DuBOIS, Pa. – Both the baseball and softball teams at Penn State DuBois have started their seasons. Although the early season weather hasn’t been the best, both teams are looking to capitalize on the field as often as they can.

Coming back from their spring break trip with a single win, the baseball team was hungry to find more wins to start the season. After several weather cancellations, the Nittany Lions finally got to return to action on March 21 against Elmira College, hosting them for a double header at Showers Field. In game one, Elmira came out and scored four runs in the top of the first inning, scoring runs on a hit by pitch, a sacrifice fly and an error. Those would be the only runs they would score in the game and the Nittany Lions responded back with five runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead. Kyle Elensky, Grant Lillard and Brett Beith each drove in runs in the second inning. DuBois would add two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, with an RBI double from Colby Bodtorf and an RBI single from Austin Mitchell, and the Nittany Lions would go on to win game one by a final score of 7-4. Lillard drove in a total of three RBIs in the game for DuBois.

Game two saw Penn State DuBois take the early lead, scoring three runs in the second inning and five more in the fourth to lead 8-0 at the end of the fourth. Elmira made a charge of their own in the fifth, scoring six runs before the half inning was complete, but DuBois still led 8-6. The Nittany Lions scored an additional run in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Cory Lehman that scored Beith to make the score 9-6 in favor of DuBois. That is where the final score would hold, and the Nittany Lions completed a two-game sweep of Elmira. McLain Welshan, Connor Cherry and Cole Knable each pitched two innings for DuBois, along with Mitchell who finished out the game on the mound. Owen Graham also pitched in the game but did not record an out.

Penn State DuBois then hosted Penn State Mont Alto for a double header on Sunday at Showers Field. Game one saw both teams come out firing offensively, with Mont Alto scoring two runs in the top of the first before DuBois answered back with one of their own in the bottom of the inning. A scoreless dual then broke out with neither team scoring again until the seventh inning. It was in that inning that Mont Alto added another run and went on to win game one by a final score of 3-1. Bodtorf tallied two hits for the Nittany Lions and Zach Tiracorda pitched well despite taking the loss, scattering 11 hits and only allowing two earned runs in 5.1 innings pitched. In game two, the scoring pace started out much slower with neither team scoring until the top of the third when Mont Alto opened the scoring with a single run. They would add four more runs in the top of the fourth before DuBois would answer back with two of their own in the bottom of the inning. The Nittany Lions cut into the lead further in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Beith that scored Lillard. But that would be as close as DuBois would get, as Mont Alto scored single runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to win game two by a final score of 7-3. Brandon Sicheri drove in two RBIs for the Nittany Lions in the losing effort.

For the softball team, the Lady Lions were finally able to get Mother Nature to work with them so they could get on the field to play their first games under first year head coach Jeff Tomb when they traveled to play Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. In game one, the Lady Lions were only able to muster two hits against Saint Vincent’s pitching, scoring their lone run of the game when Larissa James-LaBranche reached on a throwing error that allowed Paige Pleta to score. Saint Vincent used solid pitching and a balanced offense to beat the Lady Lions, coming away with a 4-1 win in game one. In game two, DuBois opened the scoring in the first inning when Pleta singled up the middle to bring in Caitlyn Watson. Saint Vincent, however, answered right back with a two-run home run to take the lead. The Lady Lions would fight back and score two more runs in the top of the second inning when Madison Siterak doubled to right center to bring home both Tanisha Myers and Brianna Bone. Saint Vincent would charge back again, taking the lead with two runs in the bottom of the third and adding four more in the bottom of the fourth. DuBois would get back on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth with a two-run homerun from Watson that also scored Makena Baney. But that would mark the end of the scoring for DuBois in the game and Saint Vincent would go on to win by a final score of 11-5.

Both the baseball and softball teams are scheduled to be back on the field this week, weather permitting. The Nittany Lions are preparing to travel to Penn State Mont Alto, where they will play a double header on Tuesday. They will then host Thiel College at home on Friday, with a scheduled start time of 3:30 p.m. The team will then travel to Penn State Fayette on Saturday to play a double header before returning home to host Fayette at Showers Field on Sunday. The first game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

Softball will be on the road this week, traveling to Penn State Greater Allegheny on Wednesday for a double header with the first game scheduled to start at 4 p.m. The Lady Lions will then travel to play Penn State Brandywine on Saturday and make the trip to play Penn State Schuylkill on Sunday. Both weekend dates will be double headers and they are scheduled to start at 2 p.m.

All games for both the baseball and softball teams are subject to change based on weather and field conditions. For complete athletic schedules, including weather related changes to both the baseball and softball schedules, visit the Penn State DuBois athletic website at www.psuduboisathletics.com.