CRESSON, PA. — The Mount Aloysius Mounties (17-14, 10-6 AMCC) hosted the Carlow Celtics (17-23, 8-8 AMCC) today for the final doubleheader of the regular season. The Mounties needed a win to secure home field advantage heading into the playoffs this coming weekend.
GAME ONE
The Mounties found themselves trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning. The game had been quiet up to that point. With two outs, the Mounties sparked a rally.
Maya Capozzoli (Camp Hill, Pa., Cedar Cliff),
Isabela Marquez (Greensburg, Pa., Greensburg Central Catholic), and
Morgan Hassen (Northern Cambria, Pa., Northern Cambria) hit back-to-back-to-back singles. With the bases loaded,
Sarah Henninger (DuBois, Pa., DuBois) drove in two runs with a single.
Whitney Cole (McDonald, Pa., South Fayette) then cleared the bases with a triple, scoring two more runs.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Mounties' bats came alive again to extend their lead. Henninger drove in two more runs with another single,
Maggie Cypher (Kittanning, Pa., Armstrong) walked with the bases loaded to bring in a run,
Sophie Smith (Mapleton Depot, Pa., Mount Union) added an RBI single, and two additional runs scored on a Carlow error. The Mounties entered the top of the seventh with a 10-3 lead. The game would end there.
On the mound for the Mounties was
Jessica Koptcho (Mountain Top, Pa., Crestwood), who delivered a historic performance. Koptcho pitched a complete game, striking out a program-record 18 batters. She threw 108 pitches, allowed just four hits, and gave up only two earned runs.
GAME TWO
Looking to clinch home field advantage with a sweep, the Mounties entered game two with momentum. The game started off hot, with both teams scoring four runs in the first inning. For the Mounties,
Sarah Henninger and
Whitney Cole opened with back-to-back doubles, making it 4-1. Later in the inning,
Maya Capozzoli hit a bases-clearing triple to tie the game at 4-4.
The Celtics responded with four more runs in the second inning, giving them an 8-4 lead. But the Mounties didn't back down. Henninger led off the bottom half with a triple and scored on a double by Cole. Trailing 9-5, the Mounties added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Maggie Cypher hit a sacrifice fly to score one, and
Kendra Gardner (Mount Union, Pa. , Mount Union) followed with an RBI single.
Despite a strong effort, the Mounties fell 10-7 in game two, splitting the doubleheader with the Celtics.
Later in the day, the Mounties received some good news: they have secured home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs as the #2 seed.
The AMCC Playoffs are set to begin this Saturday and Sunday.
