Express Fall to Behrend Buzzsaw, Drop 2 vs Conference's Best

AURORA, NY - On Tuesday, the Express softball squad returned home after a 10 day road trip that saw them play 6-straight AMCC away matchups. Despite finally being back on their home turf, they had no time to relish in the return as their opponent was a Penn State Behrend team that boasted a 12-0 conference record and a 24-8 overall mark. Behrend, who has spent the 2024 season cementing themselves as the foremost power in the AMCC, entered the doubleheader on an unprecedented run of softball superiority, defeating 17 of their last 18 opponents, with most of their 8 losses coming early in the season during their trip to Florida. Despite this, the Express hoped to play spoiler and hand the Lions their first loss of the AMCC season. Unfortunately the Express were unable to slow down an incredibly scrappy Behrend lineup and ended up dropping both games to the visitors by scores of 12-4 and 11-0. 

In game 1, the Express managed to out-hit the Lions by a tally of 7-5. 5 errors and 4 walks by the Express defense is what ended up making the difference in the 1st matchup. Without these little differences, the Express may very well have been able to keep it close with the conference leaders. Bailey Friot and Natalie Day each had multi-hit performances in the 1st game, as the pair both recorded 2 hits and 1 double apiece. Day also logged an RBI in the 4th inning of game 1, attempting to keep the proceedings close, but ultimately not sparking enough momentum to overcome an extremely composed Behrend squad. 

Friot ended the day going 3-for-4 with 2 doubles over both games, a solid spot from the stellar sophomore. This boosted her average to a very impressive .333, a great mark for Friot in only her 2nd year at the collegiate level. 

Anna Bernatavitz also had an impactful outing in the 1st game, getting 2 RBI on a 4th-inning sacrifice fly and a 5th-inning single. 

The Express poured it on in the final innings of game 1, but couldn't pull themselves out of the early hole they dug due to the aforementioned errors. The mid-game break slowed their roll, as they only mustered 1 hit in game 2. The 2nd game featured a flamethrower in the circle for Behrend, with the Lions' Kayla Lindberg reaching very high levels of velocity on her way to 11 strikeouts. 

The Express hung in there with Lindberg, battling to induce some high pitch counts, but not getting it done in the end. Behrend hasn't achieved their 14-0 AMCC record through sheer luck though, and the task of upending them was an extremely tall one for a young Express team that hopes to hang with them in the coming years. 

GO EXPRESS!!

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