The Penn State New Kensington softball team is set to compete in the final four of the Penn State University Athletic Conference playoffs May 9 and 10 at Heindl Memorial Park in DuBois.
The Lions (13-12) advanced to the double-elimination tournament with a 9-0 victory over West Division rival Penn State Beaver on Saturday afternoon.
PSNK, the No. 3 seed from the West, will take on East No. 1 Penn State Brandywine in a first-round game May 9 at 1:30 p.m.
Depending on how PSNK does in its first-round game, it will play again later in the day at 4 or 6:30 p.m.
The championship game will be at 1 p.m. May 10.
Penn State Brandywine won five straight league championships from 2015-19. Covid canceled last year’s spring season.
Penn State Mont Alto (West No. 1) and Penn State DuBois (East No. 2) will meet in the other first-round game.
Saturday’s matchup with Penn State Beaver ended in five innings. PSNK collected 11 hits and jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one inning. It then added four runs in the third and two more in the fourth.
Freshman right fielder Molly Collins (Riverview) went 2 for 3 with two doubles, four RBIs and two runs.
Senior pitcher Calle Zmenkowski (Fox Chapel) and freshman catcher Abby Kane (Franklin Regional) added a pair of hits each, and freshman designated player/shortstop Courtney Biswick (North Hills) knocked in a pair of runs.
Zmenkowski tripled, and Biswick, senior second baseman Lauren Torgent (Highlands) and sophomore left fielder Tori Young (Shaler) added doubles.
Zmenkowski picked up the pitching win to improve to 7-9 on the season. She surrendered four hits and no walks while striking out four over five innings.
