STEUBENVILLE— Franciscan University's Lady Baron softball team hosted the Penn State Altoona Lions Wednesday afternoon for a doubleheader. The Lady Barons took a hard blow from Altoona in game one with 9-1 loss. However, the team rallied for game two and racked up 11 hits and five runs, ending with a 17-5 loss to the Lions.
"We are a young team," said head coach Terry Leighty, "The girls are still learning the game and despite our record the team is really sticking together, which is great to see from a coaching perspective. I was encouraged by our hitting in the second game today, especially against some tough pitching. I think if we can start catching the ball more, we'll definitely start to see some improvement as the season progresses."
The first inning of game one ended with an even score of 1-1. Mattocks stole home for Penn State Altoona and Brianna Antrim scored one run for the Lady Barons. In the second inning, Penn State Altoona captured five runs against Antrim's pitching and gained an additional three in the third, leaving the Lady Barons unable to catch up for the remainder of the game.
Despite giving up six runs in the first inning of game two, the Lady Barons bounced back to generate some offense, scoring two runs in the second inning and three in the fourth. Emily Whiteside and Cathy Durand tallied the second inning runs while Kelly Cole and Antrim each earned an RBI. The fourth inning saw an exciting double from Lara Plumlee as she went on to score a third run for the Lady Barons. Plumlee also tallied two RBI in the game while pitching the five innings. Rebecca Peters and Antrim brought home the final two runs.
"We played with a lot of spirit today," noted game two pitcher Lara Plumlee, "We didn't give up on ourselves and that's really important."
The Lady Barons look to continue to grow as a team and improve their skills as they sit 1-13 overall on the season and 0-6 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. The team hosts Penn State Beaver for a 3:30 p.m. doubleheader tomorrow.
General admission prices are $3 per ticket. Students 13-18 and senior citizens are admitted for $1. Children 12 and under, FUS students with ID, and FUS staff and family are admitted for free.
