Softball Gets Crowned Conference Champions For First Time

DuBOIS, Pa. — Entering the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) championship tournament as the number four seed, many doubted that the Penn State DuBois softball team would make much noise in the tournament. That doubt acted as fuel for the fire that was burning inside of the Lady Lion players, and they used that fuel to make a historic run that has not been seen before in program history. Not only did the team go undefeated in the tournament, not only did the Lady Lions make it to the conference championship series for the first time since 2019, they also won the PSUAC championship for the first time in program history in dramatic fashion.

Being the number four seed in the tournament, Penn State DuBois began the tournament in an elimination game against Penn State Beaver on May 2. The winner would continue in the tournament while the loser's tournament run would be over. DuBois pounded out 17 hits and scored in four different innings to take down Beaver, 12-7.

Sienna Barnhart led the offensive outburst, going 3-for-3 with two home runs and four RBIs, while Chelsea Busatto added a triple and three RBIs in a key sixth-inning rally. DuBois jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first, highlighted by Barnhart's two-run blast, and never trailed.

DuBois added five more in the third, capped by another Barnhart homer, to make it 9-1 before Beaver rallied with six runs across the fifth and sixth innings. Selene Arteaga sparked the Beaver offense, driving in five runs with a double and a bases-clearing triple.

With the game tightening at 8-7, DuBois answered in the bottom of the sixth with four insurance runs. Busatto's bases-loaded triple pushed the lead to 11-7 before Kelsey Stuart and Kamryn Mactavish added RBIs to put the game out of reach.

Stuart earned the win in the circle, striking out six over 5.1 innings. Theresa Luongo tossed the final 1.2 scoreless frames to secure the victory.

The win advanced Penn State DuBois on to face the number one overall seed in the tournament, Penn State Schuylkill. This marked the second game of the day for DuBois and the first game for Schuylkill in the tournament after receiving a first-round bye. While a loss for either team wouldn't eliminate them, the winner would be in prime position heading into day two of the tournament the next day.

In the game, DuBois used a five-run third inning and a strong relief performance from Stuart to earn a 7-4 win over Schuylkill to advance in the PSUAC championship tournament.

Audrey Walker came up clutch at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs, including an insurance run in the seventh. Makena Baney jumpstarted the third-inning rally with a two-run triple, then came around to score on a groundout by Barnhart, who finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.

DuBois led 5-0 before Schuylkill answered with four runs in the bottom of the third. But Stuart, who entered in relief, shut the door over five innings, allowing just one run on three hits with no walks to earn the win.

Busatto added a sacrifice fly in the fifth, and Walker's RBI single in the seventh gave DuBois a comfortable cushion. In total, the Lady Lions racked up 11 hits without committing an error.

The win over Penn State Schuylkill meant that Penn State DuBois advanced to the winners' bracket final, facing Penn State Mont Alto on May 3. The winner would move to the championship series, needing to win one game to secure the PSUAC championship.

In the game, Barnhart went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs, leading DuBois to a 7–3 win over Mont Alto to keep their undefeated tournament alive.

Barnhart opened the scoring in the first inning with a two-run homer to left center, giving DuBois an early lead they never gave up. She later added an RBI single as part of a three-run seventh inning that helped seal the win.

The Lady Lions collected 13 hits in the game, including three from shortstop Jessy Frank, who also scored twice and drove in a run. Walker added a 3-for-4 day with an RBI single and stole home in the sixth inning. Stuart earned the win in the circle, going the full seven innings. She allowed 13 hits but walked none and struck out two to improve to 7-5 on the season.

Mont Alto scored all three of its runs in the seventh, highlighted by a two-run homer from Rachel Alleman, but the late surge wasn't enough.

With their undefeated tournament run still going, and their spot in the championship series now secured, Penn State DuBois had to wait for an elimination game to finish to know who their opponent would be on May 4 with the championship on the line. As it turned out, it would be the same team they just defeated. Penn State Mont Alto won the elimination game and earned their way into the championship series for a rematch with DuBois, who only needed to win one game to secure the title. Mont Alto would need to win two games in a row to eliminate DuBois.

One game in the championship series proved to be enough, as Penn State DuBois captured their first PSUAC championship in program history with a dramatic, come from behind win over Mont Alto 4-3 at Heindl Field. DuBois scored four unanswered runs in the final two innings, capped by Busatto's walk-off RBI single in the seventh to capture the championship.

Trailing 3–0 in the bottom of the sixth, DuBois ignited its rally with three consecutive hits. Busatto led off with a single to left and was followed by a base hit from Stuart. With two runners aboard, Natalie Bowser launched a towering three-run homer to right center, her first of the season, tying the game at 3–3.

In the seventh, Frank sparked the offense again with a leadoff single, her second hit of the game. After advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt and a walk, Frank scored the winning run on Busatto's third hit of the day, a line drive to center.

Busatto finished 3-for-4 with a double, one RBI, and one run scored. Bowser went 1-for-2 with a walk, three RBIs, and the pivotal home run. Stuart contributed two hits and scored a run, while Frank also tallied two hits and scored once.

In the circle, Stuart pitched six solid innings, giving up seven hits and three runs, two earned, while striking out three. Luongo earned the win with a perfect seventh inning in relief. Defensively, DuBois committed two errors but made key plays down the stretch, including a clean seventh to preserve the tie and set up the walk-off opportunity.

Mont Alto jumped ahead with two runs in the fourth, including an RBI single by Hailey Spielman and a run-scoring error. Alyssa Wiles tripled and scored on another error in the fifth to extend the lead to 3–0, but the visitors were held hitless the rest of the way.