ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend softball team swept Penn State Altoona 8-0 (5) and 12-3 (5) in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon.
Noteworthy:
* The Behrend Lions clinched the AMCC Regular-Season Championship with a 14-2 record
* The Lions earned hosting rights and the No. 1 seed for the AMCC Tournament next weekend
Game One: Penn State Behrend 8, Penn State Altoona 0 (5 innings)
Records: Penn State Behrend (19-13, 13-2 AMCC), Penn State Altoona (18-10, 12-3 AMCC)
* Ashleigh Schmidt (Sarver, PA/Freeport) threw a no-hitter through 4.2 innings of work
* Schmidt struck out three to secure her ninth win and tie for second in the AMCC for most wins this season
* Half of the Lions hits were extra base with two doubles and a homer
* Schmidt and Cami McNany (Emlenton, PA/Allegheny-Clarion Valley) each doubled and drove in two runs each in the four hit, six run second inning
* C. McNany got her third RBI in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly to score Amy Nolte (Imperial, PA/West Allegheny) to make it 7-0
* Emi Curcio (Perryopolis, PA/Frazier) smashed her first collegiate home run in the bottom of the fifth to invoke the eight-run rule
* Gianna Hoppel tallied the lone hit for Altoona while hurler Casey Reese drops to 8-7 in the circle
Game Two: Penn State Behrend 12, Penn State Altoona 3 (5)
Records: Penn State Behrend (20-13, 13-2 AMCC), Penn State Altoona (18-11, 12-4 AMCC)
* The Lions held Altoona scoreless in three of the five innings
* Behrend got on the board first with a bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly from Kylee Bundy (DuBois, PA/DuBois) for a quick 2-0 lead
* Altoona managed a pair of runs in the second, before Jocelyn McNany (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) gave the Lions the lead for good with a three-run home run with two outs showing
* Nolte had a hand in the next three runs with a double to left field for an 8-2 lead
* Nolte finished with a career-high five RBI on the day
* The Lions added four more runs in the fourth on two hits
* Kayla Lindberg (Austinburg, Ohio/Geneva) got the start and stuck out three to help Behrend secure the sweep
Next Up:
* The Behrend Lions will host the AMCC Tournament beginning on Friday, May 6. More details to follow.
