The AMCC softball semifinals saw a pair of two-game sweeps on Wednesday, as #1 Penn State Behrend took two games from #5 Penn State Altoona and #3 Mount Aloysius College produced two shutout performances, besting #7 La Roche University, to advance to the AMCC Championship series.
#1 Penn State Behrend vs. #5 Penn State Altoona
In game one, Behrend took down the Altoona Lions, 8-0 in a five inning game. The game remained scoreless until the Behrend Lions jumped to a 1-0 lead in the third after an Altoona error. Behrend had a big fourth inning, scoring six runs on six hits. Behrend scored one more run in the bottom of the fifth to finish the game with an eight run lead. Mackenzie McIntire tallied two doubles to bring her career total to 51, good for best in Behrend history. Marissa Torretti went 3-for-4 with two RBIs while Angela Dale hit her first double of the season and recorded two hits and two RBIs. Kayla Lindberg secured her seventh win of the season on the mound and struck out six batters. She tallied her second shutout and eighth complete game of the season.
Behrend won the second game of the series against the Altoona Lions, 6-1. The Behrend Lions took a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning off an error and an RBI by Samantha Manioci. Behrend continued to hold Altoona scoreless until they loaded the bases and scored one run in the fourth, making the score 5-1. The Behrend Lions scored one more run in the sixth with another RBI from Manioci. Kylee Bundy tallied two hits and two RBIs in game two. Maria Jones registered the win on the mound, improving to 7-1 on the season. Ashleigh Schmidt had her first save of the season, pitching the last three innings and striking out four batters.
#3 Mount Aloysius College vs. #7 La Roche University
Mount Aloysius took game one with the 4-0 victory over the Redhawks. Neither team scored until the bottom of the third inning, with each team only having one hit. With two runners on in the third, the Mounties attempted a double steal play, getting Kayla Diehl caught in a rundown, but allowing Grace Gardini to score from third, giving them a 1-0 lead. Mount Aloysius added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth, extending the Mountie lead to 4-0. Each team produced only one hit over the next two frames, heading to the seventh with Mount Aloysius ahead, 4-0. In the seventh, the Redhawks loaded the bases with only one out, on three consecutive singles. However, pitcher Madison Hillard got the next batter to line into a near-double play, before getting the final batter to ground out to second, to end the game.
The second game saw even less scoring, as the Mounties' edged out the 2-0 win. Starting pitcher Lexi Wilt only allowed three Redhawk hits for the contest.
Mount Aloysius threatened in the third, when the Mount put runners at second and third, with two outs, but were unable to score. During their next turn at bat, Tawnya Holben singled to start the inning, then was advanced to second with a sacrifice bunt. The next batter, Mattie Harr, turned and sent a pitch over the left field fence, for her second homerun of the season, giving the Mounties a 2-0 advantage.
Penn State Behrend and Mount Aloysius will meet for the AMCC Championship on Saturday, May 15. The best-of-three series will take place at Penn State Behrend with the first pitch slated for 12:00pm. The Lions are looking to win their ninth AMCC Championship and first since 2017. Two-time defending AMCC Champion, Mount Aloysius, will be looking for their third conference title. Saturday's winner will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA national tournament.