EBENSBURG, Pa. -- On Saturday, the Mount Aloysius Softball team hosted Hilbert in a conference matchup, at Central Cambria High School. The Mounties (12-10, 6-4 AMCC) continued their winning ways, sweeping their third straight doubleheader.
In Game One, Hilbert struck first, but not until the fourth inning. The two teams combined for just one hit across the first three frames. In the fourth, Hilbert managed to score on a two-out error, giving them a 1-0 lead. Mount Aloysius responded in the bottom half of the inning. With one out,
Maggie Cypher (Kittanning, Pa. / Armstrong) singled and
Annalyn Isaacs (Mars, Pa. / Mars) followed with a two-run homerun, giving the Mounties a 2-1 lead. The homer was her third of the season.
Mount Aloysius added to their lead in the sixth inning. With one out, Cypher doubled and Isaacs singled, giving them two base runners.
Bella Piacesi (Woodbridge, Va. / Charles Cogan) singled to drive in Cypher, then Isaacs scored on a passed ball. Both insurance runs would come in handy, in the seventh inning, as Hilbert produced a two-run homer, cutting the lead to 4-3. Mountie starter,
Sierra Walters (East Freedom, Pa. / Claysburg-Kimmel), then buckled down and held the Hawks scoreless, sealing the victory.
Game Two saw much more offense, with 16 total runs scored. Hilbert scratched the first two runs of the game across in the second inning. Mount Aloysius responded with an RBI single by
Sophie Smith (Mapleton Depot, Pa. / Mount Union), cutting the lead in half. Then, in the bottom of the third,
Kendra Gardner (Mount Union, Pa. / Mount Union) doubled to drive in the tying run, knotting the game at two.
In the fifth inning, Hilbert produced a three-run homer, jumping out to a 5-2 lead. Cypher then homered in the bottom of the inning, plating two runs and cutting the lead back to 5-4. The Mounties then broke it open, in the sixth, scoring six runs on six hits and an error. Cypher, Isaacs, and Piacesi all added to their daily RBI totals, while
Sarah Henninger (DuBois, Pa. / DuBois) joined the party, with two RBIs of her own. Four of the runs came with two outs, giving the Mounties a 10-5 lead.
While Hilbert was able to push one marker across in the top of the seventh, they left three runners on base.
Brenna Watts (Thompsontown, Pa. / East Juniata) earned her first career victory, allowing two unearned runs, out of the bullpen. She pitched 2.1 innings and struck out two batters.
The sweep pushes the Mounties' winning streak to six games, putting them at 6-4 in AMCC play. They are set to travel down the mountain to play Penn State Altoona, on Tuesday. The Lions are 6-6 in AMCC play, 13-14 overall, after falling in both games on Saturday to Penn State Behrend.
