READING, Pa. – Sophomore Ashley Schoenstadt (Gap, Pa./Pequea Valley), sophomore Rachael Shady (Lock Haven, Pa./Central Mountain) and junior Morgan Kunes (Beech Creek, Pa./Central Mountain) each had two hits to lead the Lycoming College softball team on Saturday, March 19, but Alvernia University used two solid pitching performances to sweep a MAC Commonwealth doubleheader, 5-2 and 8-1, at Angelica Park.
 
In the first game, Taylor Fouracre threw five hitless innings of relief to help Alvernia (8-4 overall, 2-0 MAC Commonwealth) upend Lycoming (9-4 overall, 2-0 MAC Commonwealth), 5-2.
 
Fouracre (2-3) came in with a runner on second in the third and allowed just three more base runners, two off walks and one on an error, to shutdown the Warriors.
 
Lycoming got on the board first in the top of the second inning, as Kunes blasted a two-out double to left field before senior Dominique Thomas (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area) singled down the left field line with two outs to score Kunes.
 
Alvernia, however, responded with a four-run bottom of the second inning, as Mckenzie Miessau notched a huge triple and Brianna DePriest capped the inning with a  two-run two-out single to break open the game.
 
Lycoming closed within a pair of runs in the third, as senior Chelsey Poorman (Bellefonte, Pa./Bald Eagle Area) tripled to lead off before Schoenstadt delivered a double to center field to score a run before Fouracre came in to pitch.
 
Alvernia scratched one more run across in the fifth, thanks to a hit batter, a walk and two singles.
 
Miessau led the Crusaders with two hits and two RBI and Brianna Fisher added a 3-for-3 effort with an RBI.
 
Shady (4-2) took the loss for Lycoming, as she allowed seven hits and five earned runs. She walked five and struck out one.
 
In the second game, Fouracre (3-3) allowed seven hits, but five runners in the final six innings while Alvernia posted eight runs from the fourth to the sixth innings to post an 8-1 win.
 
Schoenstadt got Lycoming out to an early lead, as she posted an infield single to lead off before senior Elisa Novak (Ambler, Pa./Germantown Academy) reached on a sac bunt thanks to an error before another infield single, this time by Shady allowed Schoenstadt to score. Senior Kristi Weaver (Milton, Pa./Milton Area) followed with a single up the middle, but Novak was thrown out at the plate to help end the rally.
 
The Crusaders were retired in order in the first two innings and a single in the third left Alvernia's first runner stranded before four hits and an error led to three runs in the fourth inning, with Emily Carmella's two-run double keying the inning. Alvernia added five hits in the fifth to score three more and Amanda Turner hit a two-run homer in the sixth to round out the game's scoring.
 
Shady led the Warriors with a 2-for-3 effort in the second game, as she also notched an RBI, while hitting safely in her 10^th game in the last 11.
 
Turner led the Crusaders, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and a homer and Shilling went 2-for-4 with three runs, a double and a RBI. Miessau, Carmella and DePriest each also added two of Alvernia's 12 hits.
 
Weaver (4-2) took the loss for Lycoming, as she allowed 12 hits and six earned runs. She walked one and struck out two.
 
The Warriors get back on the field on Thursday, March 24, when they host York (Pa.) for a non-conference doubleheader at 3 p.m. at the Shangraw Athletic Complex.