LOWER SEEDS PREVAIL ON DAY ONE OF AMCC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT

Both #5 Pitt-Greensburg and #6 Mount Aloysius College earned upset victories on day one of the AMCC Softball Championship Tournament. The Bobcats and the Mounties will now advance in the winners bracket, while the Panthers and Pioneers drop to the losers bracket. 

#5 Pitt-Greensburg d. #4 Pitt-Bradford, 11-3
Fifth-seeded Pitt-Greensburg used a late offensive surge to pull away from Pitt-Bradford, scoring five runs in the seventh inning to secure an 11-3 victory in game one of the AMCC Softball Championship Tournament.

The game was tightly contested early, with Pitt-Bradford taking a 2-1 lead in the third and the teams tied at 3-3 after four innings. Pitt-Greensburg began to create separation in the fifth, capitalizing on timely hitting and a pair of unearned runs to take a 5-3 advantage.

From there, the Bobcats continued to add on, pushing the lead to 6-3 in the sixth before breaking the game open in the seventh. Key extra-base hits from Falynn Reinard and Mckenzie Lamb highlighted the decisive inning, as Pitt-Greensburg plated five runs on four hits.

Offensively, Pitt-Greensburg totaled 12 hits, led by Lamb (2-for-4, 3 RBI), Reinard (2-for-3, 2 RBI), and Autumn Powell, who also earned the complete-game win in the circle. Powell allowed just three runs (two earned) on nine hits while striking out three.

Pitt-Bradford collected nine hits in the loss, with Krislyn Clement going 2-for-3 with an RBI, but the Panthers were unable to keep pace after the middle innings.

With the win, Pitt-Greensburg advances to play #1 seed Penn State Behrend Thursday at 1:00pm.

#6 Mount Aloysius d.  #3 Alfred State, 5-2
No. 6 seed Mount Aloysius stayed alive in the AMCC Softball Tournament with a 5-2 victory over No. 3 seed Alfred State on Wednesday afternoon. The Mounties used a balanced offensive attack and a dominant outing from Jessica Koptcho to secure the win.

Mount Aloysius struck first in the second inning when Taylor Doyle ripped a two-run triple down the right field line to score Maggie Cypher and Aislinn Myers for a 2-0 lead. Alfred State answered in the fourth as Abbie Millard came around to score on a play off the bat of Liana Dion to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The Mounties broke the game open in the sixth inning with three runs on four hits. Ava Doyle delivered an RBI triple, Alysha Cutri followed with an RBI double, and Greysyn Gable added an RBI single to extend the lead to 5-1. Alfred State got one back in the bottom half on Nicole Youngberg’s RBI triple, but Koptcho closed the door from there.

Koptcho earned the complete-game victory, allowing just four hits and one earned run while striking out nine over seven innings. Mount Aloysius totaled 10 hits in the win, with Doyle, Cutri, Myers, and Taylor Doyle each recording two-hit performances.

The Mounties advance in the winners bracket and will take on #2 seed Penn State Altoona on Thursday at 3:00pm.

#4 Pitt-Bradford and #3 Alfred State will sqaure off at 11:00am in the tournament's first elimination game.