The Penn St. Berks softball team showed why they are the top team in the North Eastern Athletic Conference South Division on Tuesday as the Nittany Lions took both games of a doubleheader from Lancaster Bible in Lancaster, Pa.. Penn St. Berks won game one, 13-0 in five innings and took game two, 14-3. Lancaster Bible drops to 10-11 overall and 1-3 in conference play with the losses, while the Nittany Lions are now 18-3 overall and 8-0 in NEAC action.
Game 1
Penn St. Berks 13, Lancaster Bible 0 (5 innings)How it Happened: Penn St. Berks capitalized on a key error by Lancaster Bible in the first inning and had four straight hits at one point as the Nittany Lions scored five times in the opening frame and cruised to a game one victory. Penn St. Berks would score at least one run in every inning, while the Chargers were held hitless by Nittany Lions starter Jess Rozick. Rozick, a freshman, walked just three and threw her second no-hitter in the past six days as she struck out 11.
Inside the Box Score: Zoie Senn,
Courtney Koser and
Kelsey Collins each drew a walk in game one...Game one marked the first time since Lancaster Bible brought softball back as a varsity sport in 2014 that the Chargers have been no-hit.
Game 2
Penn St. Berks 14, Lancaster Bible 3How it Happened: Game two was scoreless for the first four innings as Penn St. Berks starter Megan Olsen and Lancaster Bible starter
Kelsey Collins were locked in a pitcher's duel. Penn St. Berks opened the game up in the fifth inning however as they smashed five hits and capitalized on three Lancaster Bible errors in the inning en route to six runs. Three of the six runs scored in the inning were the direct result of an error as miscues plagued the Chargers all day long.
Lancaster Bible cut its deficit in half in the bottom of the sixth inning as
Ali Morton hit a two-run double that scored
McKayla Smucker and
Zoie Senn.
Morgan Burkholder followed with a single to plate Morton as the Chargers cut Penn St. Berks' lead to 6-3. Lancaster Bible brought the tying run to the plate later in the inning, but did not score again.
Penn St. Berks put the game away in the top of the seventh as the Nittany Lions scored eight runs on eight hits and two more Lancaster Bible errors.
Inside the Box Score: Senn finished 1-for-4 with a run scored...Morton finished 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI...Burkholder was 1-for-3 with an RBI...
Samantha Denson was 1-for-2 with a walk...Collins pitched five innings, allowed eight hits and six runs, but just one was earned.
Extra Bases: Lancaster Bible is now 3-15 all-time against Penn St. Berks...The Nittany Lions have won 12 straight games...Lancaster Bible had 12 errors over the two games...The two teams will play again later this month in Reading, Pa. on April 23.