The Lancaster Bible softball team opened North Eastern Athletic Conference play on Friday in Abington, Pa. as the Chargers split a doubleheader with Penn St. Abington. The Chargers won game one, 5-1, while Penn St. Abington took game two, 4-2. Lancaster Bible is now 10-9 overall and 1-1 in conference play, while Penn St. Abington is 7-9 overall and 3-1 in NEAC action.

Game 1
Lancaster Bible 5, Penn St. Abington 1
How it Happened: Lancaster Bible scored two runs in both the first and second innings to grab an early 4-0 lead. Julia D'Arrigo and Zoie Senn each scored a run in the first inning and D'Arrigo figured in the runs for the second inning as well as she doubled home Richelle Kane to make it 3-0. Senn followed with a groundout, but an error on the play allowed her to reach second base and for D'Arrigo to come around and score to make it 4-0.

Penn St. Abington got a run back in the bottom half of the second, but Lancaster Bible starter Kelsey Collins was brilliant after that and held the Nittany Lions' bats in-check. An Ali Morton single in the fifth inning drove in Collins to restore the Chargers' four-run lead. Collins allowed just one hit in the final three innings as the Chargers earned the 5-1 victory.

Inside the Box Score: Senn and Collins each finished 2-for-4 with a run scored...D'Arrigo was 1-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI...Kane finished 1-for-3 with a run scored...Collins allowed just four hits in seven innings as she struck out three and did not allow an earned run.

Extra Bases: This is the second straight season the Chargers have won their opening NEAC game of the season, but also the second straight season they dropped game two.

Game 2
Penn St. Abington 4, Lancaster Bible 2
How it Happened: Penn St. Abington scored twice in the bottom of the first to take an early two-run lead. Lancaster Bible cut its deficit in half in the top of the third as D'Arrigo scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-1 in favor of Penn St. Abington. The Nittany Lions got their run back in the bottom of the third and added another in the fourth inning to make it 4-1. 

The Chargers battled and made it a 4-2 game in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly from Senn that scored Kane. Lancaster Bible brought the tying run to the plate in the sixth inning, but could not convert and lost game two, 4-2.

Inside the Box Score: D'Arrigo finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk...Samantha Denson was also 2-for-3, while Morgan Burkholder was 1-for-3...Lancaster Bible had just five hits...D'Arrigo started and pitched 3 1/3 innings as she scattered six hits, struck out three and walked three...Collins pitched the final 2 2/3 innings and didn't allow a run or hit, while walking one. 

Extra Bases: Collins has not allowed an earned run in 10 2/3 innings, a stretch of three games...She is tied for the conference lead with five wins, and her 1.73 earned run average is the fifth-best in the conference.

Up Next: Lancaster Bible hosts Penn St. Berks on Tuesday...First pitch of game one is scheduled for 3 p.m.