HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona softball team hit the road on Tuesday afternoon to take on non-conference foe Juniata College, losing both games of a doubleheader at West End Field.

Penn State Altoona (4-7) fell 9-1 in game one, then took a close 4-3 loss in game two.

Game One: Juniata 9, Penn State Altoona 1 (Final/5 innings)

The Lions were limited to one run on four hits, while Juniata (4-10) put nine runs on the board over five innings to earn the run rule win.

Brooke Boonie (Petersburg, PA/Juniata Valley) had two of Penn State Altoona's four hits, going 2-for-2 with her first collegiate home run. Jayde Burge (Philipsburg, PA/Philipsburg-Osceola) was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk, and Alyssa Fisher (Lock Haven, PA/Central Mountain) was also 1-for-2.

Casey Reese (Cresson, PA/Penn Cambria) started at pitcher and suffered the loss, going four innings and allowing six earned runs while striking out three. Fisher pitched 2/3 inning in relief with one strikeout.

Penn State Altoona scored the game's first run in the top of the second, when Boonie's two-out solo shot to left made it 1-0.

But Juniata was able to capitalize in a two-out situation of its own in the bottom half of the second. With two away in the frame, Caleigh Love drove in a pair with her base hit to left. The next batter, Maya McLeod, hit a three-run homer to center to give the Eagles a 5-1 advantage.

The home team added two runs in the fourth, then two more in the fifth to end the game, courtesy of the eight-run rule.

Game Two: Juniata 4, Penn State Altoona 3

The Lions established a 3-1 lead through three innings, but Juniata came back to tie the game in the fourth. The Eagles picked up a late run to ultimately win the game, scoring one in the bottom of the sixth and holding the lead in the contest's final frame.

Boonie had another multi-hit performance for Penn State Altoona, going 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Olivia Smith (Martinsburg, PA/Central) was 1-for-2 with an RBI, a run scored, a walk, and a stolen base.

Fisher finished 1-for-3 with a triple and an RBI, and Cameryn Feathers (Martinsburg, PA/Central) was 1-for-4 with a double.

Fisher pitched a complete game in the circle and took the loss, going six innings and allowing four runs.

Juniata grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a solo home run to center field by McLeod, but Penn State Altoona struck back in the top of the second to tie the score. Boonie reached on a one-out double, then scored when Fisher tripled to right-center.

The Lions claimed the lead in the top of the third, when Smith's RBI single to right-center and Boonie's RBI single to left gave Penn State Altoona a 3-1 lead.

But Juniata tied things up in the bottom of the fourth, when back-to-back RBI doubles from Ruthie Betts and Jessie Hunt knotted the score 3-3. The Eagles secured the lead in the bottom of the sixth on another Betts RBI double, and the home team retired Penn State Altoona in order in the top of the seventh to close out the game.

Penn State Altoona softball is scheduled to return to campus for its next games, back-to-back home doubleheaders. On Friday, March 25, the Lions will host non-conference opponent Geneva College in a doubleheader starting at 3:30 p.m. The next day, Saturday, March 26, Penn State Altoona takes on non-conference foe Saint Vincent College in a twinbill beginning at 1:00 p.m.