DuBois Stays Hot, To Meet Mont Alto in PSUAC Softball Championship Sunday

DUBOIS, Pa. - Day two of the 2025 PSUAC Softball Championship Tournament started with two teams that didn't expect to find themselves facing such stress so early. Top seed Penn State Schuylkill met two-seed Penn State New Kensington on Saturday morning in an elimination game at Heindl Field in DuBois, Pa. with their tournament hopes on the line.

But that might not have been the biggest story of the day. Penn State DuBois, the fourth seed, continued to mow down any team in their way as they won their third straight game to advance to Sunday's Championship game.

In the opening game of they day, Schuylkill answered the call to stave off elimination, scoring a run in the first inning on an Emma Crisswell ground out. Crisswell also toed the rubber, picking up the win for Schuylkill, going five innings and allowing five runs. In an unusual outing for her, Crisswell earned just one strikeout but still was effective as her team's bats picked her up. Despite four runs from New Kensington in the third, Schuylkill answered with three of their own to tie it at four before falling behind 5-4 after four innings. It didn't last long as Schuylkill exploded for nine runs in the fifth and ended the game early with a run-rule victory. Jade Weiss had four hits and Keira Devor added three, including two monster home runs to lead her team. Devor also had five RBIs in the fifth inning alone, including a drive down the left field line that stayed just fair for a three-run homer.

With Schuylkill advancing to the loser's bracket final, all that awaited them was an opponent. DuBois gave them that opponent, knocking Mont Alto into the loser's bracket with an impressive 7-3 win. Kelsey Stuart went all seven innings, giving up 13 hits but always escaping trouble, including a bases loaded jam in the sixth inning. Despite a home run by Mont Alto's Rachel Alleman in the seventh, DuBois' Sienna Barnhart's own home run and three RBIs were too much to overcome.

The winner's bracket game between DuBois and Mont Alto featured a hitting barrage with the teams combining for 26 hits, even as both pitchers went the distance. Jessy Frank scored twice and had three hits while Audrey Walker also collected three base knocks as DuBois held off the late rallies from Mont Alto.

Mont Alto had a quick turnaround but their bats picked up right where they left off, cracking 11 hits against Schuylkill. However, this time hits turned into runs as Mont Alto plated eight to pick up an 8-4 win and send Schuylkill home. The win propels Mont Alto into a rematch with DuBois in Sunday's Championship game. Alyssa Wiles and Alleman each picked up two hits while Kira Weikert added three RBIs for Mont Alto. Both of Alleman's hits were doubles as she added two RBIs for a team that saw nine players collect a hit. Paige Loudenslager threw seven innings and allowed four runs on eight hits, relying on a strong defensive effort after striking out only one. Schuylkill pushed across two runs in the sixth as Cealinn McGroarty drove in two with a single, but Loudenslager avoided a potential rally in the seventh after inducing a double play.

DuBois has the advantage coming from the winner's bracket as Mont Alto must win twice tomorrow to earn the title. The Championship game is scheduled for first pitch at 12:00 p.m. from Heindl Field. An if necessary game will be played approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game should Mont Alto win the opener.