Jacksonville, Fla.- Kylee Lingenfelter (Punxsutawney, Pa.) fanned 12 batters on Sunday, including the first 10 Tiger hitters of the game and 11 of the first 12, while the Penn State bats dominated the Tigers, 10-0, in five innings.
The Nittany Lions improved to 5-0 on the season enjoying their best start since the 1974 season, when they started 7-0.
Lingenfelter's 12 strikeouts are tied fourth best in program history. She tied five other Nittany Lions who have recorded 12 strikeouts in one game including current teammate Bailey Parshall (Belle Vernon, Pa.), who has recorded 12 strikeouts on five separate occasions.
Offensively, Penn State had seven hits on the day and worked seven walks. Lexie Black (Omaha, Neb.) led the way for the Nittany Lions, going 2-for-3 with a home run, double and four RBI. Liana Jones (Langhorne, Pa.) put together a 2-for-3 performance with a double and an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lingenfelter started in the circle for the Nittany Lions and set down the Tigers 1-2-3 in the top of the first with three-straight strikeouts.
In the bottom half of the inning, Jones doubled following a Lauren Marcotte (Torrance, Calif.) walk putting two runners on for the Nittany Lions. Black got a hold of a fastball and sent it off the top of the left field wall bringing Jones and Marcotte home.
In the bottom of the second inning, Maggie Finnegan (McHenry, Ill.) singled down the right field line and drove in Kaitlyn Morrison (South Park, Pa.) when Tigers right fielder Kelsie Adams misplayed the ball, giving the Nittany Lions a 3-0 advantage.
In the third inning, Penn State extended its lead when Lydia Coleman (Hoover, Ala.) doubled to deep center field bringing home Melody Coombs (Mechanicsville, Md.), who walked, and Jenna Nelson, who pinch ran for Kathryn Rex (Toledo, Ohio) after she walked. Lilia Crouthamel (Allentown, Pa.) singled, bringing Coombs around to score, and then scored herself when Marcotte tallied and RBI groundout to give the Nittany Lions a 7-0 advantage. Penn State kept the pressure on the Tigers when Jones singled to right field bringing Finnegan, who walked, around to score. Black then crushed a two-run home run to deep center field, giving the Nittany Lions a 10-0 lead.
Lingenfelter struck out the first and last batters of the fourth inning, which resulted in her striking out the first 10 she faced and 10 of the first 11. .
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions travel to Charlotte, N.C. next weekend for a five-game round robbin tournament against Charlotte, Kent State, Georgia Tech, and Boston University (two games).