Gruber Powers Lions Past Mt. Aloysius

ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend softball team posted a come-from-behind victory in game one, winning 7-6 in 10 innings before taking game two 9-5 to sweep Mt. Aloysius in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) action on a chilly Saturday afternoon.

Ashley Gruber (Burton, OH/Berkshire) single-handedly got the Lions (11-9, 5-1 AMCC) get back in game one with back-to-back home runs while Callie Markovich (Edinboro, PA/Northwestern) scored the winning run in the bottom of the 10^th inning.

The Mounties (6-14, 0-4 AMCC), who were picked to win the AMCC Championship in the preseason poll, grabbed the early lead in the first inning with five runs on seven hits. Behrend got on the board with a run in third. Sydney Sherrieb (Washington, PA/Trinity) led off with a triple to center field and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kelsey Fuller (Albion, PA/Northwestern).

Gruber, who went 4-for-4 in game one, took the first pitch in the sixth and crushed it over the fence for a single home run to cut the lead to 5-2. After opening the game with five runs, the Lions held Mt. Aloysius scoreless for the next six innings.

Needing three runs in the bottom of the seventh to keep the game alive, Gruber smacked another home run off the first pitch but this time with two runners on and two outs to force the extra innings.

Using the tiebreaker rule and placing a runner on second base to start the subsequent innings, the Mounties and Behrend each added a run in the eighth.

In the final inning, Markovich started on second and got to third on a sacrifice bunt by Samantha Grismore (Westfield, NY/Westfield Academy). The freshman then scored on an error by the short stop on a ball hit by Chelsi Riordan (Conneaut Lake, PA/Linesville) for the game-winning run.

In game two, Behrend never trailed thanks to three of its first five hits being doubles. After taking a 2-1 edge, the Lions added four runs in the fourth inning to go up, 6-1. Behrend's first three batters loaded the bases for Leah Griffin (Springboro, PA/Conneaut Valley), who drove in Markovich with a single. Grismore also scored on the play due to an error on the throw to home plate.

With no outs, Sherrieb walked and Fuller reached on by a fielder's choice that sent Riordan in to score. Gruber grounded out to second base to knock in Griffin for the five-run lead.

The Mounties got four runs in the fifth inning to get within one at 6-5, but Markovich hit a three-run double to center field  in the bottom of the sixth to give Behrend some breathing room with one inning left.

Markovich went 3-for-3 in game two, while Gruber ended the day with seven RBIs on five hits.

Julie Heinl (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) went the distance in game one for the win, pitching all 10 innings. Fuller did not give up an earned run in game two for her second straight victory and sixth overall.

The Lions return to action on Tuesday at Pitt-Bradford. The AMCC doubleheader begins at 3 p.m.