ANNVILLE, Pa. – Juniata College softball made its first outing of the season in Pennsylvania and dropped both ends of a doubleheader to Lebanon Valley College, 5-4 and 12-0, Tuesday afternoon at the LVC Softball Park.

Juniata (5-5) rallied from a 5-2 deficit in game one, scoring two runs in the top of the seventh in a bid for the upset win. 

Steph Frith (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove) opened the seventh with a leadoff single, advancing on a Katie Schroeder (Kempton, Pa./Kutztown) grounder that was resulted in an LVC error and a Jen Ashcraft (Bellefonte, Pa./State College Area) single. Erin Francis (Parkton, Md./Hereford) plated two runs with a single, however Ashcraft was out at third on the play.

Francis was put out at second on Rachel Smith's (Martinsburg, Pa.) fielder's choice grounder to short, and Leb Val starter Kristen Palmerio got Juniata's Paige Robertson (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) to fly out to right field to get out of the jam.

Juniata posted two runs in the top of the first, both crossing on a Kelsea Decker (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) double. However Lebanon Valley (5-5) responded in the bottom of the frame with two runs of its own on an RBI double by Allison Hartman, followed by Steph Hulme's single to plate Hartman.

Lebanon Valley scored the go-ahead run in the fourth on Alexa Maddy's RBI double to center field. The Dutchmen added two more runs in the fifth, taking advantage of singles by the first two batters of the inning and plating both runners on Steffani Secola's single to right.

Decker struck out five Leb Val batters in the complete game effort, but allowed five runs, all earned, on 10 hits with three walks as she fell to 4-2 on the season.  Palmerio fanned eight Eagles while allowing no walks as she scattered seven hits for the win.

In game two, Leb Val posted three runs in each of the first two innings to take a commanding lead, and tacked on six runs in the fourth to eventually claim the win in five innings. The Dutchmen scored their three runs in the first on a triple and two RBI doubles, while a two-out, two-base error in left field allowed two of the three runs in the second inning to score.

LVC's six-run fourth inning was keyed by a two-run double, one of seven Dutchman hits in the frame.

Smith started in the circle for Juniata and fell to 1-3 with the loss, while Jasmine Dutton was credited with the win for Lebanon Valley.

Juniata makes its 2012 home debut this Saturday, March 17, when it hosts Penn State Altoona in a non-conference doubleheader at Weaver Park Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

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