Lions end road trip with two losses at New Kensington

New Kensington, Pa. - For the second time in two days, the Nittany Lions fell in the late stages of play but unlike Thursday's road contests at Penn State Beaver, the Nittany Lions were unable to recover for a series split, losing both ends of Friday's double-header at Penn State New Kensington. After leading 5-3 in the seventh inning, Hazleton surrendered three runs in the bottom half to fall 6-5 in game one. Hazleton battled in the game two but once again, the Nittany Lions struggled to get outs late in the game, allowing six runs in the fifth inning to fall 12-4 via the mercy rule. 

Game one: Penn State Hazleton 5, Penn State New Kensington 6 - Final

New Kensington took the early lead in this one, scoring two runs in the first frame off fourth year pitcher Paige Parisi and the Hazleton defense. Hazleton cut into the deficit with a score in the second frame and an RBI by first year player Kat Rapp set the stage for a go ahead RBI single from Parisi to help her own cause and put the Lions up 3-2. New Kensington would tie the game in the fourth inning and both teams remained deadlocked at 3-3 until the final inning of play. There Hazleton struck for two scores, coming off the bat of fourth year player Linsey Fisk who drove in third year player Ashley Wilson with her first home run of the season. Hazleton looked to be in great shape but the Lions were unable to keep up the momentum as Hazleton gave up two doubles in the bottom half of the inning that tied the game 5-5. With two outs and a runner at second, New Kensington's Molly Collins cashed in the game-winner on a single to center field. 

Once again, Hazleton's Paige Parisi pitched well for a tough-luck loss. Parisi tossed for 6.2 innings, allowing five earned runs on 12 hits with one strikeout respectively. Parisi finished 2-for-3 at the plate offensively with an RBI to go along with Fisk who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored as the duo combined for five of Hazleton's ten hits in the game. 

Game two: Penn State Hazleton 4, Penn State New Kensington 12 - Final, 5 Innings

Like game one, Hazleton was forced to play catch up in game two after falling behind 4-0 early. The Lions broke the ice in the third inning with a sacrifice fly by first year player Amy Dwojewski to gain some momentum and tied the game in the fourth inning on a three run blast from first year player Trinity Shaver-Cooper. With the score tied 4-4, New Kensington responded with two runs off second year pitcher Tiffany Brogan in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 6-4 lead and after chasing Brogan from the game in the fifth, the home squad took off for big inning in the fifth. There, New Kensington closed out the game with six-spot as the Lions allowed three hits and three walks, all of whom came around to score. New Kensington capped off the inning with a game-ending sacrifice fly to earn the win via the mercy rule. 

Brogan earned the loss for Hazleton, throwing four innings and allowing four earned runs on 10 hits while striking out four New Kensington batters. Shaver-Cooper finished as Hazleton's top hitter on the day, going 2-for-2 with three RBI coming on the home run. Linsey Fisk added a 2-for-2 effort at the plate to round out the top performers for Hazleton. 

Next up: Hazleton is back in action on Tuesday when the Lions host Lehigh Carbon Community College for a 2:00 p.m. double-header on April 2 at Freedom Park in Drums, Pa.