MUNHALL, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona softball team competed in a rare nighttime doubleheader on Tuesday evening, when the Lions traveled to play new Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Carlow University at West Field.

Penn State Altoona (9-10, 2-2 AMCC) took its first conference losses of the season, falling 3-0 in game one to Carlow (5-13, 3-1 AMCC) before coming up short, 5-4, in game two.

Game One: Carlow 3, Penn State Altoona 0

Penn State Altoona suffered its first shutout loss of the season in game one, during which the Lions were limited to just two hits.

Josselyn Nau (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) spun a complete game in the pitching circle but was saddled with the loss. Over six innings, she allowed just two earned runs on seven hits and no walks while striking out a pair.

Alyssa Fisher (Lock Haven, PA/Central Mountain) was 1-for-3 with a double, and Gianna Hoppel (Lewistown, PA/Mifflin County) was also 1-for-3 to account for the Lions' other hit.

Carlow broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth, when Bella Cartieri's two-out RBI single up the middle put the Celtics in front. The home team tacked two more runs on to its total in the fifth, getting an RBI single from Maddie Bowes and a run-scoring double by McKenna Pierce to extend its lead to 3-0.

But Penn State Altoona's bats were quieted throughout the contest, as the Lions were kept off the scoreboard while managing just four base runners.

Game Two: Carlow 5, Penn State Altoona 4

Penn State Altoona's offense awoke in game two, when the Lions totaled 11 hits as a team. But Carlow built a 5-2 lead after six, and a late rally by Penn State Altoona fell just short in the top of the seventh.

Brianna Bone (Morrisdale, PA/West Branch) got the start at pitcher and took the loss, after going three innings and yielding three runs. Madalyn Maynard (Towanda, PA/Towanda) tossed three innings in relief and surrendered a pair of runs.

At the plate, Fisher was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Karli Storm (Chest Springs, PA/Cambria Heights) was 2-for-3 with a run scored, and Jordan Krawcion (Johnstown, PA/Central Cambria) hit 2-for-4.

Brooke Colledge (Everett, PA/Everett) had a triple and a run scored, and Bone hit a double, scored a run, and notched an RBI.

Cameryn Feathers (Martinsburg, PA/Central) was 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk, Maynard was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk, and Hoppel also had a hit and an RBI.

Carlow drew first blood in the bottom of the first on Pierce's two-out, two-run home run to right field.

Penn State Altoona scored its first run of the evening in the top of the third to cut its deficit in half. With one out, Colledge tripled to right, and Hoppel followed with an RBI single to right center that made it 2-1.

Pierce continued to swing a hot bat for the Celtics, as her RBI single up the middle in the bottom half of the third got a run back for Carlow, which boosted its lead to 3-1.

Penn State Altoona made it a one-run game again in the top of the sixth. With one out, Bone's double to right center and Krawcion's base hit up the middle put two runners in scoring position for the Lions. Fisher came next, delivering an RBI single through the left side that made it 3-2.

But Carlow increased its lead to three in the bottom of the sixth. Megan Pollinger scored on a wild pitch before Jillian Durst's RBI double to right center gave the Celtics a 5-2 advantage.

Penn State Altoona threatened to tie the game in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with no outs, scoring two runs, and putting the potential tying run on base. Feathers reached on an outfield error to start the frame, before Storm got on base courtesy of catcher's interference and Hanna Lauck (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) drew a walk to load the bases. After an out, Maynard's RBI single to left made it 5-3, and Bone's fielder's choice in the next at-bat closed the gap to one, 5-4. But with a runner at first and two outs, Carlow got out of the inning to escape with the tight, one-run victory.

Penn State Altoona is scheduled to hit the road again this Thursday, April 11, when the Lions are set to play AMCC opponent La Roche University in a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m.