BUFFALO, NY – Carson Hauser (Westfield, NY/Westfield Academy) went 5-for-8 with three RBI and two stolen bases to help the Penn State Behrend softball team split with D'Youville in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) action Thursday.
Hauser went 4-for-5 with three RBI while AJ Nichols allowed five hits and one run in a 9-1 victory in the opener. The Lions (26-10, 12-4 AMCC) fell in the nightcap, 3-2.
Behrend smacked 17 hits and scored nine runs in game one. Falling behind 1-0 after the third, the Lions scored nine unanswered runs starting with four in the top of the fourth to take the lead for good. –auser got her first two RBIs with a single to center field in the fourth to score Kendra Schreck (Emlenton, PA/Cranberry) and Lauren Wentz (Grove City, PA/Grove City) to make it 2-1.
Gozzard knocked in Hauser with a hit to right field, before she came round with a single to left center by Nichols for a 4-1 lead.
The next frame, Behrend grew the lead to 6-1, before loading the bases in the seventh and getting three more runs on a single by Mackenzie McIntire (Stoneboro, PA/Lakeview), a fielder's choice by Nichols and a double by Alexa Bupp (Warren, PA/Warren).
In the nightcap, both teams only used one inning to score their runs but the Spartans (10-15, 4-7 AMCC) struck last for a one-run win. The Lions got on the board early with a pair of runs in the first. Behrend tallied three of its four hits in the opening frame to go ahead 2-0. Hauser led off with a single and then stole second. Katie Gozzard (Pittsburgh, PA/Deer Lakes) bunted to bring in Hauser and then scored on the RBI double to left center by Nichols.
It took D'Youville four hits to drive in three runs in the bottom of the third for a 3-2 lead that would stand for the remaining four innings for the split.
Brittney Williams (Atlantic, PA/Conneaut Lake) started in the circle and pitched the first 2.1 innings for the loss, before Bupp came in relief for the remainder of the game and allowing two hits while striking out 10 of the 13 batters she face.
The Lions return to action on Saturday against Penn State Altoona for senior day. The doubleheader begins at 1 p.m.