SCHUYLKILL HAVEN, Pa. – Penn State Schuylkill Softball played in their final home contest of the regular season on Sunday, splitting their matchup with Penn State Beaver.
Game One: Penn State Beaver 3, Penn State Schuylkill 2
Penn State Beaver was the first team to score in the opening matchup, earning their first run of the contest in the top of the second. Beaver extended their lead to 2-0 during the next frame as a batter flew out to right field with third base occupied.
Kaely Walshaw (Dornsife, PA / Line Mountain High School) reached first base on an error and advanced to second base as Tayla Jones (Pottsville, PA / Pottsville Area High School) singled to centerfield. Both players advanced to third and second bases, respectively, on the next play and would make it home following an error, evening the score at 2-2 heading into the top of the seventh inning.
A double and a single in the top of the seventh gave Beaver a 3-2 lead before receiving their third out of the inning and ultimately closing Schuylkill out in the bottom of the frame.
Jones, Morgan Kleckner (Hamburg, PA / Hamburg Area High School), Emma Crisswell (Williamstown, PA / Williams Valley High School), Cealinn McGroarty (New Boston, PA / Mahanoy Area High School) all hit singles for Schuylkill in the loss.
Game Two: Penn State Schuylkill 5, Penn State Beaver 1
A double by Jones and two consecutive groundouts gave Schuylkill the first run of the second matchup in the bottom of the second inning. An error by Schuylkill in the top of the third gave Beaver their first run of the contest, evening the score at 1-1.
Momentum continued to swing as consecutive singles in the bottom of the fourth by Megan Marks (Lancaster, PA / Manheim Township High School), McGroarty, and Jade Weiss (Pottsville, PA / Pottsville Area High School) gave Schuylkill a 2-1 advantage heading into the top of the fifth.
After limiting Beaver's scoring opportunities in the top of the fifth, Schuylkill caught fire at bat, as consecutive singles by Kleckner, Youst, and Walshaw loaded the bases for Schuylkill. The next batter, Jones, made four consecutive singles for Schuylkill as she drove in a run for Kleckner. An error on the next play brought home Youst and Walshaw and extended Schuylkill's lead to 5-1, a lead which they would hold on to for the remainder of the contest.
Weiss and Jones hit doubles while Crisswell led the team with two RBIs. Crisswell also won her pitching matchup on the mound while striking out eight batters.
Schuylkill (15-9 overall, 7-5 PSUAC) will return to action on Friday, April 12th as they travel to Penn State Greater Allegheny.
