ALTOONA, Pa. - Freshman Andrea Layton (Everett, PA/Everett) pitched a complete game five-hitter in the opener, and the Penn State Altoona softball team was one out away from sweeping both ends of Thursday's Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference doubleheader with La Roche.  Altoona took the opener 3-1 but dropped the nightcap in heartbreaking fashion, 4-3.

Layton cruised to the win in game one, limiting the Redhawks to just one run on five hits and striking out two hitters.  The Lions did just enough offensively, scoring one run in the second inning and plating two more in the third.

With La Roche ahead 1-0, Callie Lyle (Brockway, PA/Brockway) got Altoona on the board in the second with an RBI single that scored Alanna Luzier (Frenchville, PA/Clearfield).  Kara Myers (Millheim, PA/Penns Valley) then belted a run-scoring single in the third, and Erin Cline (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional) scored on a wild pitch to give the hosts a 3-1 lead.

Working with a two-run lead, Layton allowed just one Redhawk baserunner over the final four frames to seal the victory.

Game two was also a tightly contested affair, and the Lions found themselves ahead 3-2 entering the top of the seventh inning.  But Redhawk catcher Erica Monaco smacked the game-winning double with two outs that scored a pair and gave La Roche the comeback win.

The visitors scored in the top of the first, but Altoona tied the game at 1-1 in the third when Luzier stroked an RBI double.  La Roche retook the lead in the fourth only to watch the Lions get an unearned run in the fifth off Redhawk pitcher Jess Cullum.

With the scored tied at 2-2, Altoona's Kelly McVay (Coudersport, PA/Coudersport) singled, stole second, moved to third on a groundout, and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch, putting her team ahead.

Chelsey Rhodes (Williamsburg, PA/Williamsburg) entered in relief of Lyle in the fifth inning and appeared to have the game won with two outs in the seventh before Monaco's heroics.  The Lions went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh.

Penn State Altoona is now 5-19 overall and 3-9 in the AMCC.  The squad travels to Medaille College tomorrow for a 3:00 PM doubleheader.