Reading, PA- The Penn St. Berks Softball Team advanced to the Final Four of the United East Championship Tournament, sweeping #8 Penn State Abington in the Second Round on Friday, May 2. The Lions captured a 6-0 victory in game one before notching a thrilling 2-0 victory in game two.
 
Berks (25-7 Overall, 16-0 UE) got off to a good start, scoring in each of the first two innings. In the bottom of the first, Haylie Mauger led off by driving a single up the middle and stealing second to put herself in scoring position. Peyton Vivian then hammered a double into the right center field gap, plating Mauger and putting Berks ahead 1-0. In the second inning, Laurel Zubler and Kylie Krauss each singled, eventually advancing into scoring position. Naomi Fay then hit a sharp ground ball, that allowed Zubler to score.
 
Enjoying the early lead, Paige Brightwell was in control of Penn State Abington (15-23 Overall, 9-7 UE). Brightwell blanked the visiting Lions for the second time this season, allowing only five hits in 7.0 innings of action, striking out four.
 
Kylie Krauss got Berks' offense going, earning a walk and then stealing second and moving over to third on an errant throw. Ashlyn Sherwood laid down a bunt, allowing Krauss to score.
 
The Lions extended their advantage in the bottom of the fifth inning. Anna Laughlin smacked a single through the left side to lead off the inning. Jaredis Flores hammered a double into left field, allowing Laughlin to fly around the bases and score. Later in the inning, Zubler laid down a sacrifice bunt that allowed Flores to score. In the sixth inning, Vivian used an RBI single to score Mauger, putting Berks ahead 6-0.
 
Brightwell closed out the victory in the top of the seventh inning, getting several quick outs to but Berks ahead 1-0 in their three-game series with Abington.
 
Berks found themselves in a pitchers' duel in game two, with neither team being able to put a run on the board in the first four innings. The Lions had runners in the first two innings, but they could not take the lead. Abington threatened to score first in the top of the fourth inning. They loaded the base, but Berks' starting pitcher Mallory Duff got two key strike outs to get out of the jam. On the game, Duff pitched 6.1 innings of shutout softball, holding Abington to only six total hits.
 
The Lions finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth inning. Sherwood led off by drawing a walk and stealing second base. Fay then reached on a bunt single, moving Sherwood over to third. She then stole second base, putting two runners in scoring position. Vivian came to the plate, laying down a squeeze bunt that allowed Sherwood to score. Abington tried to flip the ball home to get Sherwood and it got away from their catcher, meanwhile Fay never broke her stride, scoring from second to give Berks a 2-0 lead.
 
Berks remained in control entering the seventh inning, turning to Brightwell to close out the victory. She drew a ground ball up the middle that Zubler turned a double play on, securing the victory and sending Berks to the United East Softball Championship Final Four.
 
WHO'S NEXT
The Lions will now host the United East Softball Championship Final Four, starting on Friday, May 9. The Lions will host #4 Penn College in the opening game of the double elimination tournament at 10:00 AM. To view the Tournament Central page, Click Here.

FOLLOW US
Fans can keep up with Penn St. Berks Athletics all season long on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube using the handle @BerksAthletics.