PENN STATE BEHREND WINS 12TH AMCC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Penn State Behrend captured their 12th overall AMCC Softball Championship in dramatic fashion on Saturday afternoon at Heindl Field in DuBois, PA. 

The Behrend Lions held off a furious late rally from Penn State Altoona to earn an 8-7 victory on Saturday in AMCC softball tournament action. The Lions built an early lead and survived a six-run final two innings from Altoona to advance.

Penn State Behrend struck first on a solo home run from Chloe Nale in the opening inning before adding three more runs across the second and third frames. Athena Iverson paced the Behrend offense with two hits, two runs scored, and an RBI, while Lexi Edgett and Meghan Swain each drove in runs during the early surge.

After Penn State Altoona cut the deficit to 4-1 in the fourth, Behrend responded with a four-run fifth inning aided by a hit batter and a pair of Altoona errors to extend the advantage to 8-1.

Altoona mounted a dramatic comeback in the sixth, scoring five runs on RBI efforts from Kendal Wadsworth, Olivia Werkheiser, Alexa Baney, and Gracie Wilt to pull within two. Madison Kennedy then opened the seventh inning with a solo homer to trim the deficit to 8-7, but Alyssa Tingley closed the door to earn the save.

Werkheiser finished 2-for-3 with two RBI for Altoona, while Kennedy added two hits and scored twice. Abby Tingley earned the win in the circle for Behrend after striking out three over 5.1 innings.

With the win, the Behrend Lions earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and await the NCAA Division III selection show on Monday at 11 a.m.

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All-Tournament Team:
Penn State Behrend - Hannah Smith, Alexia Brown, Meghan Swain
Penn State Altoona - Riley Best, Karli Storm, Olivia Werkeiser
Mount Aloysius - Jessica Koptcho, Taylor Doyle
Pitt-Bradford - Miranda Groll, Lilly Hamels
Pitt-Greensburg - Jessica Dunn, Autumn Powell
Alfred State - Emma Edwards, Nicole Youngberg