| Hollee Haines |
URBANA, Ill.; April 22, 2007 - The Nittany Lion softball team (21-27, 3-5 Big Ten) lost both games of a doubleheader Sunday to Illinois (28-18, 7-5 Big Ten). Penn State lost by scores of 4-3 and 7-5. Penn State is home for the first of six dates this week when it hosts Bucknell Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
GAME ONE: Penn State 3, Illinois 4
After a frustrating inning offensively for the Lions in the first, Penn State??s got a bit better in the top of the second. Sophomore Danielle Kinley (Carlsbad, Calif.) reached on an error by Angelena Mexicano and then advanced to second on a fielder??s choice off the bat of Jen Acunto (Hollywood, Fla.), giving Penn State runners at first and second. A groundout to the pitcher advanced the pair to second and third, but the Lions would get no closer to home as two straight groundouts to Mexicano held Penn State??s runner in place and kept the game scoreless.
Penn State??s offense was back in the top of the third inning when sophomore Shana Madura (Slate Hill, N.Y.) sent a single zipping into left field. Lead-off Ashley Griffith (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) bunted her way to a single, putting runners on first and second. Senior outfielder Meghan Wolfer (Northampton, N.J.) bunted one back to the pitcher and reached safely, but the throw attempt from Illini pitcher Ashley Wright was well high, sending Madura across the plate for the 1-0 Nittany Lion lead. The run was the first of the weekend for Penn State. The next batter lined into a double play that also got Wolfer at first, but Penn State wouldn??t go away quietly. After entering the doubleheader batting an outstanding .415, Kinley lifted a single to left field that sent Griffith home, recording Kinley??s team-leading 25th RBI of the season. A groundout made the score 2-0 Penn State entering the bottom of the third inning.
Back-to-back walks put the Illini in a solid position to start their half of the third inning with third baseman Shanna Diller and catcher Lana Armstrong on first and second. Left fielder Makenzie Smith laid down a good sacrifice bunt that put two Illini runners in scoring position and an RBI single from Kisten Martin narrowed the score to a 2-1 Penn State lead. After a walk to Sydney Lisy that loaded the bases again, it was second baseman Molly Lawhead that tied the game at 2-2 with her single through the right side. Junior starting pitcher Ashley Esparza (San Pedro, Calif.) struck out the next two batters to stop the run with the game tied again.
A pair of singles is how Illinois started the bottom of the fourth inning and a walk to the next batter loaded the bases with no outs. After battling Esparza to a full count, Smith hit a sacrifice fly to the leftfielder Griffith, who didn??t have a play at home after the catch. So with two runners still in scoring position and a 3-2 lead, Martin got her second RBI of the day when she hit a long fly ball to right field that scored Illinois?? fourth run of the afternoon. A strikeout ended the inning, but not before the Illini had taken a 4-2 lead.
A lead-off double in the top of the sixth by Kinley started the Lions?? comeback attempt. Shortstop Acunto looped a single into right field that put runners on the corners with no outs. After two straight groundouts, Mexicano??s second error of the day scored Kinley and kept the Lions alive. A strikeout to the next batter would leave Penn State still behind one run, 4-3, with only one offensive chance remaining.
Griffith reached base after being hit by a pitch to start the seventh inning for the Lions. A sacrifice bunt from Wolfer moved the tying run to second, but a good grab by Illini third baseman??s Diller equaled the second out of the inning. A clutch single by Kinley, her third hit of the day, moved Griffith to third, but that??s as far as she would get as a shoe-string catch by Illini right fielder Hope Howell ended the Lions?? charge one run short with a final 4-3 win Illinois.
Nittany Lion hurler Esparza took the loss with four strikeouts. Her record is no 10-9 on the year. Wright got the victory, striking out only one Nittany Lion, and is now 8-9. Illinois?? Claire DeVreese pitched an inning in relief for the Illini, earning her second save of the year.
