PITTSBURGH, Pa. – La Roche softball celebrated a pair of seniors on Saturday and after a tough game one, fell just short in game two, falling to Penn State Behrend in the doubleheader.
GAME ONE: PSB 9 LRU 1 F/6
La Roche opened game one of the doubleheader facing a tough test against a red-hot Penn St.-Behrend squad, and defensive miscues proved costly in a 9–1 setback.
Penn St.-Behrend wasted little time getting on the board, capitalizing on an early La Roche error in the first inning to push across an unearned run. The visitors added another in the second, using aggressive baserunning to extend the lead to 2–0.
Despite a steady start in the circle from Maura Wade, the third inning unraveled for La Roche. A series of defensive mistakes allowed Penn St.-Behrend to string together a three-run frame, all unearned, stretching the deficit to 5–0. While Wade limited hard contact and recorded three strikeouts over her three innings of work, La Roche's six total errors behind her made it difficult to contain the damage.
Penn St.-Behrend added to its lead in the fifth on a solo home run from Meghan Swain, making it 6–0, before La Roche found a spark in the bottom half of the inning. Brooke Murgenovich reached and later came around to score, setting up Cassidee Fitterer, who delivered an RBI single to right field to put La Roche on the board at 6–1.
Klover Haberthier entered in relief and worked through the middle innings, but Penn St.-Behrend capitalized again in the sixth. More defensive struggles opened the door for three additional runs, including a two-run double down the line, pushing the lead to 9–1.
Offensively, La Roche managed six hits, with contributions from Murgenovich, Wade, Fitterer, Finley Hohn, Katie Grimm, and Gabby Sbraccia. However, the Redhawks were unable to string together multiple scoring opportunities, leaving seven runners on base.
Penn St.-Behrend pitcher Abby Tingley kept La Roche's lineup in check, allowing just one run while striking out three over six innings.
GAME TWO: PSB 6 LRU 5 F/8
La Roche responded with far more fight in game two of the doubleheader, pushing Penn St.-Behrend to extra innings before ultimately falling 6–5 in a tightly contested battle.
From the outset, La Roche looked like a different team. They struck first in the opening inning when Brooke Murgenovich and Maura Wade set the table, and Finley Hohn brought home the game's first run with a groundout. Moments later, Cassidee Fitterer lined a single to center to score Wade, giving La Roche an early 2–0 lead and immediate momentum.
Katie Grimm got the start in the circle and worked through early traffic, keeping Penn St.-Behrend off the scoreboard in the first before an unearned run crossed in the second. Still,
La Roche maintained control and answered again in the third. Murgenovich sparked the inning, and Hohn delivered once more—this time with a double to right-center—to extend the lead to 3–1.
Through the middle innings, La Roche held firm, but Penn St.-Behrend gradually chipped away. A run in the fifth cut the lead to 3–2, setting up a decisive sixth inning. Defensive miscues again proved costly, as a sequence of errors allowed Penn St.-Behrend to plate three runs—two unearned—and take a 5–3 advantage.
Rather than folding, La Roche answered with resilience in the seventh. Taking advantage of an error, they rallied to tie the game at 5–5, with both Maura Wade and Samantha Dixon crossing the plate. The dugout energy surged as La Roche forced extra innings against an undefeated conference opponent.
In the eighth, however, Penn St.-Behrend found the decisive run, using a sacrifice situation to regain the lead at 6–5. La Roche had one final opportunity in the bottom half but was unable to complete the comeback.
Offensively, La Roche matched Penn St.-Behrend with nine hits, highlighted by Hohn's two RBIs and multi-hit efforts from Ashlee Bair. Murgenovich and Wade each scored twice, setting the tone at the top of the lineup.
In the circle, Grimm, Wade, and Klover Haberthier combined to limit Penn St.-Behrend to just two earned runs, but three defensive errors once again made the difference in a one-run game.