MANSFIELD – Junior Hannah Swartz was 3-for-4 with two RBI and a homer and sophomore Danielle Goff battled on the mound to lead the Mansfield University softball team in game two, but Lock Haven University scored the winning run in the seventh inning to secure a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East sweep on Saturday afternoon, April 10 at Helen Lutes Field. The Mounties fell 6-5 in the nightcap after falling 18-8 in the opener.

The Mansfield Athletic department honored seniors Alex Hein, Hannah Breitigan, Joelle Snyder and graduating junior McKenna Russell before the game as part of the Senior Day ceremony.

The Mounties (2-14, 2-14 PSAC East) led the whole game and remained ahead, 4-2 until the top of the sixth when Lock Haven (8-12, 8-12 PSAC East) pushed across three runs to take a 5-3 lead.

However, Swartz put an exclamation mark on her hot day at the plate by leading off the bottom of the sixth with a home run to cut the deficit to one. The Mounties then scored the equalizer a few batters later when junior Meghan McGinley knocked in Hein with a sac fly.

The Bald Eagles put the winning run on in the top of the seventh right away, but Goff continued to battle as she did all game by getting two quick outs.

With her team down to one out, LHU's Summer Peters sent a screamer to the right side and Hein laid out and nearly made the play of the game but Peters got down the line quickly to earn the RBI and give the Bald Eagles the lead.

Mansfield worked the bases loaded in the seventh which moved the tying and winning run to scoring position, but the Bald Eagles got out of the jam to earn the win.

Goff (2-5) went all seven innings in the losing effort, allowing six runs and striking out five. LHU's Jada Schellhammer earned the complete-game win, allowing four earned runs on eight hits.

Snyder joined Swartz as the second Mountie with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-4 with an RBI and freshman Gabby Drumm belted her first-career homer to lead the Mountie offense.

Surrendering a run in the top of the first, the Mountaineers countered with a two runs of their own after Swartz and Snyder plated runs, taking their first lead of the day, 2-1.

The Mounties kept rolling in the third when Drumm sent her first-career homer into the trees in left field to extend the lead to 3-1.

LHU scored four unanswered runs in innings four through six, but the Mounties came firing back with two runs in their half of the sixth, setting up the dramatic finish.

In game one, LHU wasted no time in breaking the game open with nine runs in the first and three in the second to jump out to a 12-run lead.

The Mounties found life offensively in the second after a walk by junior Alexis Easling and back-to-back singles by Hein and McGinley, bringing up freshman Maddy Jean. Jean just missed her second grand slam on the season as she doubled to left center and cleared the bases to cut the Bald Eagles lead to 12-3.

Lock Haven erased the Mountaineers efforts with another three runs in the third, but the Mounties countered with five runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut the deficit to six.

The Mounties brought 10 hitters to the plate, totaling seven hits with Breitigan, Snyder, Easling, Hein and McGinley driving in runs.  

However, that was the final Mountaineer runs and LHU tacked on three insurance runs in the fifth to secure the victory.

McGinley, Breitigan, Snyder and Hein all notched two hits, while Snyder added a triple and Jean's double drove in three runs. The triple moves Snyder into sole possession for second place in the softball team's career record book.

Easling was dealt the loss for MU and Madison Waltman earned the win in the circle for Lock Haven.

The Mounties return to Helen Lutes Field at 2 p.m. with a doubleheader against No. 23 Kutztown University on Monday afternoon, April 12.