BOX SCORE

DRIFTON, PA—Sam Pientack (Archbald/Valley View) hit a two-run homer to jump start the offense and lead the Bloomsburg University softball team to a 7-1 win in nine innings over Gannon University in an opening round game of the 2012 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship tournament.
 
Bloomsburg head coach Susan Kocher said the team overcame a case of nerves to get the win.

“The pitching for both teams was very good,” said Kocher. “We were a little anxious at the plate, but once we got a few hits in the ninth everyone started relaxing and getting good swings. We played some good defense and Cait (Paine) was outstanding.”
 
The Huskies and Gannon were locked in a scoreless duel through seven innings with Paine and Gannon's Megan Dragon putting up zeroes on the scoreboard. Neither team had more than one runner on base in any of the first seven innings with the team's combining for seven, three-up and three-down innings.
 
In the eighth the Huskies got back-to-back one out singles to put runners at first and second. But Dragon got a force out and a line out to end the inning. In Gannon's half of the eighth the Golden Knights got a two-out single, but Paine got a strikeout to end the inning.
 
In the ninth the Huskies finally broke through in a big way. Erika Yanora (Tunkhannock/Tunkhannock) doubled to lead off the inning with Pientack then coming to the plate. The senior catcher then hit a liner that easily cleared the temporary fencing in left center field for her 17^th homer of the season.
 
Rachel Fredell (Dingmans Ferry/Delaware Valley) then singled through the left side with Hannah Moir (Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape ) reaching on a two-base error by the center fielder. After a strikeout, Mandy Leach (Milford/Delaware Valley) reached on an error by the right fielder with Fredell scoring and Moir going to third. After a bunt scored Moir and moved Leach to second, Raychelle Kuhns (Williamsport/Loyalsock) did beat out a ball hit to deep shortstop with Leach going to third.
 
Mandi Baer (Douglassville/Daniel Boone) then doubled to right, taking third on an error, scoring Leach and Kuhns for a 6-0 lead. Yanora then finished the scoring with an RBI single to make it 7-0.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, Jess Rectenwald hit a one-out to breakup up the shutout.
 
Paine finished with 16 strikeouts, while allowing just four hits and issuing no walks. Dragon finished with 12 strikeouts, while issuing one walk.
 
Bloomsburg, 33-12, will now face Kutztown on Thursday at 1p.m.