Grismore Lifts Lions Past D'Youville

ERIE, Pa. – Samantha Grismore (Westfield, NY/Westfield Academy) had the game-winning hits in both game one and two to lead the Penn State Behrend softball team past D'Youville in an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) doubleheader on Thursday.

The Lions (16-0, 10-2 AMCC) swept the defending AMCC Champions with scores of 5-4 in each game thanks to Grismore's game-winning RBI doubles. In the bottom of the seventh in game one, Grismore made her only hit count to score Amy Greene (Erie, PA/Strong Vincent) for the winning run.

In the second game, Grismore pulled out her heroics in the fifth inning. With two outs on the board, she smacked a double to left center to send home Ashley Gruber (Burton, OH/Berkshire) for the 5-4 edge that would hold up in the final two innings.

Behrend not only had help from Grismore in game one, but Gruber had two extra-base hits, a home run in the third and a double in the fourth to help the Lions come back from a 4-2 deficit. Her team-best sixth home run to lead off the third made it 4-3 and she returned in the fourth with an RBI double to even the score after Julie Heinl (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) reached home.

In addition to Gruber, Greene also had a pair of hits and two RBIs. Heinl won the battle on the hill for the eighth time this season, giving up five hits and four runs.

Gruber had a repeat performance in game two, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs. She also recorded another double to move her into a tie for second place in career doubles with 37. She needs three more to break the record.

After scoring the first run of the game in the third off Gruber's double, the Spartans took the lead with four runs in the fourth. Behrend had déjà vu from game one, finding itself battling back from a deficit.

Sydney Sherrieb (Washington, PA/Trinity) and Chelsi Riordan (Conneaut Lake, PA/Linesville) started off the bottom of the fifth with hits. Shana Merkle, who was pinch running for Sherrieb, scored on Gruber's fielder's choice.

Kelsey Fuller (Albion, PA/Northwestern) reached on a sacrifice and fielding error, before scoring with Riordan on Greene's single to left field to knot the game at 4-all. The rally continued and Grismore sent Gruber home with a double to left center for the game-winning run.

Fuller gave up one earned run on five hits for the victory in game two.  

The Lions return to action on Saturday at Pitt-Greensburg. The AMCC doubleheader begins at 1 p.m.