COLLEGE PARK, Md. – In a back-and-forth battle that reached nearly three and a half uninterrupted hours from start to finish, the Penn State softball team came away with a hard-fought 14-12 victory over the Maryland Terrapins to take the weekend series from Maryland Softball Stadium on Saturday night. With a two-RBI single in the top of the third inning, sophomore shortstop Kaylie Walters secured the program’s single-season RBI record with the team’s 268th and 269th of the 2025 campaign.
The Nittany Lions continued their blazing trek through the Penn State record book on Saturday evening, with the Blue & White surpassing the single-season RBI record of 267 set by the 2015 team. PSU’s record-breaking 2025 campaign on the offensive side of the ball added yet another notch, with the team already surpassing the Nittany Lion single season run record and home run record well before the conclusion of the season. Penn State’s offense finished the game with 14 RBI on all 14 runs in Saturday night’s cataclysmic offensive matchup, adding 14 hits with four extra-base knocks in the contest.
Senior right fielder Haylie Brunson was exemplary on both sides of the ball in Saturday night’s battle with the Terrapins, finishing with a 3-for-4 final line that included a season-high five runs batted in, all five of which coming on singles. Brunson, a native of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, became the fourth Penn State student-athlete to record a contest with five-or-more RBI in a single game, with the veteran outfielder joining sophomore second baseman Michela Barbanente, senior third baseman Maddie Gordon and junior catcher Madison Seidel with that distinction. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, native Walters was pivotal in Saturday’s win, publishing one of her most productive games as a Nittany Lion with a 3-for-4 finish that included three runs scored and a trio of RBI highlighted by her record-breaking two-RBI single in the third inning that added another notch to the PSU record book.
In total, five different Penn State student-athletes mustered multiple-hit performances, with Brunson and Walters joining Gordon, sophomore designated player Brooke Klosowicz and freshman left fielder Natalie Lieto. Gordon went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI and two doubles, while Klosowicz finished the night 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Klosowicz, a native of Johnsburg, Illinois, needs one more RBI to tie and two to break the Penn State single-season record in the statistic of 49 currently held by Jennifer Tripken and Nan Sichler from the 2002 and 1988 seasons, respectively. Lieto, a native of Monroe, Connecticut, went 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and a double to her credit, rounding out the quintet of Nittany Lion multi-hit performers.
In the circle, the Blue & White called on a trio of student-athletes to guide the Nittany Lions through all 21 outs on Saturday, with freshman right-hander and 2024 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year Abigail Britton earning the start on the same field in which she claimed a 2024 Maryland state championship. Britton tossed the first frame, with sophomore righty Jiselle Hernandez coming in over the next 1.1, setting the table for senior right-hander Mady Volpe to close things out. Volpe, a native of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, provided a much-needed jolt of energy throughout her performance, helping steer the Nittany Lions to their second-straight win in College Park. Volpe tossed the final 4.2 innings, scattering five hits while yielding a trio of opponent tallies and punching out five, including the final two batters of the game to shut the door on Maryland’s late-game rally.
Maryland got the game started with a four-run opening stanza, but the Blue & White were able to immediately clap back with four runs of their own in the top of the second. A relatively uneventful start to the inning saw a pair of outs on the board and Seidel at first base, with Nelson prolonging the frame for the Nittany Lions by reaching on a throwing error by the Terrapin third baseman, bumping Seidel to third in the process. A single up the middle by Walters plated Seidel and moved Nelson to second. PSU’s second-straight single from Ricks scored Nelson while guiding Walters to third, and a two-RBI single to left center by Brunson saw both Walters and Ricks come around to deadlock the contest at four. Maryland took the lead once again with a pair of runs in the home half to make it a 6-4 ballgame, but the Nittany Lions were got the Terrapins right back with another four-run frame in the next half-inning.
Lieto sparked the Nittany Lion bats in the top of the third, smacking a double off the wall in center field as the PSU leadoff hitter in the frame. Barbanente drew a walk, and Seidel executed a sacrifice bunt to place a pair of Penn Staters in scoring position. An out popped on the board moments later, but Walters sent a two-RBI single up the middle and advanced to second on the Terrapin throw home that failed to stop Lieto and Barbanente from scoring. Walters took third on a wild pitch, and Ricks made it runners on the corners following a walk. Another wild pitch saw Ricks move to second base, and Brunson made it worth everyone’s while with a single toward the Terrapin first baseman that made it back-to-back four-run innings for the Blue & White. Maryland lurched back ahead once more in the bottom of the third, and both pitching staffs were able to hold on for a clean fourth inning that made it 9-8 Maryland entering the top of the fifth.
Both teams exchanged blows in the fifth inning and played the sixth inning completely clean, culminating in a narrow 11-10 lead for PSU heading into the final six outs of the night. With one out on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh, Klosowicz demolished the softball and utilized some help from hefty mid-Atlantic winds to bang a solo home run over the fence in right field. Another flyout put two away, but Lieto extended the inning with a single toward the Terrapin second baseman. Barbanente reached via a throwing error by the Maryland shortstop while Lieto advanced to third. From there, Poletti entered to pinch hit and delivered in a big way with a two-RBI single to give the Nittany Lions a pair of insurance tallies. Maryland attempted a late rally in the home half of the frame, ultimately pulling within two of the Penn State lead, but Volpe was able to shut the Terrapins down with back-to-back strikeouts to secure the series win and a 14-12 victory well over three hours into the contest.
