March 16, 2008
CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Penn State University softball team (16-8) had to score three runs in the bottom of the seventh to overcome the Terriers of Boston University in their final game of the under Armour Showcase in Clearwater, Florida. The Nittany Lions had just come off a 3-0 win over University of Tennessee-Chattanooga in the first game of the day before their impressive comeback.
Finding themselves down 2-0 in the bottom of the seventh with one out, Nittany Lions' Ashley Griffith (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) and Shana Madura (Slate Hill, N.Y./Minisink Valley) were able to string together two singles followed by a hard fought (3-2) walk by Sam Hovanec (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) to load the bases for senior leader Ashley Esparza (San Pedro, Calif./San Pedro). Esparza would come through in the clutch as she hit a bloop single to right field to score both Griffith and Madura. Hill would finish the game off with an RBI single to right field of her own.
Overall in the game Griffith led the bats as she went 2-for-3 with the run scored. Esparza picked up two RBI as well as the win as she pitched the final 3.1 innings striking out six and not allowing a hit. Senior Jenn Reynolds (Clovis, Calif./Clovis) started the game going 3.2 with two strikeouts of her own.
In the earlier game, the Nittany Lions used a first inning run to propel them to a 3-0 victory adding two runs late off a pair of wild pitches by the UTC pitcher.
Three players had multiply hits in the game as Danielle Kinley (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad) and Kayce Zielinski (Arlington, Texas/Kennedale) went 2-for-3 and Hill went 2-for-4. Zielinski added the lone RBI.
Hill went the distance in the circle picking up the victory allowing just four hits and striking out two.