ERIE, Pa. – Third seed Penn State Altoona softball split its first two games of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament, as the league's postseason opened on Thursday at Penn State Behrend.

The Lions (20-12) started the tournament with a dominant win, shutting out sixth seed Pitt-Greensburg (10-25) 8-0 in five innings. Penn State Altoona took a loss in its second and final game of the day, falling 5-3 to second seed Mount Aloysius College (19-10).

Penn State Altoona returns to action tomorrow, Friday, May 12, starting day two of the AMCC Tournament with a 9 a.m. matchup against fifth seed Pitt-Bradford in an elimination game.

Game One: #3 Penn State Altoona 8, #6 Pitt-Greensburg 0 (Final/5 innings)

Penn State Altoona played the opening game of the AMCC Tournament on Thursday, facing Pitt-Greensburg, who the Lions ended their regular season schedule against. Penn State Altoona recorded its third straight win over the Bobcats with an eight-run rule shutout victory in five innings.

Madison Peters (Bellefonte, PA/Bald Eagle) pitched a complete game shutout for Penn State Altoona to record her 14th win of the season in the circle. In five innings of work, the right-hander scattered four hits while issuing no walks, and she struck out five batters.

Cameryn Feathers (Martinsburg, PA/Central) was a perfect 3-for-3 with the bat for the Lions, while recording two runs scored, two stolen bases, and one run batted in. Madalyn Maynard (Towanda, PA/Towanda) went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI, and a run scored, and Alyssa Fisher (Lock Haven, PA/Central Mountain) was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.

Gianna Hoppel (Lewistown, PA/Mifflin County) and Hanna Lauck (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) each finished with two RBI.

Penn State Altoona established an early lead by getting three runs home in the bottom of the first inning. After Fisher led off with a double to center and Brooke Colledge (Everett, PA/Everett) reached on an infield error, Hoppel drove both runners in with her base hit to right. Feathers followed with an RBI single to left, making it 3-0.

The Lions added a run to their total in the third. Feathers started the frame with a single down the right field line, stole second, and moved up to third base on Karli Storm's (Chest Springs, PA/Cambria Heights) sacrifice bunt. Next, Lauck hit a sac fly to left, scoring Feathers to increase Penn State Altoona's advantage to 4-0.

After continuing to keep Pitt-Greensburg off the scoreboard, the Lions ended the game early with a four-run fifth inning. Feathers started things off with a base hit to center, then stole second to move into scoring position, where Lauck drove her in with an RBI single. Madison Lucas (Philipsburg, PA/Philipsburg-Osceola) came next with a base hit to right, and Maynard's two-run double to left-center field set Penn State Altoona's lead at seven. After a groundout, Fisher's RBI single to left made it 8-0, sealing a win for the Lions in their first game of the postseason.

Game Two: #2 Mount Aloysius 5, #3 Penn State Altoona 3

Penn State Altoona carried its momentum from game one into its second contest of the day, as the Lions built an early 3-0 lead and rode it into the fourth inning. But Mount Aloysius rallied for five runs in the bottom of the fourth and never looked back, defeating the Lions 5-3.

Peters again got the nod in the pitching circle and tossed a complete game, this time shouldering the loss. In six innings of work, she yielded five runs while striking out four.

Storm had two of Penn State Altoona's six hits, going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored. Lauck finished 1-for-2 with a double, two RBI, and a walk, and Feathers was 1-for-3 with a run scored. Fisher and Lucas also finished with one hit apiece.

Penn State Altoona pounced on Mount Aloysius early, scoring three in the top of the first by coming up with back-to-back two-out hits. With two away and two runners on base, Storm's RBI single to left center put the Lions on the board. Lauck followed that with a two-run double to right center, making it 3-0.

The Lions' three-run lead stood up until the bottom of the fourth, when Mount Aloysius posted its own two-out rally to take the lead, scoring five runs in the frame to jump ahead. With two on and two out, Maggie Cypher's RBI double to right gave the Mounties their first run of the game. Grace Gardini's two RBI double into center tied the score, and RBI singles from Sarah Henninger and Whitney Cole gave Mount Aloysius a 5-3 advantage by the end of the inning.

The Mounties' five-run fourth inning closed the scoring for the game, as Mount Aloysius continued to put up zeroes for the Lions after the top of the first.