Juniata softball rebounds and takes two from Penn State Harrisburg

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – After a not-so-good showing against Penn State Altoona on Saturday, Juniata College softball managed to turn it around an took two wins, 6-0 and 5-2, over Penn State Harrisburg on Tuesday afternoon at Weaver Park Field.

The Eagles combined for 17 hits over the two games, 10 of which came in the 6-0 victory. The 10 hits marks the Eagles most hits in a game since their 6-2 win over Johnson State College (3/9) in Myrtle Beach, S.C.  The first game win also marks Juniata's (6-7) first shutout since it defeated Wesley College 3-0 on March 7.

Juniata's first inning in game one was the game maker as sophomore Meghan Decker (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) crushed one of her two doubles in the game, into right center to score sophomore Rachel Smith (Martinsburg, Pa.), who had a leadoff single up the middle, and junior Paige Robertson (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area), who hopped aboard after a second baseman error on a sacrifice bunt. A junior Steph Frith's (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove) fielder's choice scored M. Decker to mark the Eagles' third and final run of the inning. 

Juniata tacked on three more runs, one in the third, fourth and fifth innings, while sophomore pitcher Kelsea Decker (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) blanked the Lions. K. Decker gave up just three hits and fanned six batters, and a solid defense, which committed just one error, behind her didn't allow the Lions to score and forced Penn State Harrisburg (4-9) to strand five runners.

In game two, Juniata again jumped to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning, again kick-started from a Smith single. A Robertson sacrifice bunt and a passed ball that moved Smith all the way around to third allowed a M. Decker single to plate Smith and the Eagles' first run of the game. Juniata closed out the first inning scoring off a freshman Ali Vogatsky (Johnstown, Pa./Central Cambria) double that scored both M. Decker and K. Decker, who got on base with a single.

Juniata posted two security runs in the fourth, and the Lions made a last ditch effort to get back into the game in the seventh inning with two runs.

Smith earned the win with six innings of work in the circle and allowed nine scattered hits and both Penn State Harrisburg runs while striking out four batters. K. Decker was called upon in the last inning to come in and close out the game, and did so with one strike out, a ground out and a fly out.

Robertson ended the day with Juniata's top offensive performance going 4-of-6, while both M. Decker and Smith logged three hits each. Vogatsky charted a hit in each contest, and Frith launched a pair of singles in game one. K. Decker drove in one run and pounded out two hits in game two. 

Juniata heads to Washington, D.C. for a double header against Catholic University of America, both teams' first Landmark Conference games of the season, on Saturday, March 24. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

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