NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. – The Penn State New Kensington softball team will face Penn State Beaver in the first round of the Penn State University Athletic Conference tournament on Saturday, May 1 at 2:00 p.m. on the Beaver campus.  New Kensington (12-12) is the No. 3 seed in the West Division after finishing the regular season with a 11-11 record in divisional play. Beaver, the No. 2 seed, finished the regular season with a record of 16-8 in the PSUAC.

Freshman outfielder Natalie Heltebran (Irwin, Pa./Hempfield Twp.) has had a standout freshman campaign and currently leads the team in batting average (.362), slugging percentage (.613), hits (29), runs batted in (25), doubles (9), and home runs (3). Fellow freshman Abby Kane (Franklin Regional/Murrysville) leads the team with a .430 on base percentage and has racked up 26 hits of her own.

The Lions have gotten significant work out of its senior trio of Riplee Burkhart (Verona, Pa./Penn Hills), Lauren Torgent (Tarentum, Pa./Highlands) and Calle Zmenkowski (Cheswick, Pa./Fox Chapel) with each has tallying over 20 hits this season.

On the mound, Tori Young (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler Area) leads the team in earned run average at 3.75, while Zmenkowski stands at sixth in the PSUAC with 48 strikeouts.

The Lions have faced off with Beaver six times this season with Beaver earning the slight advantage, 4-2. The teams split two double headers at New Kensington, with Beaver taking the sweep last Saturday on their home field.

The winner of the New Kensington-Beaver game will enter a double-elimination tournament and face the top seed from the East Division, Penn State Brandywine, on Sunday, May 9, at Heindl Memorial Park in DuBois, Pa.

2021 PSUAC Softball Tournament

Saturday, May 1st, 2021 (single elimination game at higher seed)

Game 1:  West #3 Seed Penn State New Kensington at West #2 Seed Penn State Beaver, 2 p.m.

Game 2:  East #3 Seed Penn State Hazleton at East #2 Seed Penn State DuBois, 1 p.m.

Sunday, May 9th, 2021 At Heindl Memorial Park, DuBois, PA (Double-Elimination Tournament)

Game 3:  Winner Game 2 vs. West #1 Seed Penn State Mont Alto, 11 a.m.

Game 4:  Winner Game 1 vs. East #1 Seed Penn State Brandywine, 1:30 p.m.

Game 5:  Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 4 p.m. 

Game 6:  Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 6:30 p.m.