Hazleton nabs season sweep over Scranton

Dunmore, Pa. - The Lady Lions moved two steps closer to the .500 mark for the season and 4-0 in Penn State University Conference play following Tuesday's sweep at Penn State Scranton. Hazleton racked up 29 hits in the double-header topping Scranton 15-0 and 21-0, ending both games in the third inning of play via the mercy rule. 

Game One: Penn State Hazleton 15, Penn State Scranton 0 - Final/3 Innings

Hazleton put together two long at-bats in the day's first contest, tacking on seven runs in both the first and third frames. Freshman Cassandra Passamonte (Bushkill, Pa.) led all hitters in game one with a perfect 3-for-3 outing, adding two RBI and a run scored. Senior Samanatha Varela (Hazleton, Pa.) went 2-for-3 at the dish a pair of doubles, totaling two RBI and three runs scored while sophomore Kylee Sutton added two hits in three trips to the plate with a pair of runs driven in. Also chipping in big offensives efforts were sophomore Lexi Kessler (Bangor, Pa.) and junior Jerrika Chorba (Bloomsburg, Pa.). Chorba singled to cash in a pair of runs for Hazleton while Kessler went 2-for-2 out of the lead off spot, scoring once and driving in a run of her own. 

Helping the Lions make quick work of their conference foe was sophomore Mckenzie Malys (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) who was solid in three innings of work from the cirlce. Malys walked four hitters but allowed just three hits, getting timely outs to secure the shut-out victory, her first of the season. 

Game Two: Penn State Hazleton 21, Penn State Scranton 0 - Final 3 Innings

Things kept rolling the Lady Lions' way in second game of the double-header as the Lady Lions piled up 17 hits in the three inning affair. Add in 11 free passes from Scranton pitching and the Lions had the makings of a huge offensive outing. After scoring just one run in their first at-bat, Hazleton turned up the heat with an 11 run frame in the second and nine scores in their third trip on offense. 

Freshman Madison Clark (Emmaus, Pa.) finished 3-for-4 to lead the offense, totaling four RBI and a pair of runs scored. Four additional Lady Lions registered multi-hit efforts including freshmen McKayla Wildrick (Germansville, Pa.) and Sky Esterly (Nazareth, Pa.) along with sophomores Mackenzie Joy (Hazleton, Pa.) and Kylee Sutton. Wildrick topped out at 3-for-3 from the plate with three runs scored and an RBI while Sutton added her third RBI of the day with three addition runs scored.

The Hazleton pitching became even more dominant in game two with Freshman Cassidy Lentz (Lehigh Valley, Pa.) tossing a three-inning gem. Lentz faced just one batter over the minimum thanks to an early walk but put the clamps on the Scranton hitters to claim a no-hit win in three innings.

Next up: Hazleton moves to 4-0 on the season in the PSUAC after sweeping Scranton in the season series and moves on to face defending champion Penn State Brandywine in a four game series over the next several days. Hazleton will head to Media, Pa. for the road led of the series on Thursday, April 4 for a 3:00 p.m. double header at the Maple Zone complex before returning home for the final two games on Saturday, April 6.