CRESSON, Pa. – Hurler Julie Heinl (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) only surrendered six hits and two runs to collect a pair of wins, leading Penn State Behrend past Mt. Aloysius 2-1 and 6-5 in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) softball action on Sunday.
Heinl threw a complete game in the opener for the Lions (9-15), giving up just one run on five hits and striking out seven. She also came in the second game and faced 10 batters for one hit to earn the second win of the day.
In game one, Behrend scored both runs off sacrifice fly balls in the fifth and sixth inning to get the come-back victory. Kelsey Fuller (Albion, PA/Northwestern) went 2-for-3, including a fly out to center field to knock in Leah Griffin (Springboro, PA/Conneaut Valley), who started off the fifth inning with a double.
Griffin then flied out to left field for the second out in the top of the sixth to send home Stacey Herzog (Smethport, PA/Smethport) for a 2-1 lead that would not relinquish.
The Mounties lone run in the third inning was off a home run by Lindsay Sammarco to lead off the frame.
The Lions completed the sweep with another one-run win in the nightcap. Herzog got her second double of the day to score Kelly Hedderick (Waterford, PA/Mercyhurst) for the game-winning run in the bottom of the eight.
Katie Kirik (Union City, PA/Union City), Fuller and Herzog each tallied two hits, while Hedderick drove in a pair of runs.
Each team got a run early on, but Behrend opened up the scoring with three runs in the fifth inning. The Lions advanced bases on passed balls, before a Hedderick singles sent Fuller and Kirik to the plate.
Mt. Aloysius quickly regained a one-run lead with four runs in the bottom of the sixth.
In true Behrend fashion, the Lions rallied back with a run in the seventh to send the game into extra innings. Griffin started the seventh with a single and then scored on an RBI single by Sydney Sherrieb (Washington, PA/Trinity).
The Mounties flied out for three easy outs, before getting the game-winning hit from Herzog in the top of the eighth.
Behrend returns to action on Tuesday at D'Youville. The doubleheader begins at 3 p.m.
