GREENSBURG, Pa. – Senior Ashley Gruber (Burton, OH/Berkshire) tied Penn State Behrend's career doubles record, hitting a pair of two-baggers in a 7-3 victory in the nightcap to help the Lions complete the sweep at Pitt-Greensburg in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) softball action on Saturday.
Behrend (18-10, 12-2 AMCC) won the opener of the doubleheader in dramatic fashion with a 7-6 decision in nine innings to give head coach Stacy Pondo her 200th career victory with the Lions. Gruber is now tied with Beth Calhoun '98 for the program record (39) and is five away from breaking the single-season mark of 16 set by teammate Amy Greene (Erie, PA/Strong Vincent) in 2009.
Facing a do-or-die situation in the top of the seventh, Callie Markovich (Edinboro, PA/Northwestern) an RBI double with two outs and two strikes to score pinch runner Chloe Vernon (Sharon, PA/Kennedy Catholic) to tie the game at 4-all and force extra innings.
The Lions and the Bobcats (15-11, 9-5 AMCC) each added two runs in the eighth to push the game into the ninth. Pitcher Julie Heinl (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) was placed on second and scored the game-winning run on an error by the shortstop on Gruber's at bat. Heinl then got the first two outs in the bottom of the ninth and struck out the third batter for the win.
Samantha Grismore (Westfield, NY/Westfield Academy) and Kayla Miller (Springboro, PA/Conneaut Valley) each led with three hits in the opener, while Heinl posted her fifth straight win in the circle.
In game two, Greene was responsible for two out of six extra-base hits recorded with a pair of home runs in back-to-back appearances at the plate.
Pitt-Greensburg got on the board first in the nightcap, but Behrend seven runs to go ahead for good. In the second, Markovich doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring on an error to make it 1-all.
Greene took over the offense from here, hitting her first two-run homer in the third for a 3-1 lead. She brought her bat out again in the fifth with her sixth long ball of the season to also score Gruber, who tied the program record with her second double to get on base.
The Bobcats tallied an unearned run in the fifth and seventh for the final margin.
Kelsey Fuller (Albion, PA/Northwestern) recorded the win in game two, pitching seven innings and striking out three with one earned run to go against her.
The Lions return to action on Wednesday at Buffalo State. The non-conference doubleheader begins at 3:30 p.m.
