SB drops pair to Mont Alto
The Penn State Fayette softball team opened Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) play Saturday as it dropped a double header at Penn State Mont Alto.
The games were originally scheduled to be played at Fayette (2-6, 0-2), but they were moved to Mont Alto (7-7 overall, 2-1 PSUAC). Fayette was the home team for both games.
With the temperature at 40 degrees, the wind chill at 20 degrees and a mix of rain, snow and hail making things tough at times, Mont Alto won the opener, 5-4, and the nightcap, 5-3.
"The games were a big test for us," said first-year coach Alex Rohlf. "Mont Alto is the defending PSUAC West champs so I knew going into it they would be a tough team to beat. These scores show that we are able to hang right in there with the top teams in the conference. Overall, I'm pleased with what I've seen so far. We are making progress. There's just a few more things to clean up. It's still early in the season, and I know we will continue to grow and complete the conference."
In the opener, Mont Alto jumped on the board with a run in the first, but Fayette scored three in the third and another in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead. Mont Alto scored once in the fifth to make the score 4-2, and then it scored three runs in the sixth and held on for the come from behind win.
Lauren Mastowski (Dawson, PA/Frazier HS) had a pair of singles to pace Fayette while McKenna Sas (two doubles and a single) and Emily Sicinski (double and two singles) each recorded three hits for Mont Alto. Hayley White (Cumberland, MD/Allegany HS) pitched five innings for Fayette and gave up two earned runs on eight hits. Courtney McKlveen (Ligonier, PA/Ligonier HS) pitched the sixth and seventh for Fayette and gave up three earned runs on seven hits.
In the second game, Fayette took a 1-0 lead in the first, but Mont Alto answered in the second. Fayette scored a run in the fourth to take a 2-1 lead, but Mont Alto scored three times in the fifth to make the score 4-2. Fayette scored once in the sixth to trim its deficit to 4-3, but Mont Alto added an insurance run in the seventh.
Mastowski recorded three of Fayette's five hits in the game as she had a double and two singles. Sas had a double and home run to pace Mont Alto offensively. McKlveen went five innings in the circle for Fayette and gave up four runs, all earned, on five hits. She struck out eight batters. Rachel Hartley (Dillner, PA/Mapletown HS) pitched the last two innings and gave up one run on one hit.
Fayette returns to action Wednesday when it heads to Penn State Greater Allegheny (1-5, 0-0) for a double header, and Rohlf spoke about what the team will work on.
"The biggest thing to work on from these games is getting hits in key situations," she said. "We left 18 runners on between the two games. We need to find a way to get those runners to score. Practice this week will focus on just that. Pitch selection, getting the ball put in play with runners on, situational hitting. We have four conference games this week and we really need to pick up some wins to put ourselves in a good position moving forward."
For more information on the Penn State softball team, go to https://www.psfathletics.com/sports/sball/index or follow the team on Instagram @fayetteathletics.