#1 PENN ST. BEHREND, #2 PENN ST. ALTOONA TO MEET IN AMCC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

#1 Penn State Behrend and #2 Penn State Altoona survived Friday's slate of games to advance to the AMCC Championship Game on Saturday at 12:00pm, while Pitt-Bradford and Mount Aloysius were each eliminated from the tournament. 

#1 Penn State Behrend d. #6 Mount Aloysius, 5-4
Top-seeded Penn State Behrend rallied late to edge sixth-seeded Mount Aloysius College, 5-4, on Friday in winner's bracket action in the AMCC Softball Championship Tournament. With the win, Penn State Behrend advances to the Championship Game, while Mount Aloysius falls into the loser's bracket.

After a scoreless first three innings, Behrend struck first in the fourth when Julia Jones delivered an RBI single to bring home Alexia Brown. Mount Aloysius answered in the fifth, taking a 2-1 lead behind RBI singles from Taylor Doyle and Isabela Marquez, capitalizing on a pair of defensive miscues.

The Mounties added another run in the sixth on Greysyn Gable's RBI single to go ahead 3-1, but Behrend responded with a decisive three-run bottom half. Chloe Nale doubled home a run before Hannah Smith tied the game with an RBI double. Moments later, Meghan Swain dropped down a bunt single that allowed Smith to score the go-ahead run.

Mount Aloysius tied the game at 4-4 in the seventh on Sarah Henninger's sacrifice fly, but Behrend answered in walk-off fashion in the bottom half. With two outs, Hannah Smith lined a single through the left side to score Alexia Brown and seal the 5-4 victory.

Smith finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs for the Lions, while Brown scored three times. Alyssa Tingley earned the win in relief, tossing the final two innings. Mount Aloysius totaled 10 hits in the loss, including multi-hit performances from Taylor Doyle, Alysha Cutri, and Isabela Marquez.

#2 Penn State Altoona d. #4 Pitt-Bradford, 11-3 (5 innings)
Second-seeded Penn State Altoona erupted for 11 runs over the first three innings and rolled to an 11-3 five-inning victory over fourth-seeded Pitt-Bradford in the elimination game on Friday afternoon. Penn State Altoona moves on to play in the Friday nightcap vs Mount Aloysius to determine who advances to the Championship game, while Pitt-Bradford was eliminated from the tournament. 

Penn State Altoona wasted no time taking control, plating four runs in the opening inning and adding two more in the second. The Lions then broke the game open with a five-run third inning highlighted by a grand slam from Riley Best. Best finished a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with eight RBI, accounting for the majority of Altoona's offense.

Alexa Baney and Gracie Wilt each scored twice, while Karli Storm crossed the plate three times and added an RBI. Madison Kennedy collected two hits as Altoona piled up 12 hits overall.

Pitt-Bradford managed four hits in the loss, including a double from Kailey Ripley. Miranda Groll, Lilly Hamels, and Keelie Schneider each drove in a run for the Panthers, who scored twice in the fourth inning.

Josselyn Nau earned the win in the circle for Penn State Altoona, allowing three runs — just one earned — on four hits while striking out one across five innings.


#2 Penn State Altoona d. #6 Mount Aloysius, 6-1
Behind a solid offensive effort and four RBI from Madison Kennedy, #2 seed Penn State Altoona rolled to a 6-1 victory over #6 seed Mount Aloysius in Friday evening's elimination game to advance to the AMCC Championship Game slated for Saturday afternoon. 

Penn State Altoona struck first in the opening inning when Kennedy delivered a two-run single up the middle to score Alexa Baney and Gracie Wilt for an early 2-0 lead. Mount Aloysius cut the deficit in half in the fifth after Ava Doyle ripped an RBI triple to right field to bring home Hanna Stedman.

The Lions quickly answered in the bottom of the fifth, using a two-run double from Kennedy and an additional run that scored on an outfield error to extend the advantage to 5-1. Altoona added one more run in the sixth to seal the victory.

Kennedy finished 2-for-4 with four RBI and a double, while Karli Storm went 3-for-4 and Gracie Wilt added two hits and scored twice. Penn State Altoona piled up 13 hits in the win. Riley Best earned the victory in the circle, allowing just one run on three hits over five innings before Kennedy tossed two scoreless innings in relief.

Ava Doyle accounted for Mount Aloysius' lone RBI, while Isabela Marquez collected two of the team's four hits.

The AMCC Championship Game between No. 1 Penn State Behrend and No. 2 Penn State Altoona is slated for 12:00 p.m. Saturday at Rose & Dennis Heindl Field in DuBois, PA. Should Penn State Altoona win that game to give Behrend their first loss in the tournament, a final game will be played to determine the conference champion.