HAZELTON, PA – The Cairn Softball team split with Penn State – Hazelton on the road, Monday, picking up a 10-6 victory in game one and dropping game two 7-2.
 
GAME ONE
Senior outfielder Adriana Shannon (Marlton, NJ / Cherokee) led off the game with a double to the right centerfield gap, getting herself to third and scoring on a pair of passed balls to garner an early lead for Cairn (3-14). Sophomore catcher Myiah Petroro (Long Island, NY / Liberty University Online Academy) and classmate Sydney Wright (Souderton, PA / Souderton Area HS) walked to put runners on with no outs. Freshman shortstop Emily Brittin (Winslow, NJ / Pilgrim Academy) moved both runners into scoring position, reaching on a fielder's choice. Freshman pitcher Evelyn Johnson (Yardley, PA / Calvary Christian) scored Wright and Petroro on a single to put the Highlanders up 3-0.
 
Cairn would add a six-spot in the second as sophomore outfielder Jolene Zefferi (Bristol, PA / Bristol) led off with a single and Shannon reached on a fielder's choice. Wright singled to load the bases with Zefferi and Shannon scoring on a fielder's choice by junior infielder Abbi Heacock (Media, PA / Delaware County Christian School). Johnson added another single, putting runners at the corners for junior infielder Julia Bruestle (Abington, PA / Abington HS) to score both with an RBI single. Senior outfielder Katie Fauske (Staten Island, NY / Port Richmond High School) scored Johnson for the sixth run of the frame on an RBI groundout the other way.
 
Penn State Hazelton (2-6 / 1-3 PSUAC) responded in the fifth inning, scoring six runs of their own, cutting the Cairn lead to 9-6. The Highlanders added an insurance run in the top of the seventh with Heacock scoring Wright on an error to third base. Highlander pitching would hold the Nittany Lions scoreless in the bottom half as they took game one, 10-6.
 
Johnson led the way on both offense and defense, hitting 2-4 in the game with 2 RBI and a run. From the rubber, she went the distance, picking up a complete game win, striking out four.
 
GAME TWO
The Nittany Lions were the first on the scoreboard in game two, putting up a pair on the bottom of the first. They would add five more in the third on seven hits in the frame. As the Highlanders crafted a response with the sun setting, Bruestle led off the fifth with an infield single followed Fauske with a fielder's choice and an infield single for Shannon. Petroro scored Fauske and Shannon on a double before the third out could be recorded, as the game was called after four and a half for darkness.
 
Petroro had three hits in game two with a pair of RBI with Bruestle next tallying two hits.
 
The Highlanders have their final matchup of the 8-game road stretch at Rosemont College on Wednesday as they open up Skye Division play at 4 & 6 p.m. EDT.