Myrtle Beach, SC – The Penn State Greater Allegheny Softball Team (1-1, 0-0) saw dominant pitching performances from their two hurlers on the mound in Tuesday’s split of doubleheader action. They dropped the first game of the day to Cumberland County College 4-0 and then came back and defeated Lincoln College 13-4 in five innings.
Tara Love (Chandler, AZ./Campo Verde HS) took the mound for her first start in a PSUGA uniform in game one. She was brilliant through the first four innings of play allowing just three hits and holding Cumberland off the board. However, a three run fifth inning would be the downfall for PSUGA on the day. An RBI Triple, Double, and groundout back-to-back-to-back gave Cumberland the lead and they held on for the 4-0 win.
Love pitched well in her PSUGA debut going the complete six innings giving up four runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out six. Love is the younger of the two pitchers on the PSUGA staff and showed that she can hold her own and give her team a chance to win night in and night out.
It was the veteran of the staff Lacie Lautner’s (Pleasant Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) turn to take the mound against Lincoln College. After allowing one run in the top of the first, her offense would score more than enough runs to secure the victory in the bottom half. 12 runs would score in the inning courtesy of just one hit, three walks, one error, and three hits by pitches. Lautner would get the lone hit in the inning, a 2 RBI triple to get the offense going.
Lautner would settle down the rest of the game going the complete five innings in the win giving up four runs on six hits while walking one and striking out seven. She is coming off of a season where she was named the Penn State University Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year and is trying to continue to build upon that effort this season.
Lautner led the offense on the day going a combined 2-6 with two triples and three RBI. Hayley Maksin (Port Vue, Pa./South Allegheny) went 1-3 with two RBI and Sydney Frichtman (Carnegie, Pa./Carlynton), who played in only one of the games, went 1-3 with an RBI.
PSUGA now sits at 1-1 to start the season and, with four more games remaining in Myrtle Beach, they have a chance to keep improving before the start of conference play. They play two games on Wednesday when they take on Lackawana at 3 p.m. and follow that with a game against Salkahatchie at 5 p.m. at the Cal Ripken Experience.
