Lady Lions go up 2-0 in Du Bois series

By: Matylda Zamudio

DU BOIS, Pa. — The Penn State Beaver women's softball team defeated PSUAC rival Penn State Du Bois in both games of the doubleheader on Monday night.

Beaver took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second and held Du Bois scoreless in the next three innings. The Lady Lions then put up another two runs in the fifth to take a 4-0 edge over the PSUAC rivals. While Du Bois finally landed on the board with one run in the bottom of the sixth, it wasn't enough to overcome the early deficit, giving Beaver a 4-1 victory in the first game.

Freshman Taylor Johnson (San Antonio/ East Central) led the way for Beaver in the first game, where she went 1 for 3, recorded 1 RBI and one run. Taylor Johnson was followed by freshman Tyler Johnson (San Antonio/ East Central), who also went 2 for 4 at bat and earned one run.

Senior Vanessa Jackson (Snohomish) took the mound for Beaver in game one (W, 17-2), where she pitched a complete game. Jackson allowed six hits and struck out four of the 26 batters she faced. She has a current ERA of 1.43.

The Lady Lion batters were on fire in game two and forged a six-run inning in the top of the first followed by another four runs in the next inning to pull ahead 10-4. Beaver had a repeat performance of four runs in the top of the third and wrapped the inning 14-6. The Lady Lions weren't done yet and racked up one more run in the fourth before the Mercy rule ended the game. Beaver won the second game 15-6.

Senior Brenna Cepull (Monaca/Central Valley) led the offense in game two, where she went 3 for 3 at bat and recorded 3 RBIs followed by junior Jessica Hughes (Hopewell), who went 1 for 2 and earned 3 RBIs.

Hughes, who was on the mound for Beaver in game two (W, 7-3), after she gave up six runs on 10 hits in the four innings she pitched, struck out one of 25 batters she faced. Sophomore Natalie Larkin (Center Twp./Central Valley), who relieved Hughes, faced the final four batters of the game.

Beaver improves to 27-10 overall and 16-2 in the conference. The Lady Lions will host Penn State Du Bois in their final two games of the regular season on April 22. Game one begins at 2 p.m. and game two begins at 4 p.m.