READING, Pa. – Penn College went 1-1 in the United East Softball Final Four Saturday when it knocked off top-seeded Penn Berks, 6-3, before suffering a walk-off setback by No. 2 Penn State Brandywine, 6-5, in the second game.
Penn College, seeded fourth, advanced to Sunday's 10 a.m. semifinal opposite No. 3 Penn State Harrisburg. The winner of that contest will take on Brandywine in the 12 p.m. championship tilt and will need to beat the Lions twice - an if necessary game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Since Brandywine is a provisional member of Division III it cannot participate in the NCAA Tournament, which gives the winner of the 11 a.m. game the conference's automatic qualifier.
Against Penn State Berks,
Penn College took an early 1-0 lead in first inning when
Lexi Snyder's RBI ground out plated
Madison Herriman, but the Nittany Lions evened the game in the bottom of the frame and went ahead 2-1 with a run in the third.
Harley Kunes' single to center in the fourth brought in
Ryleigh Rinker to tie the game at 2-2 in the fourth. After Berks wet ahead 3-2 in the fourth,
Fayth Anderson knotted the game at 3-3 with an RBI in the fifth.
Mackenzie Weaver broke the deadlock for good in the sixth when she smacked a three-run homer to left, bringing in Kunes and Herriman, to give PCT a 6-3 advantage.
Herriman and Kunes led the offense with three hits each, while
Mackenzi Tice improved to 12-4 in the circle after a complete-game performance. Tice surrendered two earned runs, on nine hits, with eight strikeouts, and no walks.
Against Penn State Brandywine,
The Lions jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning before PCT put one on the board in the second when
Grace Lorson touched home after Brandywine caught Peyton Crawford stealing at second. Brandywine got the run back in the fourth to lead 4-1.
Penn College answered with a four-run sixth inning to take a 5-4 lead. Rinker's two-run single to left scored Lorson and
Carissa Lusk, Herriman brought in Crawford on a single to right, and Weaver was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The Lions evened the game at 5-5 in the sixth and walked-off in the bottom of the seventh.
Herriman led the offense again with three hits, while Crawford and Anderson finished with a pair each. Weaver fell to 15-7 after 6.1 innings of work. She allowed six earned runs, on 11 hits, with five strikeouts, and two walks.