BUFFALO, NY – The Penn State Behrend softball team split on the second day of the AMCC Championships, falling to top-seed D'Youville 5-1 and then staying alive by defeating La Roche 6-2 in the second game on Saturday afternoon.
The Lions (23-14) will face the Spartans tomorrow in the championship game at 10 a.m. Behrend will need to defeat D'Youville twice to claim the AMCC crown.
In game one, the Spartans relied on pitcher Kalie McHenry to remain undefeated in tournament play. McHenry picked up her 21st win in the circle by allowing just four hits and striking out eight.
D'Youville scored all five runs before the Lions could get on the board with their lone run. In the top of the sixth, Sarah Blagg (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) singled to left field and then scored on Allania Banta's (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) hit into center field.
Leah Griffin (Springboro, PA/Conneaut Valley) tallied two hits for Behrend, while Rachel Miller (North East, PA/North East) pitched four innings in the loss.
Against the Redhawks, the Lions plated all six runs in the first three innings and held La Roche to a pair of runs in first inning to advance to the title game.
Shannon McDonnell (Fayston, VA/Harwood Union) went 2-for-3 in the nightcap, while Amanda Krolczyk (Union City, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) smacked a three-run homer for Behrend. Alexa Bupp (Warren, PA/Warren) threw the complete game for the win and struck out four batters.
Behrend countered the Redhawks two runs in the first with three in the bottom of the frame to take the lead and keep it for good. Blagg led off the first inning with a walk and Banta did the same, before they scored along with Krolczyk on her three-run homer.
Blagg's RBI single scored Kelsey Heinrich (Brookville, PA/Brookville) in the second for a 4-2 lead and four hits scored two runs in the third for a 6-2 advantage. With one out, Behrend recorded three straight hits, including a double from Bupp and then a single from Julia Luke (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) that drove in McDonnell.
Bupp tallied the final run on Griffin's double to left field for the final margin.
