ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona softball team earned a split with Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Penn State Behrend in Saturday afternoon's doubleheader at Stewart Athletic Field.

Penn State Altoona (4-5-1, 3-3 AMCC) had a well-rounded showing in game one, prevailing 6-3 while getting strong pitching, defense, and hitting. But the Lions' successes faded in game two, when Behrend (6-4, 2-2 AMCC) claimed a 10-0 victory in six innings.

"In game one, I thought we played a pretty complete game. We got good pitching, timely hitting, and came back from a little bit of a deficit," said Penn State Altoona head coach Joe Merilli. "We didn't field the ball well in the second game, and we didn't hit the ball well in the second game. Even though it's good to get a split against Penn State Behrend, we really felt that we were shooting for the sweep after the first game. We'll get back to work on Monday to prepare for La Roche on Tuesday, and we'll try to correct our errors."

Game One: Penn State Altoona 6, Penn State Behrend 3

The Lions overcame a 3-2 deficit in the sixth, putting together a four-run inning to pull off the comeback win.

Casey Reese (Cresson, PA/Penn Cambria) picked up her fourth win of the season in the circle with a complete game effort. In seven innings, she limited Behrend to one earned run on seven hits and four walks while striking out five batters. Reese also had a team-high two hits, going 2-for-3 at the plate.

Olivia Smith (Martinsburg, PA/Central) was 1-for-4 with the go-ahead three-run triple, and Brooke Bollman (Bedford, PA/Bedford) contributed the game-tying hit, going 1-for-2 with one run batted in, one run scored, a walk, and a stolen base.

Shannon Detwiler (Martinsburg, PA/Central) was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI, hitting her first home run of the season. Madison Lucas (Philipsburg, PA/Philipsburg-Osceola) went 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored.

Makenzie Lukehart (Utahville, PA/Glendale) went 1-for-3 with a run scored, a walk, and a stolen base, and Kristen Hewitt (Coalport, PA/Glendale) was 1-for-3 with one RBI.

Behrend plated the game's first runs in the top of the third inning, when Kylee Bundy's two-run single to right gave the visitors a 2-0 lead.

Penn State Altoona responded quickly, tying the game in the bottom half of the inning. Detwiler led off the frame with a home run to left, and Hewitt's RBI single to left later in the inning knotted the score 2-2.

Behrend reclaimed the lead in the top of the sixth on Maria Jones' RBI double.

But the Lions put together a four-run bottom of the sixth to jump ahead. Bollman's run-scoring single through the left side tied things up, and Smith's three-run triple into the right-center gap gave Penn State Altoona a 6-3 advantage.

Game Two: Penn State Behrend 10, Penn State Altoona 0 (Final/6 innings)

Behrend's offense awoke in game two, producing 10 runs on 10 hits. The visitors were also assisted by five Penn State Altoona fielding errors.

The Lions were limited to just four hits in the loss. Jayde Burge (Philipsburg, PA/Philipsburg-Osceola) went 2-for-2 with the bat, while Smith and Reese were each 1-for-3.

In the circle, Reese was handed the loss after going 5 1/3 innings, surrendering five earned runs, and striking out two batters. Lukehart tossed 2/3 inning in relief.

Behrend broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third, when Madison Smith led off the inning by reaching safely on an infield error and later scored on Bundy's RBI groundout.

The visitors took advantage of more Lion miscues in the fifth, when they got three more runs across to expand their lead to 4-0. Smith scored from third on a wild pitch, Jones came home on a throwing error, and Lauren Olevnik's sacrifice fly to right brought in her team's fourth run.

Behrend broke the game open with a six-run top of the sixth. Smith and Marissa Torretti contributed RBI singles to open the scoring in the frame, and Bundy's two-run base hit down the left field line made it 8-0. Torretti scored on a throwing error, and Samantha Manioci's RBI single to left-center gave the visitors a 10-run advantage.

Penn State Altoona went down in order in the bottom of the sixth, and the game ended one inning early via the eight-run rule.

Next up, Penn State Altoona softball hosts AMCC opponent La Roche University for doubleheader on Tuesday, April 13 at 3:00 p.m.