BUFFALO, NY – Sarah Blagg (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) went a combined 7-for-8 with seven RBI and four runs to lead Penn State Behrend softball team past Medaille 13-4 (six innings) and 7-1 in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) action on Wednesday.
The Lions (22-10, 14-2 AMCC) tied a season high with 20 hits and knocked in a season-best three triples in an abbreviated 13-4 game-one win. Blagg went 5-for-5 with a career-high five RBI and three runs in the opener. Rachel Miller continues to lead the team with 10 wins in the circle. She pitched five innings, threw 67 strikes and struck out eight batters while only giving up four hits.
Behrend recorded two of its three triples in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. AJ Nichols (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) got the first one to score Blagg and then Shannon McDonnell (Fayston, VT/Hardwood Union) knocked in Nichols with a three bagger.
The Mavericks (16-14, 7-9 AMCC) made it 2-1 after the first, but the Lions would score 11 more runs over the five innings for the conference win. Two RBI singles added two more runs in the second thanks to Katie Gozzard (Pittsburgh, PA/Deer Lakes) and Blagg for a 4-1 advantage.
Behrend went ahead 10-1 with six runs on five hits in the top of the fourth. Medaille's final three runs were tallied in the fifth, but the Lions closed out the scoring with one in the fifth and two in the sixth to place the eight-run rule into effect.
In game two, Gozzard went 3-for-3 with a double and Blagg was 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run. Alexa Bupp (Warren, PA/Warren) pitched a complete game, allowing six hits and one earned run while fanning 10 for her fifth win.
The Lions took a 7-0 lead before the Mavericks got on the board with their lone run in the seventh. Blagg got the only hit and run in the first inning. She doubled and advanced to second on an error and reached third on a fielder's choice on McDonnell's at bat. Blagg scored on the throw to second to try and catch McDonnell stealing for a 1-0 edge.
Three hits and two errors turned into four runs and a 5-0 lead in the third. The final two runs happened in the sixth and all in the same play. Blagg singles and advanced to second on the throw while Carson Hauser (Westfield, NY/Westfield Academy) got the second out of the play, Gozzard and Kelsey Heinrich (Brookville, PA/Brookville) scored.
A sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh got Medaille its only run to give Behrend the sweep and its 14th straight conference victory.
The Lions return home on Saturday for their final regular-season doubleheader against Penn State Altoona. Games are 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
