ABINGTON, PA – The bats were flowing for the Penn State Abington in its home opener on Saturday as the Nittany Lions swept Cairn University in a doubleheader matchup, 14-2 and 11-8.

Penn State Abington (5-5) struck early in the first game, taking a 6-0 lead in the first inning. Laura VanHoeven got things started with a double to left field, driving Abbi Long in for a run. Megan Tomoney and Maddie Duffy followed that up with a pair of hits to put the Nittany Lions up by four. Grace Renninger and Drew Liss rounded out the inning with a pair of singles to give Abington the six-run advantage.

From there, the Nittany Lions didn't look back, outscoring Cairn, 8-2, for the remainder of the game. In total, Penn State Abington had 17 hits in the opener while holding the Highlanders to just seven. Six Nittany Lions finished with multiple hits, with Long leading the crew with three hits and three runs. Liss, Tomoney, VanHoeven and Jenna Gorman knocked in two runs apiece. Alongside a great effort at the plate, a dual-headed pitching threat from Elyssa Bohr and VanHoven kept Cairn at bay. The two combined to allow just a single earned run while striking out seven batters. 

Penn State Abington's second game of the day followed suit with the Nittany Lions scoring five runs in the first inning. Tomoneys RBI single was the highlight in the first and she added a sacrifice fly in a three-run second. Grace Renninger's two-run double in the third made it 11-0. The Highlanders (2-7) didn't go away and scored four times in both the fourth and fifth innings to make it interesting, but that was as close as they would get.
Renninger knocked in four runs in the nightcap on a 2-for-4 effort while Tomoney was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Liss added three hits in four at-bats. Freshman Gretchen Yanns picked up her first collegiate win.

Penn State Abington will kick off its United East Conference schedule this Friday, March 24 when it hosts Morrisville State.