| Jenn Reynolds |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; March 28, 2007 - After a 10-day lay-off, Penn State still came out sharp and took two games from St. Francis (Pa.) on the softball field Wednesday night. The Lions took game one, 8-0, on the strength of two-RBI performances from Danielle Kinley (Carlsbad, Calif.), Meghan Wolfer (Northampton, Pa.) and Kayce Zielinski (Arlington, Texas). In game two, Jenn Reynolds (Clovis, Calif.) had a pair of RBIs and also took the victory in the circle.
Game 1: Penn State 8, St. Francis 0
Penn State??s offense seemed to like the odd innings in game one, scoring bunches in the bottom of the first, third and fifth innings. Paced by back-to-back doubles by junior Ashley Esparza (San Pedro, Calif.) and sophomore Danielle Kinley, the Nittany Lions went up 2-0 in the bottom of the first.
In the third inning, Penn State added to its advantage with a combination of hitting and timely errors from the Red Flash defense. Freshman outfielder Ashley Griffith (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) started the inning with her second single of the day, bringing Esparza to the plate again for her second double of the game. After a quick two outs it looked like St. Francis would get out of the inning without any more damage, but an error on the next batter scored Griffith and Esparza for the 4-0 lead. After a single to left from sophomore Shana Madura (Slate Hill, N.Y.) brought senior outfielder Meghan Wolfer to the plate. Wolfer delivered with a two-RBI hard hit off the glove of third baseman Richelle Hall. The Lions finished their half of the inning up 6-0.
Esparza continued to dominate through the top of the fifth inning, and eventually struck out seven. The Lions added the final two tallies for the 8-0 run-shortened game when junior catcher Hollee Haines (Riverside, Calif.) started the inning with a double and a two-run homerun from sophomore Kayce Zielinski put the icing on the cake for game one.
Game 2: Penn State 7, St. Francis 0
Freshman Ashley Griffith walked to start the bottom of the first and then stole second base to get into scoring position with no outs. An error on Red Flash pitcher Jerrica Smith scored Griffith and left Wolfer on second base with a 1-0 Penn State advantage. Consecutive groundouts got Wolfer to third base with two outs and an error during Hollee Haines at-bat scored Wolfer to make the advantage a 2-0 Penn State lead.
| Kayce Zielinski |
In the bottom of the second, Penn State added on another pair of runs for a 4-0 advantage. Sophomore second baseman Kayce Zielinski singled to start things off. Junior pitcher Jenn Reynolds hit a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt to get Zielinski to third base. Third basmen Shana Madura doubled Zielinski home, smacking one off the wall in left centerfield. Griffith followed with a single, moving Madura to third base. Nittany Lion head coach Robin Petrini gave Griffith the steal sign. Griffith broke for second and as soon as the throw left Red Flash catcher Kare Stroup??s hand, Madura made a run for home. When the dust settled, both Lions were safe, giving the Lions the four-run lead.
With two outs in the bottom of the third inning and junior Jen Acunto (Hollywood, Fla.) on first, Zielinski hit a single to put two runners on base. Reynolds ripped a double up the third base line, scoring two runs and extending the advantage to 6-0. A single and a walk loaded the bases for Penn State, but the next batter struck out to end the inning.
Ashley Esparza got her first hit of game two to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning. After a fly-out, Haines singled home Esparza for the 7-0 advantage with just one out. The Lions were unable to bring Haines home from second, however, but preserved the seven-run lead through the final out.
Reynolds got the game two win in the circle with nine strikeouts.
Penn State opens the Big Ten season vs. Wisconsin on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at noon. The Nittany Lions then host Minnesota for a doubleheader on Sunday at 10 a.m.