The Lancaster Bible College softball team opened North Eastern Athletic Conference play with two losses at Penn St. Berks on Thursday in Reading, Pa. The Chargers dropped game one, 8-0 in five innings and fell 7-1 in game two, and are now 2-16 overall this season and 0-2 in conference play, while the Nittany Lions improved to 6-7-1 overall and 2-0 in NEAC action.
 
Penn St. Berks 8, Lancaster Bible 0 -- Game 1
How it Happened: Lancaster Bible held Penn St. Berks off the scoreboard through the first two innings, as Chargers' starter Nicole DeKok kept the Nittany Lion bats quiet and off-balance…The Nittany Lions put a run across the plate in the third on a sacrifice fly, and then added two runs in the bottom half of the fourth inning to grab a 3-0 lead…After the Chargers went down in order in the top of the fifth, the Nittany Lions scored five times in the bottom half of the inning on two hits and an error.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible had just one hit in game one, as sophomore Marissa Senn doubled down the left field line in the top of the third…Freshman Kendra Brown drew two walks in her two plate appearances…DeKok pitched well despite the loss, tossing four innings and allowing just five hits, while giving up three earned runs.
 
Penn St. Berks 7, Lancaster Bible 1 – Game 2
How it Happened: The Nittany Lions scored in the first inning, but Lancaster Bible starter Martina McCauley limited the damage and got out of the inning, and then held Penn St. Berks scoreless in the second and third innings…Sophomore Katie Kleinhans singled in the second inning for the Chargers, and then doubled to left field in the fourth inning, which scored freshman Bekah Roberts who had doubled just prior to Kleinhans…The tie game didn't last long however, as the Nittany Lions scored six times in the bottom half of the fourth on six hits…Kleinhans double in the fourth would be the final hit of the game for the Chargers, who had just two baserunners the rest of the way.
 
By the Numbers: Kleinhans finished 2-for-3 with an RBI in game two, while Roberts was 1-for-3 with a run scored…Rheeana Miles and DeKok each drew a walk in game two…McCauley allowed seven runs and struck out three, while walking two.
 
Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 3-23 all-time against Penn St. Berks…The Chargers are 0-14 away from home this season…Game two marked the second time in four games the Chargers have had two doubles in the same contest.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible is scheduled to host SUNY Poly on Saturday at 1 p.m....Stay tuned to the website for updates due to possible inclement weather.