Penn State Behrend Lions Softball Cruises to Sweep Over Hilbert

The Penn State Behrend Lions softball team cruised past the Hilbert Hawks in both games of the doubleheader played on Tuesday, April 13.  The blue and white defeated Hilbert in game one by a score of 5 to 0 and followed that up with another convincing victory in game two, 4 to 1.

In the first game, starting pitcher Emma Hahn (Smethport/Smethport) was dominating as she did not let up a single run and only allowed four total hits through seven innings of play.  The Behrend Lions had something going early on as Morgan Griffin (Springboro/Conneaut Valley) got the first hit for the blue and white in the bottom of the second and the Behrend Lions found themselves with runners on first and third with only one out.  Hilbert starting pitcher Emili Ripley managed to get out of the inning unharmed and without further damage.  The Hawks threatened in the top of the third as they boarded two runners on after base hits, but Hahn would record one of her 11 strikeouts on the day for out number two and got the next batter to pop out to first base to end the inning.

The Behrend Lions and Hawks battled to a 0-0 tie heading into the bottom of the sixth and that was when the bats came alive for the blue and white.  The bases were loaded of Behrend Lions when a passed ball allowed one runner to score and Kessi Osborne (Ellwood City/Riverside) came up and drove a ball to left field to plate two more runners to make it a 3-0 game in favor of the blue and white.  Griffin would pound a double to left field to score two more runners and provide more runs than Hahn needed as she closed out the seventh for a 5-0 shutout victory.

The second game saw the Behrend Lions strike early and let starting pitcher Brooke Tarasovich (Bethel Park/Bethel Park) take over from there.  Maddie Wieser (Erie/Collegiate Academy) and Laura Spiridon (Warren/Warren) were on base when Brittany Simpson (Port Matilda/Bald Eagle) singled them home and provided an early 2-0 advantage.  Mary DeMino (Wexford/North Allegheny) would triple later in the same inning to drive in another run and put the Behrend Lions up 3-0.  DeMino would come up big again in the sixth inning as she provide a little insurance with a single to drive in a run and make 4-0 Behrend.  The Hawks got their first run of the day in the top of the seventh as Halsey Baker provided an RBI double, however, that would be the only run allowed for Tarasovich.  She tossed seven complete innings, scattered six hits and went on to record six strikeouts.

With the two victories, the blue and white improve their record to 11-9 overall and even their mark at 4-4 in the conference.  Hilbert sees their record fall to 8-12 overall and drop to 2-8 in the AMCC.  Next up for the Behrend Lions will be a non-conference home matchup with the Hiram Terriers on Thursday, April 15.  Behrend will then host an AMCC doubleheader on Saturday, April 17 when they take on the Mount Aloysius Mounties.