ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona softball team started its Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference schedule with a pair of wins on Tuesday afternoon, when the Lions swept conference opponent La Roche University in a doubleheader at Stewart Athletic Field.

Penn State Altoona (12-8, 2-0 AMCC) started the day with an 11-3, run rule-shortened victory, then got past the Redhawks (4-14, 0-2 AMCC) by a score of 7-4 in game two.

Game One: Penn State Altoona 11, La Roche 3 (Final/6 innings)

With the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth, Penn State Altoona put together a six-run inning to surge into the lead, and the Lions scored two more runs in the sixth to put the eight-run rule into effect. Penn State Altoona pounded out 16 hits in six frames.

Madalyn Maynard (Towanda, PA/Towanda) led the way at the plate with a 3-for-4 performance with two RBI, and Gianna Hoppel (Lewistown, PA/Mifflin County) was 2-for-3 with two RBI, a run scored, and a walk.

Lauren Davidson (Clearfield, PA/DuBois Central Catholic) was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, Hanna Lauck (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) batted 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, and Allison Beeman (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run. Alyssa Fisher (Lock Haven, PA/Central Mountain) scored three runs and had a stolen base.

In the circle, Josselyn Nau (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) tossed a complete game to record her seventh win of the season, limiting La Roche to three runs across seven innings of work.

In the bottom of the first, Fisher drew a leadoff walk and later stole home on a double steal. Two batters later, Maynard's RBI single up the middle put Penn State Altoona up 2-0. The Lions extended their lead to 3-0 in the second, thanks to Hoppel's RBI single to center.

La Roche knotted the score at 3-3 in the top of the fourth, getting an RBI single to left from Emma Bizay and a two-run double to left from Finley Hohn.

But Penn State Altoona got six runs across in the bottom of the fourth to jump back in front. After hits by Beeman and Madison Sitarek (Huddleston, VA/Century) started the inning, Fisher reached on an outfield error to load the bases with no outs. Davidson, Hoppel, and Lauck followed with three consecutive RBI singles, while another run came home on a La Roche throwing error. Later in the frame, Karli Storm (Chest Springs, PA/Cambria Heights) and Maynard delivered RBI singles to make it 9-3.

The Lions' six-run lead remained until the bottom of the sixth, when Penn State Altoona scored a pair to end the game. With two outs, Beeman's RBI single to right made it 10-3, and Carly Hutchinson's (Wayne, PA/Conestoga) pinch-hit, run-scoring base hit to right-center field activated the eight-run rule and clinched a victory for the home team.

Game Two: Penn State Altoona 7, La Roche 4

Penn State Altoona broke an early 2-2 tie, using a three-run third inning to work its way on top. La Roche narrowed it to a one-run game in the fifth, 5-4, but the Lions added two insurance runs in the sixth and closed the day with a three-run victory. Penn State Altoona had another strong showing at the plate with 13 hits as a team.

Hoppel went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI, and two runs scored, and Storm was also 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run. Fisher was 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run, and Lauck was 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI, a run, and a walk. Beeman contribute two RBI.

Madison Kennedy (Williamsburg, PA/Central) got the nod at pitcher and picked up her fourth win of the season, after going five innings and allowing just one earned run. Sidney Nihart (Ashville, PA/Cambria Heights) tossed one scoreless inning in relief, and Nau pitched a scoreless seventh to register her first collegiate save.

La Roche scored a run in the top of the first inning, when Bizay's groundout brought home a run from third base. But Penn State Altoona countered with two runs in the bottom of the first, getting an RBI double to left center from Hoppel and an RBI single to right from Lauck.

The Redhawks tied the game at 2-2 in the second, as a Rachel Malatok infield hit brought a run home for the visitors.

But Penn State Altoona got back into the lead in the bottom half of the third. Lauck's double and Storm's single opened the inning, and a Maynard base hit filled the bases with no outs. Beeman came next with a two-run single to center, and two batters after that, Fisher's RBI groundout to third made it 5-2.

The Redhawks closed the gap to 5-4 in the top of the fifth, when Maura Wade's fielder's choice brought in one run, and Brooke Murgenovich scored on a throwing error to make it a one-run game.

But Penn State Altoona got those runs back in the sixth. Jillian Taylor (Irvona, PA/Glendale) led off with a walk, and after two outs, a Hoppel RBI single to right made it 6-4. After a Lauck walk, Storm's RBI single to left put the Lions' lead back at three for good.

Next up, Penn State Altoona softball travels for its next AMCC doubleheader this upcoming Saturday, April 5, at Alfred State College. The start time is set for 2 p.m.