Softball Pulls off Two Upsets in AMCC Tournament, Finishes Third
The Behrend Lions softball team was just 7-23 overall entering its last home double-header of the season. The team hosted the Penn State Altoona Lions on April 30. Both teams stood at 7-9 in the conference, and would likely need a sweep to make the conference tournament. Behrend took game one 3-1 and then won game two 6-2 to earn the final seed in the conference tournament.
As the sixth seed Behrend was set to play the third seeded Medaille Mavericks in double-elimination play. In the only upset of the first day of the tournament, Behrend defeated Medaille 1-0. The game was scoreless through six when Kristen Macha (Export/Franklin) reached on an error by the shortstop. Loriel Herist (Warriors Mark/Tyrone) then tripled to drive in the only run of the game. One run of support was all sophomore pitcher Sandra Jaussi (Bethel Park/Bethel Park) would need. Jaussi was carrying a no-hitter into the bottom of the seventh, and finished the job with a one, two, three inning. Jaussi walked three, struck out four, and hit one batter in her first no-hitter. The last Behrend no-hit game was tossed by Heather Norder in 1996 against Regin College in a five-inning win.
Behrend's next opponent in the tournament was number two seeded Pitt-Bradford. The Panthers scored in each of the first five innings while keeping Behrend off the board. The game ended 8-0 in five innings, with the loss meaning Behrend would have to take on number four Frostburg in the second day of AMCC Tournament play. Jaussi again took the mound and got another upset win. Behrend jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first and never surrendered the lead, winning 4-2. Jaussi allowed just six hits and one earned run in another seven-inning gem. Herist was again big at the plate, going 2-4 with 3 RBIs.
Behrend needed just one more win to move into the championship game in a rematch against Pitt-Bradford. The blue and white faced the number one seed, and host, La Roche Redhawks. On their home field the Redhawks scored in four of the first five innings, winning 5-0. The game ended Behrend's season, and moved the team to 11-25 overall. La Roche moved on, but fell to Pitt-Bradford in the championship game 3-1 in eight innings.
After missing the AMCC playoffs for two consecutive seasons, the return trip was highly successful for the Behrend Lions. The third place finish was the team's best since 2000. Behrend's only AMCC crown came in 1999 when the team went 26-10 on the year.