ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona softball team split Tuesday afternoon's doubleheader with Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent La Roche University at Stewart Athletic Field.

In game one, the Lions (5-6-1, 4-4 AMCC) won 2-1 in walkoff fashion, getting strong pitching and defense along the way. But in the second game, La Roche (3-3, 3-1 AMCC) overcame a six-run deficit, capitalizing on Penn State Altoona mistakes to rally for a 15-9 victory.

Game One: Penn State Altoona 2, La Roche 1

The Lions got error-free defense and a solid start in the pitching circle, and a late La Roche error brought home the game-winning run for Penn State Altoona.

Casey Reese (Cresson, PA/Penn Cambria) tossed a complete game to record her fifth win of the season for the Lions. In seven innings, she allowed just one run on six hits and three walks while striking out a season-high seven batters.

Makenzie Lukehart (Utahville, PA/Glendale) had two of Penn State Altoona's six hits, going 2-for-3 with the bat. Olivia Miller (West Newton, PA/Yough) and Madison Lucas (Philipsburg, PA/Philipsburg-Osceola) were each 1-for-3 with a run scored, and Katie College (Davidsville, PA/Conemaugh Township) was 1-for-1 with one run batted in. Brooke Bollman (Bedford, PA/Bedford) went 1-for-2.

La Roche got one run across in the top of the first when Lyndsi Urani's RBI single to right gave the visitors a 1-0 advantage.

Penn State Altoona knotted things up in the second inning when Miller led off the frame with a base hit and later scored on College's two-out RBI single to center.

The game remained tied over the next four-and-a-half innings, until the Lions took advantage of a La Roche error in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Lucas reached on a single to center and moved up to second base on Bollman's sacrifice. On the play, an infield throwing error allowed Lucas to come home and help Penn State Altoona walk off as winners.

Game Two: La Roche 15, Penn State Altoona 9

The Lions' offense produced nine runs on 14 hits, but the team was unable to overcome its 16 walks issued to La Roche batters. The Redhawks took advantage, coming back from a 7-1 deficit after four innings to win by six.

Five different Lion batters finished the game with a multi-hit effort.

Kristen Hewitt (Coalport, PA/Glendale) was 3-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored, while Shannon Detwiler (Martinsburg, PA/Central) was 2-for-4 with a double, three RBI, and a run scored. Lucas and Bollman both finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI, and Reese was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk.

Smith, Miller, and Jayde Burge (Philipsburg, PA/Philipsburg-Osceola) also had hits for the Lions, with Smith scoring two runs and Burge recording one RBI.

Lukehart started in the circle and took the loss for the Lions after pitching five innings and yielding six earned runs. Reese followed with 1 1/3 innings in relief, while Miller tossed 2/3 innings.

Penn State Altoona jumped on the Redhawks early, getting six runs across in the bottom of the first to stake out a big lead. Reese's RBI single to center opened the scoring, and Lukehart came home on a double play to make it 2-0. RBI singles from Lucas, Detwiler, Burge, and Hewitt extended the Lions' advantage to 6-0.

La Roche scored its first run in the top of the second, when an error allowed Alexis Myers to score from third base. But the Lions got that run back in the bottom of the fourth, when Bollman's two-out RBI single to right made it 7-1.

The Redhawks chipped away at their deficit in the fifth, when Myers' two-out, two-run single to center trimmed the Lions' lead to 7-3.

The visitors proceeded to turn the game around with a seven-run top of the sixth. Maria Schussler's RBI single to center brought home one run, and Kelly Denk followed with a two-run base hit down the left field line that made it a one-run game. One batter later, Devan Smith's two-run single up the middle put La Roche on top for the first time, 8-7. Urani's RBI groundout and Kylee Grieg's RBI single increased the Redhawks' lead to 10-7.

Penn State Altoona got back to within one in the bottom half of the sixth, when Detwiler came through with a two-out, two-run double to deep center.

But La Roche padded its lead in the top of the seventh. Smith's two RBI double to left-center got her team back to a three-run advantage, and three consecutive bases-loaded walks drawn by Clyde, Grieg, and Alexa Young made it 15-9.

Penn State Altoona softball will look to get back on track during a two-day AMCC road trip this upcoming weekend. On Friday, April 16, the Lions will travel to Buffalo, N.Y. to face conference opponent Medaille College in a doubleheader starting at 2:00 p.m. The next day, Saturday, April 17, Penn State Altoona will head to Bradford, Pa. to face Pitt-Bradford in a twinbill beginning at 1:00 p.m.