WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona softball team came away with its third Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference doubleheader sweep of the season on Tuesday night, when the Lions defeated league opponent Carlow University in a pair of games at West Mifflin Area High School.

Penn State Altoona (18-12, 8-2 AMCC) kept up its recent momentum with two more lopsided wins, defeating Carlow (4-24, 1-7 AMCC) by scores of 12-1 and 11-3.

Game One: Penn State Altoona 12, Carlow 1 (Final/5 innings)

Carlow grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but it was all Penn State Altoona after that, as the Lions scored 12 unanswered runs across the third, fourth, and fifth innings to win by the eight-run rule.

Riley Best (Coalport, PA/Glendale) led the Lion bats by going 3-for-4 with a grand slam – her eighth home run of the season – a double, five RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base. Karli Storm (Chest Springs, PA/Cambria Heights) went 1-for-2 with a double, two RBI, two runs scored, and two walks.

In the circle, Josselyn Nau (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) pitched a complete game to record her eighth victory of the season. In five innings, the right-hander struck out two while giving up only six hits, issuing no walks, and yielding no earned runs. Nau needed just 41 pitches to get through five frames.

The Celtics went up 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning, when an outfield error with two outs allowed Gianna Ferrieri to score.

But Penn State Altoona powered ahead in the top of the third. Kendal Wadsworth (Johnstown, PA/Richland) led off the frame with a walk, moved up to second on a fielding error, then scored on another Carlow error in the next play to tie the score at 1-1. After that, Olivia Werkheiser (Easton, PA/Wilson) stole home to make it 2-1, and Storm's two-run double to left one batter later made it 4-1. Later in the inning, Lauren Davidson (Clearfield, PA/DuBois Central Catholic) delivered a sacrifice fly to center that scored Storm and increased Penn State Altoona's advantage to 5-1.

The top of the fourth started with another leadoff walk from Wadsworth, and Werkheiser followed with an RBI double down the right-field line to make it 6-1. After that, Penn State Altoona loaded the bases when Alexa Baney (Snow Shoe, PA/Bald Eagle) singled to left, Gracie Wilt (Altoona, PA/Altoona) reached on a fielder's choice, and Storm drew a walk. Best capitalized by sending a pitch over the center-field fence for a grand slam, upping the Lions' lead to 10-1. Later in the frame, Davidson singled and Allison Beeman (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) drove her in with a double to right to make it 11-1.

The Lions tacked one more run on to their total in the top of the fifth. Audrey Walker (Mill Hall, PA/Central Mountain) reached base on a pinch-hit single to center, and she later scored on Best's double to right to set Penn State Altoona's lead at 12-1.

Nau and the Lions retired Carlow in order in the bottom of the fifth, and Penn State Altoona clinched an eight-run rule victory in five innings.

Game Two: Penn State Altoona 11, Carlow 3

The Lions and Celtics found themselves tied 1-1 through three innings, but Penn State Altoona used a five-run top of the fourth to seize the lead. The Lions padded their lead with five runs across the final two innings, and despite a long delay in the sixth, finished with a comfortable late-night conference victory.

Wadsworth hit 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, and Haleigh Peters (Lock Haven, PA/Central Mountain) was 2-for-4 with four runs scored and a stolen base. Beeman finished with two RBI, Davidson had two walks and two runs scored, and Storm also walked twice.

Madison Kennedy (Williamsburg, PA/Central) took the ball for game two and notched her sixth win of the season. The right-hander went five innings and limited Carlow to two earned runs on six hits and four walks, and she also struck out two batters. Nau finished the game by tossing two scoreless innings in relief.

The Lions broke through for the game's first run in the top of the third. With Peters at first base after reaching on a fielder's choice, a throwing error in the next at-bat allowed her to score and put her team on top, 1-0.

Carlow knotted the score at 1-1 in the bottom half of the third, when Kamyia Morris' RBI triple into center field put the home team on the board.

But Penn State Altoona responded in a big way in the top of the fourth, scoring five runs to reestablish a lead. The Lions loaded the bases to open the frame, thanks to walks by Best and Davidson and a single up the middle from Kennedy. Beeman drove in two with her single through the right side, and after a sac bunt from Wadsworth, a throwing error allowed Davidson to score. Two more runs came home on Carlow's second error of the inning, and Penn State Altoona held a 6-1 advantage.

The Celtics got a run back in the bottom of the fourth on a Cailyn Lucas RBI single to center. Carlow threatened to add more, loading the bases with just one out, but Kennedy induced a pair of flyouts to right field to end the inning and avoid any further damage.

The home team inched closer in the bottom of the fifth, when Lucas' RBI infield hit trimmed the Penn State Altoona lead to 6-3. But the Lions again escaped further trouble, as Kennedy got an inning-ending strikeout to force Carlow to leave the bases loaded.

The top of the sixth inning began with a single by Peters, who then advanced to second on a stolen base. A flyout to left in the next at-bat led to an appeal play at second base by Carlow, which appeared to have an out when Peters was ruled to have left early when trying to advance to third base. However, a lengthy delay followed, as the umpires halted play for nearly 40 minutes for a rule interpretation. Peters was ultimately placed back on second base to resume play, and she scored on Wilt's RBI single to right in the next at-bat. A throwing error during the play allowed Wilt to come around and score, and Penn State Altoona ended the inning holding an 8-3 lead.

The Lions got three more runs across in the top of the seventh. Wadsworth's RBI single to right brought home one run, and Storm drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in another. A two-out throwing error allowed Peters to score after that, and Penn State Altoona boosted its lead to 11-3.

Next up, Penn State Altoona softball dips back into non-conference play this Thursday, April 16, when the Lions will travel to face Grove City College in a doubleheader beginning at 3:30 p.m.