| The Lady Lions topped Minnesota 3-0 on Saturday. For photos from the game, click here. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; April 14, 2006 - The Penn State softball team shut out Minnesota Friday night at Nittany Lion Field, 3-0, in seven innings of solid pitching from redshirt-senior starter Missy Beseres (Golden Valley, Minn.). The Nittany Lions are now 24-11 (2-7 Big Ten), while Minnesota falls to 12-22 (1-8 Big Ten).
Despite stranding two baserunners, including a runner on third in the bottom of the first inning, Penn State didn't score until the second inning of the contest. After a groundout to start the inning, redshirt-senior Leigh Murray (Fairfax Station, Va.) hit a rocket over the wall for what was the eventual game-winning run. Penn State kept the 1-0 lead for the next few innings.
The Nittany Lions benefited from a quality outing from Beseres in the mean time, especially early on as she struck out seven Gophers in the first three innings. The win was the first for the Minnesota-native over the Gophers in her career.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, freshman outfielder Danielle Kinley (Carlsbad, Calif.) gave the Lions some insurance when she hit a two-run homerun that scored Meghan Wolfer (Northampton, Pa.), who had singled to start the inning. The 3-0 score would stick though the final Gopher at-bat, breaking a seven-game Big Ten losing streak for the Lions.
Beseres is now 12-5 on the year while Minnesota's Katie Dalen took the loss and is now 4-8.
Murray's homerun was her third of the year, and marked her fourth game-winning RBI. Kinley's yard-shot marked the second of her young career. Murray and Kinley both went 2-for-3 on the day, as did junior Jen Williams (Stillwater, Okla.).
Penn State meets Minnesota again Saturday, April 15 for a noon game. The contest will be immediately followed by an egg hunt for kids 12 and under.