CRESSON, Pa. -- On Wednesday, the Mount Aloysius Softball team produced two shutout performances, besting La Roche, to advance to the AMCC Championship series. The used dominant pitching and crucial hits to sweep Game One and Game Two of the best-of-three series.

GAME 1
- Neither team scored until the bottom of the third inning, with each team only having one hit. Grace Gardini (York, PA, York Catholic) and Kayla Diehl (Schellsburg, PA, Chestnut Ridge) led off the inning with walks, putting two runners on. Abby Reitz (Greencastle, PA, Greencastle Antrim) advanced Gardini to third with a sacrifice fly. The Mounties attempted a double steal play, getting Diehl caught in a rundown, but allowing Gardini to score from third, giving them a 1-0 lead.
- In the bottom of the fourth, the Mounties looked to extend their lead. With two outs, Tawnya Holben (Pittsburgh, PA, Fox Chapel) singled up the middle. Holben was followed by Mattie Harr (Latrobe, PA, Greater Latrobe) who roped a double into right center field, scoring Holben from first. Gardini then singled to third base, but the throw to first got away, allowing both Harr and Gardini to move up an extra base, scoring Harr from second. Diehl then drove in Gardini with a single to centerfield, extending the Mountie lead to 4-0.
- Each team produced only one hit over the next two frames, heading to the seventh with Mount Aloysius ahead, 4-0. In the seventh, the Redhawks loaded the bases with only one out, on three consecutive singles. However, pitcher Madison Hillard (Greenville, PA, Greenville) got the next batter to line into a near-double play, before getting the final batter to ground out to second, to end the game.

GAME 2
- The second game saw even less scoring, as the Mounties' starter, Lexi Wilt (Shanksville, PA, Shanksville-Stonycreek), only allowed three Redhawk hits for the contest.
- Mount Aloysius threatened in the third, when Reitz and Lydia DeFazio (Harrison City, PA, Penn Trafford) both singled putting runners at second and third, with two outs, but were unable to score.
- During their next turn at bat, Holben singled to start the inning, then was advanced to second with a sacrifice bunt. The next batter, Harr, turned and sent a pitch over the left field fence, for her second homerun of the season, giving the Mounties a 2-0 advantage.
- Following the homerun, Mount Aloysius added two more hits in the fourth inning and loaded the bases, but did not add a marker. Over the final two and a half innings, only Gardini added another hit for either team, with a bunt single in the sixth. The lack of offense gave the Mounties the 2-0 victory.

HIGHLIGHTS
- Harr led the Mounties' offense, as she had two hits in each game and drove in three of their six runs on the day. Her homerun was the difference in Game Two. She hit her first-career homerun, back on April 30, against Hilbert.
- Both Mountie pitchers limited the Redhawks significantly. Hillard picked up her ninth win of the season in Game One, allowing five hits over her seven inning complete game, striking out four.
- In Game Two, Wilt picked up her sixth victory of the season, only surrendering three hits for the game. She only faced one hitter more than the minimum thanks to an outfield assist and a fourth inning, double play.

UP NEXT
With the series victory, Mount Aloysius secured their spot in the AMCC Championship Series, against #1-seeded, Penn State Behrend. The best-of-three series is set for Saturday afternoon in Erie. The Mounties are seeking their third consecutive, AMCC Title, as the won in 2018 and 2019. There was no championship in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.