IUP BOX SCORE

LOCK HAVEN BOX SCORE

DRIFTON, PA—The Bloomsburg University softball team stayed alive in the 2012 PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) playoffs by beating Lock Haven 7-3 in an elimination game on Saturday afternoon. The Huskies opened the day with a tough, 1-0, eight-inning, loss to IUP to drop into the loser's bracket.
 
In game two of the day the Huskies took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third. Raychelle Kuhns (Williamsport/Loyalsock) led off with a single with Mandi Baer (Douglassville/Daniel Boone) reaching on an error. After a ground out moved the runners up, Sam Pientack (Archbald/Valley View) singled scoring Kuhns. Rachel Fredell (Dingmans Ferry/Delaware Valley) then reached on a fielder's choice sacrifice bunt scoring Baer. Hannah Moir (Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape ) then singled home Pientack for the 3-0 lead.
 
In the fourth the Huskies made it 7-0. Caitlin O'Connor (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Knolls) homered to lead off the inning. Kuhns and Baer then reached base in front of Pientack who hit a three-run homer to make it 7-0. For Pientack it was her 18th home run of the season tying a school record. Lock Haven got three back in the bottom of the fourth, but Bloomsburg pitcher Cait Paine (Lebanon/Lebanon) retired the final nine batters she faced to earn the win.
 
Pientack tied the school's single-season home run record set by Vanessa Sterner back in the 2000 season.
 
In game one, despite a record-tying 18 strikeouts from Paine, the Huskies lost 1-0 in eight innings. Kelly King for IUP allowed just one base runner, a third-inning single by Chrissy Belko (Old Forge/Old Forge), to get the victory.
 
The lone run of the game came in the bottom of the eighth on a throwing error by the Huskies after the first two runners of the inning reached base.
 
Paine's 18 strikeouts tied both a school and PSAC record for the second time this season. In a regular season game with IUP, Paine also fanned 18 batters.

In the two games of the day Paine pitched 14 innings, allowed just eight hits and struck out 25.
 
Bloomsburg will now need to beat the Crimson Hawks twice tomorrow to claim the title. The first game is set for 11 a.m.