ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona softball team extended its win streak to eight games on Friday afternoon, when the Lions swept Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Hilbert College in a doubleheader at Stewart Athletic Field.

The Lions (15-9, 7-1 AMCC) posted their first shutouts of the season, blanking Hilbert (0-22, 0-8 AMCC) by scores of 18-0 and 12-0 in a pair of run rule-shortened games.

Game One: Penn State Altoona 18, Hilbert 0 (Final/5 innings)

Penn State Altoona produced its largest run output of the season to date, getting 18 runs on the board while recording 12 hits. The Lions also tied for the third-most walks drawn in a game as a team, as Penn State Altoona players combined to draw 14 free passes.

Meanwhile, starting pitcher Madison Peters (Bellefonte, PA/Bald Eagle) nearly pitched a no-hitter, as Hilbert broke up her no-no bid with two outs left in the game. Peters pitched a complete game to pick up her 10th win of the season, going all five innings and allowing just one hit while recording eight strikeouts. The shutout is the first of Peters' career.

At the plate, five different Penn State Altoona hitters finished with a multi-hit game.

Alyssa Fisher (Lock Haven, PA/Central Mountain) was a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two walks. Madison Lucas (Philipsburg, PA/Philipsburg-Osceola) hit 2-for-3 with a double, two runs scored, and one run batted in, and Madalyn Maynard (Towanda, PA/Towanda) was 2-for-3 with her third home run of the season, four RBI, three runs scored, and one walk.

Peters batted 2-for-4 with three RBI, and Karli Storm (Chest Springs, PA/Cambria Heights) was also 2-for-4 with a double, three runs scored, and two RBI.

Gianna Hoppel (Lewistown, PA/Mifflin County) tied the Lions' single-game walks record, drawing four walks while also finishing with three runs scored and one RBI. Hanna Lauck (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) walked twice, scored two runs, drove in a pair of runs, and had one hit, and Cameryn Feathers (Martinsburg, PA/Central) also walked twice and scored two runs while notching one RBI. Brooke Colledge (Everett, PA/Everett) drew two walks, as well, while scoring one run and driving in one.

Penn State Altoona scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a commanding early lead. Lauck's two-run double to left drew first blood, and Storm's RBI single made it 3-0. Lauck scored on an error by the left fielder during Storm's hit, extending Penn State Altoona's advantage to four runs. Two batters later, Peters' two-run single to left made it 6-0.

The Lions broke the game open with an eight-run bottom of the third. Back-to-back bases-loaded walks by Hoppel and Feathers drove in runs, and a Hilbert error with two outs allowed Hoppel and Colledge to score. Lucas' RBI double to left got another run home, before Maynard's three-run homer down the left field line upped the lead to 14-0.

Penn State Altoona added four runs to its total in the bottom of the fourth. Storm's RBI double to left and Maynard's RBI single to center got the Lions to 16 runs, and Storm scored on Peters' fielder's choice to make it 17-0. Colledge drew a bases-loaded walk one batter later to boost Penn State Altoona's lead to 18.

Hilbert broke up the no-hitter in the top of the fifth, when Bailey Budziszewski doubled to left field. But Peters and the Lions recorded the next two outs to preserve the shutout and end the game early via the eight-run rule.

Game Two: Penn State Altoona 12, Hilbert 0 (Final/5 innings)

Penn State Altoona again ran up an early lead, scoring 12 runs over the first three innings en route to another run-rule victory.

Fisher got the game-two start in the circle and pitched a complete game for her first shutout of the season. In five innings, she held Hilbert to only four hits and struck out one batter, recording her fifth win of the year.

Colledge and Storm each had a three-hit game for Penn State Altoona. Colledge was 3-for-3 with two runs scored, one RBI, and one stolen base, while Storm was also 3-for-3 with a triple and three RBI.

Fisher hit 2-for-4 with two runs scored, one RBI, and one stolen base, and Feathers was 2-for-3 with two runs scored, two RBI, and a stolen base. Lauck finished 1-for-3 with a double, three RBI, and two runs scored.

Penn State Altoona made it 3-0 in the bottom of the first, getting an RBI single up the middle from Feathers and a two-run triple down the right field line from Storm.

The Lions struck again in the second, getting two more runs to increase their lead to 5-0. With two outs, Feathers' RBI single to shortstop plated a run, and Colledge stole home as part of a double steal to give Penn State Altoona a five-run advantage.

Penn State Altoona proceeded to score seven more runs in the third. After Storm singled and Maynard walked, Aubrey Dotts (Houtzdale, PA/Moshannon Valley) put down a sacrifice bunt and reached base on a throwing error during the play, which allowed one run to score. Fisher and Colledge each hit RBI singles, and with the bases loaded, Lauck drove in all three runs on a double to center. Storm's RBI hit into left field made it 12-0.

The Lions held their lead and again ended the game after four-and-a-half frames, thanks to the eight-run rule.

Next up, Penn State Altoona softball will host AMCC opponent Alfred State College for a doubleheader on Thursday, April 27 at 1 p.m. Those games were originally scheduled for this Sunday, April 23, but they were rescheduled due to the expectation of wet field conditions after significant rainfall is forecasted the previous day.