PITTSBURGH – The Penn State Altoona softball team swept Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent La Roche University in dominant fashion on Wednesday afternoon, when the Lions posted a pair of lopsided victories over the Redhawks at the Baierl Athletic Complex.

Penn State Altoona (16-12, 6-2 AMCC) won both games in five-inning, eight-run-rule shortened contests, prevailing by scores of 17-0 and 16-1 to earn two conference wins over La Roche (7-19, 3-5 AMCC).

Game One: Penn State Altoona 17, La Roche 0 (Final/5 innings)

The Lions broke out the bats in game one, hitting four home runs to tie for the most homers in a game in program history. Additionally, Penn State Altoona's total of 19 hits is tied for the 10th-most in a game.

Riley Best (Coalport, PA/Glendale) hit her sixth and seventh home runs of the year, finishing the game 4-for-5 with six RBI and four runs scored. Karli Storm (Chest Springs, PA/Cambria Heights) was 2-for-4 with her fifth homer of the season, six RBI, and three runs scored. Best and Storm's totals of six RBI tie for the fifth-most in a game in team history.

Lauren Davidson (Clearfield, PA/DuBois Central Catholic) was 4-for-4 with two RBI, with Best and Davidson each tying for the second-most hits in a game in Lions history with four apiece. Alexa Baney (Snow Shoe, PA/Bald Eagle) went 2-for-4 with four runs scored, and Madison Kennedy (Williamsburg, PA/Central) was 2-for-3 with her first home run of the season, three RBI, a run scored, and a walk. Gracie Wilt (Altoona, PA/Altoona) hit 3-for-3 with four runs scored, a walk, and a stolen base.

In the pitching circle, Josselyn Nau (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) tossed a complete-game shutout to register her seventh win of the season. The right-hander put up zeros across five innings of work while surrendering only five hits to the Redhawks.

The Lions put four runs on the board in the top of the first inning. Baney got the scoring started when she came home from third on an infield error, and Best's three-run homer to center made it 4-0.

Penn State Altoona added five more runs to its total in the second. Storm delivered a sacrifice fly to center, and Best followed with an RBI single to left center to make it 6-0. Kennedy increased the Lions' advantage to 9-0 with one swing of the bat, driving in three with her homer to left.

The Lions' offense continued to produce in the third. Storm's RBI single to center and Best's run-scoring base hit to left made it 11-0, and Davidson plated a pair with her single down the left-field line to make it 13-0.

Penn State Altoona relied on the long ball in the fourth to increase its lead to 17 runs. Storm and Best went back-to-back, as Storm's three-run homer to left center and Best's solo shot to center boosted the Lions' lead to 17-0.

Game Two: Penn State Altoona 16, La Roche 1 (Final/5 innings)

The Lions picked up where they left off in game one of the doubleheader, producing 16 runs on 20 hits, a total that ties for the eighth-most hits in a game in team history.

Kennedy went 4-for-4 with two RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base and tied for the second-most hits in a game in Lions history. Storm was 3-for-5 with her sixth home run of the season, three runs scored, and six more RBI to again tie for the fifth-most in a game.

Wilt was 2-for-2 with a double, three runs scored, and a walk, and Baney went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, and a walk. Olivia Werkheiser (Easton, PA/Wilson Area) finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, and Best was 2-for-3 with a double, three runs scored, an RBI, and a walk.

Kennedy pitched a complete game in the circle and secured her fifth win of the season. Across five innings of work, the right-hander scattered seven hits, allowed just one run, and did not walk any batters.

Storm's two-run single to left in the top of the first put Penn State Altoona on the scoreboard, before Kennedy's RBI single to shortstop made it 3-0. Best scored on a throwing error and Kennedy later came home from third on a steal attempt to put the Lions' lead at 5-0.

The Lions scored six more runs in the second. Baney scored on an error before Storm's two-run homer to left center made it 8-0. Later in the frame, Werkheiser's two-run single down the right-field line and Kendal Wadsworth's (Johnstown, PA/Richland) RBI base hit to left upped the advantage to 11-0. In the top of the third, Wilt scored on an infield error to make it 12-0.

La Roche got its first run of the day in the bottom of the third, when Anastacia Jacobs' RBI single to left set the score at 12-1.

But Penn State Altoona kept coming at the plate, tacking four more runs on to its total in the fourth. Storm's double to left drove in a pair, and Best's double down the left-field line plated another run. Kennedy added an RBI single to center, and the Lions went on to post a 15-run victory in five innings.

After a bye this weekend, the Penn State Altoona softball team will return to action on Tuesday, April 14, when the Lions will travel back to the Pittsburgh area to face AMCC opponent Carlow University in a doubleheader. The games will be played at West Mifflin High School with a start time of 6 p.m.