UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Fifth-year left-handed pitcher Bailey Parshall cemented her place in Penn State softball history on Tuesday night, breaking individual career records in both strikeouts and shutouts while leading the Nittany Lions to a 9-0 run-rule win over the Bucknell Bison on Beard Field at Nittany Lion Softball Park.
Parshall's evening in the circle featured her typical dominance, as the Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, native tossed her 12th complete game of the 2023 campaign in addition to her seventh shutout of the year. The fifth-year southpaw saw 5.0 innings of work, allowing just three hits on 65 total pitches while yielding zero walks and striking out six Bucknell challengers. The Nittany Lion legend reached exactly 750 career strikeouts on Tuesday night, passing the previous PSU career record holder in Missy Beseres by five K's. Parshall also managed to surpass Jackie Hill's all-time shutout record in the midweek contest, securing the 21st of her storied career.
On the back of a dominant two-way performance, Penn State improved to 24-13 overall in the 2023 season and will return to Big Ten Conference competition this weekend with a 5-9 record in the league. The Nittany Lions officially closed the book on their non-conference schedule with the win over Bucknell, finishing with a 19-4 mark against challengers outside the B1G.
In Penn State's longest-running all-time series against a current Division I opponent, PSU extended its lead on Bucknell to 33-8 overall following the 41st meeting on Tuesday. In defeat, Bucknell dropped to 10-25 overall and will re-enter Patriot League play with a 2-10 mark against conference foes.
With their fourth consecutive win in the books, the Nittany Lion bats continue to impress as the 2023 season wears on. Surging sophomore right fielder Maddie Gordon recorded her third-straight game with a home run, going 2-for-3 on the evening with a two-run dinger in the bottom of the fourth culminating in a pair of RBI. Senior infielder Kaitlyn Morrison put in another efficient night of work in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with a double, while both senior first baseman Lexie Black and senior infielder Michelle Leone each went 1-for-1 with multiple-run homers in the bottom of the third.
After the first Bucknell batter grounded out to junior third baseman Emily Maddock to lead off the top of the first, Parshall caught a pair of Bison swinging. Her two strikeouts in the inning guaranteed her place as the all-time Penn State career strikeout leader with 746. In the home half of the frame, junior second baseman Melody Coombs drew a leadoff walk. Coombs proceeded to steal second and advance to third after the catcher erroneously attempted to stop her journey. An error by the shortstop on Gordon's at-bat sent Coombs home for the first run of the game. Gordon stole second and the trio of Black, senior left fielder Maddie Finnegan and graduate catcher Morgan Farrah all walked, bringing Gordon home for the second run of the night.
Another lights-out frame from Parshall kept the Bison at bay in the next two innings, paving the way for Penn State's offense to unleash havoc in the bottom of the third. Morrison notched a leadoff single to left center and Gordon singled through the left side in the ensuing at-bat, sending Morrison to second. Black stepped into the box and pelted a three-run homer to dead center field, giving PSU a 5-0 lead. Finnegan kept things going with a single to right, and after she stole second base, Leone closed the inning out with a two-run shot to left field that extended the lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Morrison knocked a one-out double to left field and Gordon followed that with an opposite-field dinger to right that placed Penn State in run-rule territory. After the Nittany Lions made some defensive changes to start the top of the fifth inning, Parshall added two more strikeouts to her final line before she recorded an assist on the last putout of the game, securing the 9-0 victory for PSU in addition to her record-shattering 21st career shutout.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Bailey Parshall | 5.0 IP, 3H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 6K, 65 TP
Maddie Gordon | 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI
Kaitlyn Morrison | 2-for-3, 2B
Lexie Black | 1-for-1, HR, 3 RBI
Michelle Leone | 1-for-1, HR, 2 RBI
KEY INNINGS
T1 | Bailey Parshall had two strikeouts in the inning, making her the all-time career strikeout leader in program history with 746. PSU 0, BUCK 0
B1 | Melody Coombs began the inning by drawing a leadoff walk. Coombs proceeded to steal second and advance to third after the catcher erroneously attempted to stop Coombs' journey. An error by the shortstop on Maddie Gordon's at-bat sent Coombs home for the first run of the game. Gordon stole second and the trio of Lexie Black, Maddie Finnegan, and Morgan Farrah all walked, sending Gordon home for the second run of the night. PSU 2, BUCK 0
B3 | Kaitlyn Morrison led off the bottom of the third with a single to left center. Gordon singled through the left side in the ensuing at-bat, sending Morrison to second. Black stepped into the box and pelted a three-run homer to dead center field, giving PSU a 5-0 lead. Finnegan kept things going with a single to right field. Finnegan stole second while a Nittany Lion batter struck out, and Michelle Leone closed the inning out with a two-run shot to left field that extended the lead. PSU 7, BUCK 0
B4 | Morrison knocked a one-out double to left field on a 2-1 count, and Gordon followed that with an opposite-field dinger to right that placed Penn State in run-rule territory. PSU 9, BUCK 0
UP NEXT
Penn State softball returns to Big Ten Conference road action this weekend, as the Nittany Lions head to College Park to face off against the Maryland Terrapins in a three-game series. Action is slated to begin on Friday, April 21, at 6 p.m., with all three games in the weekend stretch slated for streaming via B1G+.
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