Box Score (Game 1)
Box Score (Game 2)

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – With five home runs, a thrilling finishes in both games, Good Friday, April 22’s Commonwealth  Conference softball doubleheader at the Shangraw Athletic Complex had a bit of everything for the offensive softball fan. And for Lycoming College fans, the results weren’t bad either, as the Warriors walked off with an 8-7 win in game one before out-muscling Alvernia in the second game, 11-9, to move into fourth place alone in the Commonwealth Conference.

The Warriors (12-14 overall, 6-6 Commonwealth) moved a game ahead of both Elizabethtown and Widener with the sweep, as both Elizabethtown and Widener have 4-6 conference marks with two conference doubleheaders left. The Warriors wrap up the regular season with a pivotal showdown against Widener at the Shangraw Athletic Complex on Saturday, April 30, at 1 p.m., as they look to secure the first birth in the Commonwealth Conference playoffs in school history.

Down 7-5 in the bottom of the seventh inning of the first game, the Warriors used their power to walk-off with the win, as freshman Abbi Miller (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area) blasted a one-out triple to right-center that drove in senior Shauna Starr (Jersey Shore, Pa./Jersey Shore) with the winning run, helping the team set a new school-record for Commonwealth Conference wins in a season.

Sophomore Amy Cline (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg Area) started the tally with an infield single before sophomore Taylor Lesser (Lock Haven, Pa./Central Mountain) tied the game with a homer to left center field, setting up Miller’s game-winner.

The Warriors jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, thanks to two hits and an error, as sophomore Holly Lansberry (Curwensville, Pa./Curwensville Area) led off with a  walk and an error on a sac bunt helped Cline reach and moved Lansberry to third. After Cline stole second, Lesser hit a sac fly to score Lansberry. Sophomore Janelle Poorman (Bellefonte, Pa./Bald Eagle Area) followed with a squeeze play bunt and reached on the play, moving to third on a double by sophomore Brie Braga (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) and scoring on a single from Miller.

The Crusaders (17-9 overall, 3-7 Commonwealth) clawed back into the game with single tallies in the third and fifth frames before a Lansberry manufactured a run in the fifth by singling, moiving to second on a groundout and scoring on a single from Poorman to gave the Warriors a 4-2 lead after five innings. However, the Crusaders responded with a four-run sixth inning, posting three hits and a pair of walks to do the damage, taking a 6-4 lead after a single by Samantha Penk.

Braga homered to right field to get the Warriors within a run in the bottom of the sixth, but the Crusaders responded with a  run of their own in the top of the seventh, setting up the dramatic finish.

Braga went 2-for-4 with a run, a homer and RBI and Miller went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a triple to lead the Warriors and Lesser went 1-for-2 with a run, a homer and three RBI. Lansberry, Cline and Starr each scored twice.

Penk led the Crusaders, going 3-for-4 with a run and two RBI.

Lansberry earned her first of two wins on the day, posting it after 2 2/3 innings of relief, allowing five runs and four hits. Michelle Jensen (8-3) took the loss for the Crusaders, allowing seven hits and five runs in 2 2/3 innings.

The Warriors blasted three home runs in the second game, accounting for six of its 11 runs and held off a late rally for the Crusaders to finish off the sweep with an 11-9 win.

Braga earned her first career save in 1 1/3 innings of relief, working around three hits and getting Penk, the league leader in home runs with eight, to line out to end the game with two runners on base.

After Alvernia scored two first-inning runs, the Warriors responded with seven runs in the next three innings. In the first, Cline singled with one out and after a fielder’s choice, Poorman tied the school record with her seventh career home run, a shot to left field. Starr kept the rally going with a single and after Braga walked, Miller drove in Starr with a single up the middle.

In the second inning, sophomore Bethany Garnand (Hagerstown, Md./Smithsburg) delivered a monster shot to right field to lead off and chase starter Danielle Kitchen (1-1) from the mound. Cline followed with a one-out single and an error helped Lesser reach, setting up Poorman for another RBI single. After a strikeout, Braga delivered an RBI single through the right side to make it 6-2.

In the third, the Warriors tacked on another run, as Lansberry singled with two out and Cline followed with an RBI double down the line.

The Crusaders fought back into the game with a three-run fifth-inning to make it 7-5, but the Warriors again responded with power. Sophomore Allyson Marianelli (Old Forge, Pa./Old  Forge) posted a single down the line and freshman Samantha Gonzalez (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) followed with a walk before Lansberry reached on a bunt single. After an illegal pitch scored Marianelli, Cline hit a massive three-run homer down the left-field line.

Alvernia fought back, though, scoring four runs thanks to a three-run homer from Penk in the sixth inning, and chasing Lansberry from the mound. Braga got out of a jam with runners on second and third by getting a groundout.

Cline led the Warriors offensively, going 4-for-4 with two runs and four RBI as the team pounded 16 hits in the second game. Poorman went 2-for-4 with a run and three RBI and Lansberry went 2-for-4 with two runs. Starr and Marianelli each went 2-for-4 with a run, as all nine  Warrior starters poked a hit in the game.

The Crusaders were led by Miranda Peto, who went 3-for-5 with two runs and Rhiannon Sorrentino, who went 2-for-2 with two runs and four RBI. Penk went 2-for-5 with two runs and three RBI.

Lansberry (9-6) earned the win with 5 2/3 innings of work on the hill, allowing nine runs and 11 hits. She struck out five and walked three. Kitchen took the loss, allowing four runs in one inning.