GREENSBURG, Pa. - La Roche softball went to Greensburg needing to prevail in at least one contest to help its playoff hopes, but were unable to get past the host Bobcats, falling in both ends of the doubleheader.

GAME ONE: UPG 10 LRU 2 F/6

Pitt.-Greensburg struck first, manufacturing a run with patience at the plate. A walk with the bases active brought in the opening score, and La Roche trailed 1–0 before they had settled in.

The early innings became a test of resilience. Offensively, La Roche struggled to find rhythm against Autumn Powell, whose pitching kept hitters off balance. Strikeouts piled up, and hard contact was scarce. Still, the defense managed to hold the line through the second and third innings, keeping the deficit within reach.

Then came the fourth.

It started with a spark—something to believe in. Brooke Murgenovich and Maura Wade found their way on base, setting the stage for Finley Hohn. With a sharp swing, Hohn sent a ball into left center, driving in both runners. In a flash, La Roche had flipped the game to a 2–1 lead. For a moment, the dugout came alive. Energy surged. Momentum, finally, was theirs.

But it didn't last.

The bottom half of the inning unraveled quickly. Pitt.-Greensburg answered with precision and power. A sacrifice fly tied the game, and then a towering home run by Jessica Dunn broke it open—three runs crossing the plate in one swing. Just like that, the lead was gone, replaced by a 5–2 deficit.

From there, the game tilted further out of reach.

Defensive miscues crept in—uncharacteristic errors that extended innings and created opportunities. Pitt.-Greensburg capitalized each time. Runs in the fifth and sixth innings, many unearned, stretched the lead wider. Despite turning a couple of double plays and trying to stabilize, La Roche couldn't stop the momentum shift.

At the plate, the offense couldn't recover. Only four hits on the day told the story—Hohn's clutch single, Wade's double, and a pair of scattered hits that never turned into sustained rallies. Powell remained in control, finishing the game without allowing a walk and striking out seven.

As the final outs were recorded, the scoreboard read 10–2.

GAME TWO: UPG 10 LRU 2 F/6

In the first inning, La Roche found itself on its heels. A double into the gap brought in the opening run, and moments later, another hit pushed the lead to two. Before the inning could settle, a wild pitch allowed a third run to cross. Just like that, La Roche trailed 3–0, still searching for its footing.

Klover Haberthier worked through traffic in the circle, but Pitt.-Greensburg's lineup kept finding holes. By the third inning, the game began to slip further away. A string of hits—lined into the outfield and placed just out of reach—turned into a five-run surge. Balls that might have been outs earlier in the day now dropped in, and every miscue or missed location was amplified. When the inning ended, the deficit had grown to 8–0.

Katie Grimm entered in relief and managed to settle things briefly, recording key outs and limiting further damage. But even then, Pitt.-Greensburg found ways to add on, capitalizing on another wild pitch in the fourth to make it 9–0.

Offensively, La Roche showed more life than in the first game, collecting seven hits. Brooke Murgenovich set the tone at the top of the order with a pair of hits, while Cassidee Fitterer added two of her own. Rachel Malatok contributed with a hit and aggressive baserunning, and Maura Wade reached and eventually came around to score.

That breakthrough came in the fifth inning.

After being held scoreless through four, La Roche finally pieced something together. Murgenovich and Wade sparked the rally, and Finley Hohn brought in a run with a groundout. An error by the catcher allowed another run to score in the sequence, putting La Roche on the board and trimming the deficit to 9–2. It wasn't a comeback yet, but it was a response—a sign they hadn't folded.

Still, the gap proved too large.

Pitt.-Greensburg added one more run in the sixth, and La Roche couldn't generate another push in the final frame. Despite outhitting some innings with solid contact, they couldn't string together the kind of rally needed to shift momentum.

When the final out was recorded, the scoreboard again read 10–2.