GAME TWO: Illinois 7, Penn State 5
The home team in the second game due to Big Ten rules, Penn State started the game offensively with a bang in the bottom of the first. After a Danielle Kinley double, a walk to Jen Acunto, a wild pitch, and an intentional walk to Ashley Esparza, Hollee Haines (Riverside, Calif.) came to the plate with the bases loaded. The junior catcher delivered, blasted a grand slam over the left field wall, just her second home run of the year. The base-clearing hit gave the Nittany Lions a 4-0 advantage as they hunted for their first win in the weekend??s tough Big Ten swing.
Two singles to start the top of the third off for Illinois eventually turned into a run when a double from left fielder Makenzie Smith drove Angelena Mexicano home from second base with two outs. Penn State was able to get the final out of the half-inning before Illinois could add any more runs, making the score a 4-1 Penn State lead.
In the bottom of the third inning, Penn State was able to add to its total after heavy hitter Kinley zipped a single up the middle. A sacrifice bunt from Acunto and a walk for Esparza had runners on first and second when Haines came to the plate again. This time the catcher sent one through the right side as Kinley motored around third base. The sophomore outfielder made it to the plate safely for Haines?? fifth RBI of the game, tying the school record for the second time in her career and giving Penn State the 5-1 advantage.
With one swing of the bat, Kisten Martin sent her sixth homerun of the year off the scoreboard in center field to start the top of the sixth inning by shrinking the Penn State advantage to 5-2. Designated played Katrina Ross followed with a single and an error on the ensuing play put two Illini runners on the base paths. Center fielder Sarah Howell then dropped a single into shallow left centerfield and with no outs. All runners advanced safely to load the bases. A come-backer to pitcher Jenn Reynolds (Clovis, Calif.) turned into a fielder??s choice force out at the plate and brought Mexicano to the plate with one out. The second Nittany Lion error of the inning resulted in another run for the Illini, closing the gap to 5-3. The lead continued to evaporate when Illinois third baseman Shana Diller hit the second hit of the inning into shallow left field to score another run and bring the tally to only a 5-4 Penn State lead. A two-RBI double to right field off the bat of Lana Armstrong saw the first lead change of the game, putting Illinois up 6-5 before Penn State could get the second out of the inning on a relay throw to home. A pop out ended the inning, but left the Nittany Lions a one-run deficit heading into the bottom of the sixth.
Penn State overcome the deficit in its last two at-bats, and Illinois tacked on another run in the top of the seventh to make the final 7-5 Illini. Reynolds fell to 10-7 on the year, striking three Illinois batters out in the loss. Relief pitcher Ashley Wright rose to 10-8 with her second win of the day. She pitched 4 and 2/3 innings in relief and allowed no runs. Vicky Brown started the game for the Illini and left after 1 and 1/3 innings. She allowed all five Penn State runs.
Penn State returns to Nittany Lion Field on Tuesday, April 24 in the first of eight games in a six-day span. The match-ups with Bucknell will be a 6:30 p.m. doubleheader. Wednesday, April 25, Penn State welcomes Akron to town for a 3 p.m. doubleheader before its back to Big Ten action on Friday, April 27 vs. Indiana at 6 p.m. The Hoosiers return to Nittany Lion Field for a noon game to finish the series on Saturday before Purdue comes to Happy Valley on Sunday, April 29, for a doubleheader at noon. Penn State??s seniors Kelsey Francisco (State College, Pa.), Kari Lucas (Centre Hall, Pa.), Jen Williams (Stillwater, Okla.) and Meghan Wolfer (Northampton, Pa.) will be honored before Sunday??s games with the Boilermakers. All home games will be available via live audio on www.GoPSUsports.com. Nittany Lion Field is located at the corner of Park Avenue and University Drive. Admission is free to all Penn State softball games.
NOTES: Sophomore Danielle Kinley??s pair of doubles gives her 15 for the season, just three off the school record (18) set by teammate Jen Acunto her freshman season (2005). Kinley continues to sizzle at the plate, batting 49-for-114 on the year (.430) and an unbelievable 11-for-21 (.524) in the Big Ten competition.