon, March 25. The Lions took the opener 7-2 before falling short in a 5-3 setback in the nightcap.

GAME 1

Madelyn Lehigh finished a home run shy of the cycle and Mackenzie Sawdey picked up her seventh win of the season to lead the way in a 7-2 victory in game one.

Sawdey struck out three batters in the first two frames and Lehigh got the scoring started with an RBI triple to straightaway center that scored Lauren Hess from first in the bottom of the third. The Lions (10-3) doubled their advantage one at-bat later when Cara Biesecker's sacrifice fly drove in Lehigh to make it 2-0 after three.

Sawdey retired the Blue Jays (4-9) in order in the top of the fourth and the bats stayed hot in the bottom half, with the home team using four more hits and a walk to tack on four more runs. Elaina Gates singled with two away and Hess followed suit with a two-out base knock of her own to drive in Emily Cutman and Mackenzie Fisher before Lehigh double to the warning track in center field, scoring Gates and Hess in the process.

Etown finally got on the board with a pair of runs in the sixth but Lehigh continued to tear through the opposing pitching with a two-out RBI single to center field in the bottom half that pushed Gates across for an all-important insurance run.

Sawdey recorded her third 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh to seal Penn State Harrisburg's 10th victory of the spring.

GAME 2

Early miscues proved the difference for Penn State Harrisburg (10-4) in the team's 5-3 setback in the final contest of Monday's doubleheader.

Elizabethtown (5-9) struck first in the top of the opening stanza, using three hits to tally a pair of runs before racking up three more in the second thanks to an error and three more hits. The Lions broke through in the bottom of the third when Olivia Herncane's sac fly drove in Madelyn Lehigh from third base but they were unable to tack on any more in the frame.

Kierstyn Smith took over inside the circle in the top of the second and grinded to a strong effort, surrendering no more runs to Etown the rest of the way. Penn State Harrisburg started to do some damage with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the sixth as Lehigh worked an RBI walk and Cara Biesecker drove in Lilly Feltenberger with a sac fly but the visitors used an inning-ending double play to preserve a two-run lead and hold on for the narrow win.

NOTABLES

- Lehigh was a menace at the plate, finishing 6-for-7 across both games with a triple, a double, a walk, five RBI, and two runs scored.

- Hess went 2-for-2, scored two runs, and drove in two more in the opener.

- Gates was 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored in the first contest.

- Sawdey earned the complete-game victory in game one, allowing just two runs and striking out four Blue Jays.

- Smith did a stellar job of keeping the Blue Jays off the board in game two, throwing 5.2 scoreless innings despite allowing a dozen hits.

WHO'S NEXT?

The Lions begin United East play when they travel to Penn College for a conference doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon.

STAY CONNECTED 

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