ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend softball team split an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) doubleheader with Pitt-Bradford, winning game one 6-2 and then surrendering the second contest 2-1 on Thursday afternoon.
Mackenzie McIntire (Stoneboro, PA/Lakeview) went 3-for-4 with three RBI and two doubles in game one for the Lions (18-8, 7-3 AMCC). AJ Nichols (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler) pitched five innings and fanned three while giving up one earned run for her 10th win.
The Panthers (9-9, 1-1 AMCC) got their first conference win and snapped Behrend's seven-game winning streak with a one-run victory in the nightcap. Pitt-Bradford tallied six hits and scored three runs on the day, coming away with the split with two runs in the fifth inning in game two.
The Lions had two big innings in the first. Behrend scored four in the first and two more in the fifth behind 11 hits. Four straight hits helped the Lions grab the early lead. Alexa Bupp (Warren, PA/Warren) singled and then Nichols got Katie Gozzard (Pittsburgh, PA/Deer Lakes) home with a single to left field for a 1-0 lead.
McIntire hit one of two doubles to send home Bupp, before Nichols came off third on a Kristen Kargol (Saegertown, PA/Cambridge Springs) single to right field. McIntire came around on a sacrifice fly by Jillian Williams (Corry, PA/Corry) for a four-run advantage.
The Panthers made it 4-1 in the fourth, but Behrend tallied two more runs off McIntire's second double to score Bupp and Nichols.
In game two, Pitt-Bradford scored two runs with two outs in the fifth off one hit. Jenna Fellows and Natalie Harding both were walked and reached the plate on a triple to center field by Madison East.
The Lions got a run in the bottom of the frame with a double from Nichols to score Bupp for the lone Behrend run of the nightcap.
J. Williams got the start and the loss in the circle. Gozzard went 2-for-4 with a double. The Lions tallied five hits and stranded 10.
Behrend returns to action on Saturday against Pitt-Greensburg beginning at 1 p.m.
