BUFFALO, NY – The Penn State Behrend softball team recorded their fourth straight win, defeating Hilbert 8-0 and 6-0 in an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) doubleheader on Thursday night.
The Lions (9-9, 2-2 AMCC) also earned their first pair of conference wins, shutting out the Hawks (4-15, 0-6 AMCC) twice behind the pitching of Rachel Miller (North East, PA/North East) and Madison Zimmer (Carnegie, PA/Chartiers Valley).
Miller threw a one-hit shutout in the opener, striking out 10 of the 21 batters she faced over six innings to match a career high for most K's in a game. Zimmer tallied her second win in two days by allowing just two hits and fanning nine in seven.
The Lions had two big innings in game one to enforce the eight-run rule with three in the fourth and five more in the top of the sixth. Behrend was efficient with eight runs on eight hits to shut out the Hawks.
After leaving six runners stranded in the first three innings, the Lions got on the board in the top of the fourth. Kelsey Heinrich (Brookville, PA/Brookville) drew the walk and stole second, before Miller singled to left field and put runners on the corner. Sarah Blagg (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) scored Heinrich with a single and then came home along with Miller on a double by AJ Nichols (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) for a 3-0 lead.
The five-run sixth inning started just like the fourth, except Miller walked and stole second. Blagg smacked an RBI double to send home Miller for a 4-0 lead. Two more runs scored on an error followed by a ground-out single by Alexa Bupp (Warren, PA/Warren) to score Nichols to make it 7-0. McDonnell tallied the final run for Behrend to end the game early thanks to a hit to center field by Katie Gozzard (Pittsburgh, PA/Deer Lakes).
In game two, Carson Hauser (Westfield, NY/Westfield Academy) went 3-for-4 while Julia Luke (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) tallied two hits, including a triple.
Similar to the opener, the Lions tallied five runs in an inning to pull away from Hilbert for the sweep. Behrend registered all of its extra-base hits in the top of the fifth, getting a double by Nichols and a triple by Bupp and Luke to plate five for a 6-0 lead. The Lions got their first run in the third on a passed all.
Behrend returns to action on Saturday against Franciscan. The doubleheader begins at 1:30 p.m.
