EVANSTON, Ill. – Penn State softball dropped its third Big Ten series on Saturday afternoon, falling to the No. 23 Northwestern Wildcats by a 24-6 score on Sharon J. Drysdale Field.
Following Saturday afternoon's loss, the Nittany Lions dropped to 20-10 overall through their first 30 games of the 2023 season. PSU's season record in Big Ten Conference competition dropped to 2-6 overall, with wins against Iowa and Minnesota in the past two weeks. Northwestern climbs to 23-9 overall and maintains the second-best record in the Big Ten at 8-1.
Despite the final score, Penn State's bats had a solid afternoon in the box, recording four home runs to Northwestern's three. Senior first baseman Lexie Black continued her powerful streak of performances in the Windy City by going 2-for-3 on the day with a solo home run followed by a single in the top of the fifth. A trio of Nittany Lions belted their first homers of the season, including junior second baseman Melody Coombs, junior third baseman Emily Maddock and fifth-year centerfielder Lilia Crouthamel.
The first inning of Saturday's contest featured a pair of one-two-three innings by both offenses, as neither side could get anything going at the dish. PSU had the first baserunner in the game after senior shortstop Kaitlyn Morrison was hit by a Wildcat pitch in the top of the second, but the Nittany Lions failed to get anyone else aboard. Northwestern responded in the bottom of the inning with 11 runs on nine hits with two PSU errors. Just two of NU's 11 runs in the second were earned runs for the Nittany Lion pitching staff.
Penn State mustered a comeback attempt in the top of the third inning, as sophomore leftfielder booked a single to right field. Coombs followed that up with her first home run of the 2023 season deep to left, putting two PSU runs on the board. Northwestern snapped back in the bottom of the third inning with 10 more runs, with eight-of-10 unearned. Black attempted to keep hope alive in the top of the fourth with a homer deep to center on a 1-2 count, but Northwestern added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth frame to ice NU's scoring on the day. Penn State added three more runs to its total in the top of the fifth, closing out the six-run offensive performance for the Nittany Lions.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Lexie Black | 2-for-3, HR, RBI, 1 R
Melody Coombs | 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, 1 R
Emily Maddock | 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, 1 R
KEY INNINGS
B2 | Hannah Cady drew a walk and Nikki Cuchran reached on a fielder's choice, bumping Cady over to second after a muffed catch by the second baseman. Both Cuchran and Cady advanced a base on a wild pitch, and an Angela Zedak single brought Cady around. Zedak stole second to put runners on second and third, and a Kelsey Nader single followed by a PSU error allowed Zedak and Cuchran to score. Skyler Shellmyer logged a stand-up double that plated Nader. Maeve Nelson singled up the middle, scoring Shellmyer. Jordyn Rudd sent a homer over the left field fence to drive in two runs. Cady walked once again and Cuchran homered to right. Zedak singled through the left side and Nader drew a walk. Ayana Lindsey logged an RBI single, scoring Zedak and moving Nader to second. Kansas Robinson walked to load the bases and Shellmyer singled to second base to score Nader. NU 11, PSU 0
T3 | Lydia Coleman booked a single to right field, and Melody Coombs sent her first home run of the season deep to left to put two Nittany Lion runs on the board. NU 11, PSU 2
B3 | Rudd drew a walk followed by a pair of beanballs drawn by Cady and Cuchran to load the bases. Zedak walked to bring a run home followed by a Nader fielder's choice that prevented Cady from scoring at home. Lindsey plated Cuchran with a sac fly to right and Zedak scored the following play courtesy of a PSU error. Shellmyer singled up the middle, scoring Nader and advancing Robinson. Bridget Donahey pinch hit for Nelson and hit a three-run homer to center. Lauren Sciborski was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on an Emmie Farnam single. Kendall Peterson pinch hit and singled to score Sciborski. Sydney Supple drew a walk and Nader booked a two-RBI double to center that scored Peterson and Farnam. NU 21, PSU 2
T4 | Lexie Black homered deep to center on a 1-2 count. NU 21, PSU 3
B4 | Robinson doubled to right center followed by a pair of quick Wildcat outs. Robinson advanced to third on a grounder and scored after Sciborski singled to right field. Cady drew a walk, and Cuchran singled to left field to load the bases. Supple singled to right field, plating Cady and Sciborski. NU 24, PSU 3
T5 | Lilia Crouthamel belted a first-pitch home run to right field. Maddie Gordon singled to the pitcher, and Emily Maddock launched her first home run of the season to right, scoring PSU's final two runs of the afternoon. NU 21, PSU 6
UP NEXT
Penn State softball concludes its weekend series against the No. 23 Northwestern Wildcats with game three on Sunday, April 9. First pitch on Sharon J. Drysdale Field is slated for 1 p.m. ET, with streaming available via B1G+.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State softball. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion softball team on Facebook at /pennstatesoftball as well as Twitter and Instagram @PennStateSB.
