STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — With a quick turnaround after yesterday's doubleheader, the Lady Barons fall to a tough Penn St. - Behrend side, 16-0, and 22-3. Franciscan University found themselves behind in both games, but battle till the end, never giving up.

It was another slow start for the home team. Franciscan had a tough time adjusting to the powerful pitching of the Lions, resulting in very few hits for the Lady Barons.

"The advantage they had on us; they adjusted to out pitchers," head coach Jen Parker said. "And they were hitting them in between the gaps."

Throughout the course of the day, three different pitchers saw action on the mound for Franciscan. Junior pitcher Ashley Ruttencutter started things off, while freshman Serra Alongi came in midway through the fourth, allowing only one run.

"All of our pitchers had ann opportunity to pitch today and they all did well," Parker said, of a group that kept the ball over the plate. "We didn't give up excessive walks."

Game two saw sophomore pitcher, Eloise Rover take the mound for the Lady Barons, while a warmed up Alongi and Ruttencutter finished things off, due to a high pitch count throughout the day.

"We were throwing a lot of pitchers," Parker said. "They were fouling off a lot, and everyone was tired"

Franciscan was resilient in the second game, and in the first inning, senior third baseman, Mallori Linscomb doubled, batting in Ruttencutter, and senior outfielder, Rosemary Cassidy.

"I was happy to see her get some hits today," Parker said of Linscomb. "It was great to see her come out and drill a double and knock some runs in."

Outside of Linsicomb's two RBIs Franciscan had trouble connecting on runs, but they remained aggressive and put up their third and final run in the last inning.

"We put runs up in the last inning," Parker said. "It's very easy to say, 'well let's just get out of this inning.'"

Parker said her player's confidence in the last inning was due to the team's positive attitude.

"We are a really positive team," Parker said. "It is hard to keep your spirits up when you are continually losing games, and I'm really proud of them for doing that."

Franciscan University will have a few days of practice before getting back on the field versus conference opponent, Mount Aloysius at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. at home.