Softball celebration NEAC Semis 2017
Tyler Schueck
2
Penn College PCTW 20-11
10
Winner Penn State Berks PSBW 26-7
Penn College PCTW
20-11
2
Final
10
Penn State Berks PSBW
26-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Penn College PCTW 0 0 2 0 0 2 3 2
Penn State Berks PSBW 1 4 0 0 5 10 9 1

W: Rozick, Jess (15-3) L: Kustanbauter (6-6)

0
Keuka KEUW 27-10
9
Winner Penn State Berks PSBW 27-7
Keuka KEUW
27-10
0
Final
9
Penn State Berks PSBW
27-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Keuka KEUW 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
Penn State Berks PSBW 0 0 0 0 0 9 9 8 0

W: Rozick, Jess (16-3) L: Janessa Vaadi (10-6)

Game Recap: Softball |

Nittany Lions heading to NEAC title game

READING, PA - The Penn State Berks softball team earned a spot in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Championship after picking up a pair of win on Saturday afternoon at Hintz Athletic Field. The Nittany Lions topped Penn College 10-2 in the morning and capped it off with a late offensive outburst in a 9-0 win against Keuka College in the afternoon.

Jessica Rozick tossed two gems in the pitcher's circle and Ashley Malek was a run producing machine all day to lead Berks to the conference title game for the fifth consecutive season. Rozick chucked a three-hitter with two unearned runs allowed against Penn College and followed it up with a two-hit, shutout masterpiece against Keuka. Malek provided the walk-off hit to reach the mercy rule in both games and finished the day 4-for-7 with two doubles, a triple, a grand slam, nine RBI, and two runs scored. Becca Faust also turned in a strong performance at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the opener and adding two hits, two RBI, and a run scored in the second game.

In the late afternoon game against the Wolves (26-10), Rozick and her counterpart Janessa Vaadi were entrenched in a pitcher's duel through the first five and half innings of the contest. Rozick recorded a 1-2-3 inning in 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 6th innings. Mickenzie Palmer was able to get at Rozick in both of her at bats and notched both hits Keuka. Palmer had a one-out single in the first inning, but was left stranded at third base. Palmer later had a lead-off single in the top of the fifth and was lifted for pinch runner Suzanne Welch. Welch was moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt and later moved up to third on a wild pitch with two outs. Samantha Johnson appeared to have knocked Welch in with a shot to the left center gap, but Jenna Heffner came racing in and made the game-saving, inning-ending diving catch.

Rozick's final stat line for the game as 6.0 innings pitched, two hits allowed and four strikeouts.

Vaadi worked around a two-out double by Malek in the first inning and got out of jam in the second inning when Berks had runners on first and second with just one out. Vaadi was settled in with just one base runner allowed over the next three innings to keep the game in a scoreless deadlock.

The Nittany Lions offense finally broke through in the six inning, starting with a leadoff single to center by senior Chelsea Bright. Bright was immediately sent around the bases on a double by Malek to give Berks a 1-0 lead and swing the momentum of the game in their favor. After a fly out, Carley Smith sent a roller to the shortstop, who tried to catch Malek heading to third base. Malek got into a rundown and wasn't just able to stay in it long enough for Smith to get to second base, but she was also able to avoid the tag by the pitcher to slide in safely at third. With runners on second and third, Faust gave Berks some more breathing room when she smoked a single over the second baseman's head to score Malek and Smith. Heather Rissell followed with a walk and Madison Newhouser beat out a ground ball to third to load up the bases. Jenna Heffner then plated two runs when her grounder was mishandled by the shortstop. Bright drew a two-out walk to load up the bases again and Malek followed with a long drive over the left field fence for her walk off grand slam. The home run was the third of the season and 11th of her career, which made her the all-time career record holder for homers.

In the opening win over the Wildcats (21-12), Berks got on the board in the bottom of the first inning without recording a hit. Heffner walked, stole second, and moved up to third on a sacrifice bunt by Bright. Megan Olsen did her job and gave the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead with an RBI groundout to second base.

In the bottom of the second, Faust singled to center and Reed's sacrifice was so well placed it turned into a bunt single. Rissell doubled down the left field line to bring Faust, while Rissell and Reed scored on a single by Heffner. Malek capped off the scoring with a sacrifice fly to center to score Heffner.

The Wildcats got two runs back in the top of the third to make it 5-2 in Berks' favor. The score remained that way until the bottom of the fifth, Rissell was hit with the bases loaded to score Smith and Newhouser had an infield hit that brought in Faust. Malek then ended the game by unloading the bases with her first triple of the season.

Berks will wait out a pair of elimination games to see who they will face in the NEAC Championship. Cazenovia College and Penn State Abington will start off the Sunday's games at 9 a.m. The winner of that game will then face Keuka at 11 a.m., followed by the title game at 1 p.m.
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