EBENSBURG, Pa. -- On Tuesday, the Mount Aloysius Softball team played their first two games of the year, up north, when they hosted Juniata in a non-conference doubleheader at Central Cambria High School. After falling in Game One, the Mounties won Game Two, 12-4.

Leaders
- Ella Pearson (Tyrone, Pa. / Tyrone) led the Mounties, hitting three homeruns and driving in eight runs.
- Kayla Diehl (Schellsburg, Pa. / Chestnut Ridge) also went 3-for-6 for Mount Aloysius, adding a three-run homerun in Game Two. She also scored a run in Game One.
- Whitney Cole (McDonald, Pa. / South Fayette) and Sarah Henninger (DuBois, Pa. / DuBois) each had two hits in both games, as they had identical 4-for-7 lines.

How It Happened
Game One
- Juniata started strong in Game One, scoring twice in the second inning and three times in the third inning. They held the Mounties to just two hits through the first three innings, as they grabbed a 5-0 lead.
- In the bottom of the fourth inning, Mount Aloysius loaded the bases with nobody out on three consecutive singles by Henninger, Cole, and Makayla Weyant (Bedford, Pa. / Chestnut Ridge). Alysha Cutri (Imperial, Pa. / Bishop Canevin) followed that with a single to drive in the first run of the frame, making it 5-1. Grace Gardini (York, Pa. / York Catholic) and Anna Peterman (Clymer, Pa. / Penns Manor) each came up with one-out, bases loaded hits as Peterman drove in two runs and Gardini drove in one, bringing Pearson to the plate with the bases still loaded and the Mounties trailing 5-4. Pearson would clear the bases with a grand slam to give the Mounties the lead, 8-5.
- The Eagles would answer in the top of the sixth inning, as they got a three-run homer to tie the game and put together two more hits to drive in the go-ahead run and grabbing a 9-8 lead. Mount Aloysius only got one hit in the final two innings, while Juniata added an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning, giving the Eagles a 10-8 victory.

Game Two
- Mount Aloysius got off to a better start in Game Two, as after Peterman threw up a zero in the top of the first, Gardini and Pearson both homered to lead off the bottom half of the inning. Cutri would also drive in a run to give the Mounties a 3-0 lead after one frame.
- Each of the next two innings, Juniata scored twice, only to be answered by the Mounties. In the bottom of the second, Pearson hit her third homerun of the day, keeping the Mountie lead at three runs after two. In the third, Diehl homered, as part of a four-run half-inning to grow the Mountie lead to 9-4.
- The Mounties added two more runs in the fourth inning, on an RBI-single from Henninger and an RBI groundout by Maya Capozzoli (Camp Hill, Pa. / Cedar Cliff). After another zero in the top of the fifth, Pearson drove in her eighth run of the day to end the game, 12-4, on a sacrifice fly.

Into the Box Score
- Mount Aloysius out-hit Juniata, in both games, with 12 hits in Game One and 13 hits in Game Two.
-  had the best performance in the circle for Mount Aloysius, tossing 2.1 innings of Game Two, in relief, and allowing just one hit.

Up Next
- Mount Aloysius is set to open up AMCC play, this weekend, when they host Pitt-Bradford on Saturday.
- The Panthers will also begin conference play, on Saturday, as they come into the weekend, 4-12 overall.