Following Saturday night’s donnybrook in College Park, Penn State saw its overall season record improve to 22-24 while moving to 8-10 against Big Ten Conference competitors with four more league games left in the 2025 season. Maryland dropped to 17-27 overall and 3-15 in Big Ten play heading into the final game of the series on their home field Sunday afternoon. After the 43rd all-time meeting of the two programs, Penn State extended its historic advantage against the Terrapins with their 26th win over Maryland since the first meeting of the two squads in 1999. PSU secured its third-straight regular season series victory over the Terrapins dating to the 2023 regular season and will aim to sweep their border rivals for the first time since taking all three games in University Park during the 2016 campaign.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Haylie Brunson | 3-for-4, R, 5 RBI, BB
Kaylie Walters | 3-for-4, 3 R, 3 RBI
Maddie Gordon | 2-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 2B
Mady Volpe | 4.2 IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 6BB, 5K
KEY INNINGS
B1 | After taking the first pitch of her at-bat for a ball, Mazie MacFarlane hit her fourth home run of the season over the fence in right center field to give the Terrapins an early one-run lead. The Nittany Lions forced a popup for the first out of the inning, but Sydney Lewis was able to prolong the frame with a flyball to center that PSU erroneously misplayed, advancing to second in the process. Madison Runyan singled to left field, moving Lewis 60 feet further. Taylor Borovac pinch ran for Lewis at third base, and after a grounder moved Runyan to second while putting two away, Matti Benson put a ball in play that forced a throwing error on the PSU shortstop and allowed Borovac and Runyan to score, unearned. A single down the left field line by Julia Shearer brought Benson in to close out the four-run frame. UMD 4, PSU 0
T2 | A relatively uneventful start to the inning saw a pair of outs on the board and Seidel at first base, with Nelson prolonging the frame for the Nittany Lions by reaching on a throwing error by the Terrapin third baseman, bumping Seidel to third in the process. A single up the middle by Walters plated Seidel and moved Nelson to second. PSU’s second-straight single from Ricks scored Nelson while guiding Walters to third, and a two-RBI single to left center by Brunson saw both Walters and Ricks come around to deadlock the contest at four. PSU 4, UMD 4
B2 | Mariah Penta led the bottom of the second off with a single toward first base, and MacFarlane drew a walk to place runners on the right side of the infield. Woods singled toward the PSU pitcher to juice the bases, but a fielder’s choice and 6-2 force out at home managed to get an out on the board with the bases still loaded. A wild pitch plated MacFarlane while the two remaining runners took 60 more feet, and a single to right center by Runyan scored Woods and Lewis to give Maryland the lead once more. UMD 6, PSU 4
T3 | Lieto sparked the Nittany Lion bats in the top of the third, smacking a double off the wall in center field as the PSU leadoff hitter in the frame. Barbanente drew a walk, and Seidel executed a sacrifice bunt to place a pair of Penn Staters in scoring position. An out popped on the board moments later, but Walters sent a two-RBI single up the middle and advanced to second on the Terrapin throw home that failed to stop Lieto and Barbanente from scoring. Walters took third on a wild pitch, and Ricks made it runners on the corners following a walk. Another wild pitch saw Ricks move to second base, and Brunson made it worth everyone’s while with a single toward the Terrapin first baseman that made it back-to-back four-run innings for the Blue & White. PSU 8, UMD 6
B3 | With one away, Caitlyn Cornwell singled through the left side and advanced to second moments later on a wild pitch. A double to right center from Penta brought Cornwell all the way around, and an ensuing two-run homer over the fence in right from MacFarlane put the Terrapins back in front. UMD 9, PSU 8
T5 | Walters laid down a bunt single, and Ricks drew a walk that placed runners on the right side. After a pitching change, Brunson smacked an RBI single to left center field that plated Walters and moved Ricks to second. Klosowicz executed a sac bunt that put a pair of Nittany Lions in scoring position, and Gordon sent a double that made it through the left side of the infield to bring both Nittany Lions aboard. PSU 11, UMD 9
B5 | Woods led the home half of the fifth off with a single toward the PSU shortstop, advancing to second via a wild pitch and taking third on a fly ball to left. Runyan drew a walk just before Sam Bean lifted a sacrifice fly to right that added a Terrapin tally. PSU 11, UMD 10
T7 | With one out on the scoreboard, Klosowicz demolished the softball and utilized some help from hefty mid-Atlantic winds to bang a solo home run over the fence in right field. Another flyout put two away, but Lieto extended the inning with a single toward the Terrapin second baseman. Barbanente reached via a throwing error by the Maryland shortstop while Lieto advanced to third. From there, Poletti entered to pinch hit and delivered in a big way with a two-RBI single to give the Nittany Lions a pair of insurance tallies. PSU 14, UMD 10
B7 | Runyan booked a leadoff double, and Bean sent a two-run homer over the fence in right field to bring the Terrapins within two scores of the Nittany Lion total. PSU 14, UMD 12
UP NEXT
Penn State softball concludes its final road weekend in Big Ten Conference competition for the 2025 regular season with its third and final tilt against the Maryland Terrapins on Sunday, April 27. First pitch from the Maryland Softball Stadium is scheduled for Noon (ET), with streaming available to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app on connected devices. The link to view live stats provided by StatBroadcast and the University of Maryland is available via the Penn State softball schedule webpage at GoPSUsports.com. Fans are also encouraged to follow along on the Nittany Lions’ social media channels for live in-game updates.
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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 Instagram and X @PennStateSB.