DuBois, Pa. - In a rain-filled day, three teams emerged victorious Friday to punch their tickets into the 2026 PSUAC Softball Championship Tournament double-elimination bracket set to begin on Saturday at Heindl Field in DuBois.

Joining Penn State New Kensington, who earned a bye as the top seed in the PSUAC, Penn State DuBois, Penn State Fayette and Penn State Mont Alto all captured convincing wins to make their way into the weekend. The biggest story to emerge is likely Fayette's win as a 7-seed, knocking off 2-seed Penn State Schuylkill in the opening game of the day. They'll now face 3-seed Mont Alto, who routed Penn State Scranton. DuBois rounds out the final four with their win over 4-seed Penn State Beaver.

Mont Alto and Fayette will open Saturday's action at 10:00 a.m., with New Kensington meeting DuBois at12:00 p.m. After a break in the action to pause for the DuBois High School City Classic game, the two losers of the morning games will meet at 6:00 p.m. in an elimination game before the winner's bracket final at 8:00 p.m. You can watch all the action live on the PSU Campus Athletics Network at www.psucampusathletics.com.

#7 PSU Fayette - 5, #2 PSU Schuylkill - 1

After Schuylkill swept the regular season meetings and tied for the top spot in the PSUAC, it seemed unlikely for an upset in the opener. But Fayette took advantage after a slow start for both teams, firing off four runs in the top of the third. Fayette loaded the bases and capitalized on some sloppy defense as Kaylee Doppelheuer put the ball in play up the middle and reached on an error, driving in a run. Hayleigh Vance drew a bases loaded walk before Julie Cooper reached on another error, this time seeing two runs score for the 4-0 lead. 

Makenzee Kenney kept the usually potent Schuylkill bats at bay, allowing just five hits in a complete game performance. Kenney struck out nine batters, and despite walking six was able to escape multiple jams.

Kylie Stevenson homered in the seventh to pull ahead 5-0 before Schuylkill finally got on the board with a homer by Aryanna Bodge. But Schuylkill stranded 12 baserunners on the day, leading to their elimination.

#3 PSU Mont Alto - 18, #6 PSU Scranton - 4

After an upset in the opener, Scranton appeared to be taking notes as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead over Mont Alto, who had also swept the regular season series. Maddie Kelsch doubled to left for a bases-clearing double as Scranton looked to match Fayette's upset.

But Mont Alto had other ideas, immediately pouring on six runs in the bottom of the inning. Rachel Alleman and Cammble Sterner each cracked RBI doubles as part of the effort, giving their pitching staff a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Kira Weikert pitched all five innings, giving up just one run after the early jitters, striking out three. 

Mont Alto improved on their first inning with an 8-run second, powered by RBI doubles from Sarah Devilbiss and Hailey Spielman. Alyssa Wiles and Alleman also doubled in runs in the inning as Mont Alto pulled ahead 13-3. Alleman and Devilbiss added RBI doubles in the third as well. Alleman and Wiles each finished with three hits, but were outdone by Sterner who had four hits and three RBIs on the day. 

Scranton's Vanessa Hodges cracked three of Scranton's six hits from the lead-off spot, while Kelsch finished with three RBIs. 

#5 PSU DuBois - 9, #4 PSU Beaver - 1

DuBois struck first in the final game of the day, pushing across three runs in the second inning on the strength of a Jessy Frank RBI single followed by a two-run double by Natalie Bowser. DuBois would add to their lead in the third, scoring twice--first on a Reagan Slawson bases-loaded walk, followed by a sacrifice fly by Frank. 

Jaiden Patterson got Beaver on the board with an RBI groundout in the third, but DuBois answered again in the fourth as Jorja Snyder doubled to center to drive in two. Two more bases loaded walks made it 9-1, as DuBois walked 14 times in the game.

Theresa Luongo used a solid defense in six innings in the circle, allowing just two hits while striking out just one. Luongo's defense committed just one error on 18 other chances, keeping Beaver off the basepaths.

Bowser and Snyder each finished with two hits for DuBois, while Bowser's three RBIs were a game-high.