McKeesport, PA. – The Penn State Greater Allegheny Softball Team (16-9, 14-6) earned a split of their doubleheader with PSU-Fayette on Sunday and, as a result, split the four game season series. The offense came through once again leading the charge in both games as the tea builds on its franchise record sixteen-win season.
PSU-Fayette got the upper hand in game one jumping out to a 6-3 lead in the first two innings of play. Alyssa Guzzie (Fox Chapel, PA./Fox Chapel) drove in all three of those runs with a bases clearing triple. PSUGA’s bats would go silent for the next four innings and found themselves down 9-3 heading to the bottom of the 7th.
After two singles and an error loaded the bases with two outs, Maddie Kyle (Carnegie, PA./Calrynton) reached on an error that brought home a run and cut the score to 9-4. Hailey Snyder (Connelsville, PA./Connelsville) kept the two out rally going lining a single into right field to bring home another run before a strikeout would end the rally and hand PSUGA a 9-5 loss.
Guzzie led the team in RBI finishing 1-4 with three RBI while Snyder went 2-4 with 1 RBI. With the loss, PSUGA needed a win in game two of the doubleheader to earn a split of the season series and send them into the playoffs with a tie with Fayette and to prove to themselves they could beat this team.
They did that and much more putting up 10 runs on their way to a 10-1 win in the second game of the doubleheader. PSUGA took advantage of five errors from PSU-Fayette and used clutch hitting to drive in their runs.
PSUGA jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Lacie Lautner (Pleasant Hills, PA./Thomas Jefferson) hit a sacrifice fly to left, Snyder hit into an RBI groundout, and Tara Love (Chandler, AZ./Campo Verde HS) hit an RBI single. That was more then enough for Lautner on the day as she dazzled on the mound.
Lautner went the complete game five innings giving up just one run on one hit while striking out seven batters on her way to her eleventh win of the season. Lautner has been a force to be reckoned with on the mound and is currently in the top five in the PSUAC in strikeouts this season with 77 in her 77.2 innings pitched.
PSUGA continued to pour it on in the second inning scoring five runs with two big hits coming from Rachel Able (Pataskla, OH./Watkins Memorial High) and Snyder’s RBI doubles that combined to bring in all five runs. PSUGA would then roll to victory adding two runs in the bottom of the fourth to enforce the ten-run rule.
Snyder had a big day at the plate finishing 2-3 with 5 RBI while Able went 1-2 with two RBI and three runs scored. With the win, PSUGA earned a season series split with PSU-Fayette and will take that momentum with them to the PSUAC Playoff tournament for the first time since 2013 and the second time in the last 17 seasons.
PSUGA will now prepare for a battle with PSU-Beaver in the first round of the PSUAC Playoffs on Friday April 27th. PSUGA enters as the #3 seed from the PSUAC West and will travel to Beaver for their first playoff game since 2013.