The Misericordia University softball team opened the 2015 ECAC Division III South Championships with a 7-1 victory over Penn State Harrisburg on Wednesday afternoon at Anderson Field.
 
Melanie Quintanilla led the Cougars' offense with three hits and three RBI while Sam Hare, Megan Hardy and Victoria Ciszak drove in one run each in the victory.
 
Bailee Schies picked up the victory with four innings of shutout softball in the circle. She struck out two and allowed just two hits. Alissa Steier surrendered just one run in two innings of relief while Maddie Stebich tossed a scoreless seventh to preserve the victory.
 
Hardy put the Cougars on the board with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first.
 
Quintanilla and Hare added RBI singles in the in the second and Quintanilla then scored from third on the throw when Quintanilla stole second, giving MU a 4-0 lead after two.
 
Quintanilla then crushed a two-run homer over the left field wall, making it a 6-0 heading into the fifth.
 
The Lions got one back on a solo homer in the sixth. However, Ciszak got the run right back with an RBI single up the middle in the sixth, completing the 7-1 victory.
 
With the win, MU improves to 27-15. PSU-Harrisburg finishes at 18-19.
 
The Cougars advance to face the winner of the other quarterfinal between Alvernia and Cabrini on Saturday at Bethany College in West Virginia.