JOHN GALLAGHER
SPORTS EDITOR
The Franciscan University softball team was closely edged 12-10 by conference opponent Penn State-Behrend in its second of two contests on Friday.
After losing the afternoon’s matchup against Behrend 12-2, the Lady Barons turned in a thriller of a matchup in their second contest. The Lions accrued a 1-0 lead, courtesy of an RBI single to right field, but the Lady Barons responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the first inning, two from an RBI double to right field off the bat of sophomore catcher Kayla Anderson.
The top of the second inning saw the Lions close their deficit to only a single run, before sophomore outfielder Kathleen Thompson singled to third base, driving home freshman second baseman Allyson Weiss, giving Franciscan back its two run lead. Weiss stole both second and third base, putting herself in scoring position.
However, the Lady Barons weren’t done in the second inning. They proceeded to break the game open: second baseman Anna Fluharty homered, sending both herself and Thompson safely across the plate. With Franciscan now up four runs, freshman pitcher Andi Queen singled to left field, allowing both Anderson and sophomore Ashley Kondracki to score.
Freshman center Ally Kuntz would ground out to first base to end an inning that saw the Lady Barons post five runs, all with two outs on the scoreboard.
Penn State-Behrend took advantage of some opportune moments in its next at bat. The Lions drove home five runs of their own, first off a shot to right field that saw loaded bases all advance. A double to left field scored another. Franciscan escaped the four run, six hit inning thanks to a fielder’s choice.
Though scoring opportunities presented themselves over the course of the next two innings, neither team could capitalize, leaving the score at 8-6 in favor of Franciscan University. A Behrend double down the left field line in the top of the sixth inning brought the Lions within one, 8-7.
In the bottom of the same inning, sophomore shortstop Denise Carrazco stole home on a wild pitch while Weiss took third. This movement put Franciscan up three runs with only an inning to go.
The top of the seventh inning saw Behrend bats come alive. A double to center field and a single to right drove in two runs and put additional runners in scoring position for the Lions. Two more doubles gave the Lions an 11-10 lead and they broke tack on one more run thanks to a sacrifice fly, before the subsequent batter filed out to right field.
Looking to overcome the previous inning’s two errors, the Lady Barons stared down a two run deficit, heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. Sophomore pitcher Jayln Effertz started things strong for the Lady Barons, singling to left field before stealing second base.
However, the subsequent batters went down one after another, first on a sacrifice bunt that sent Effertz to third, then on two consecutive ground outs to third base to end the game, putting a wild 12-10 finish into the books in favor of Penn State-Behrend.
The Lady Barons will next take to their home field on April 15 at 1 p.m., in a contest that pits them against visiting conference opponent Pitt.-Greensburg.