April 25, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Willed on by senior Ashley Esparza (San Pedro, Calif./San Pedro), the Penn State University softball team (32-18, 5-8 Big Ten) battled #12 Northwestern University (30-10, 14-1 Big Ten) for 14 innings before a single run decided it all. Esparza pitched 14 innings while giving up just one run and striking out 16 Wildcat batters.
The scene on Nittany Lion Field tonight was an epic battle between two of the Big Ten's best pitchers as Esparza and NU's Lauren Delaney battled for supremacy. Both pitchers were outstanding as neither would give up a run until the 14th inning.
PSU produced four hits on the day including two from Esparza, a double from junior Danielle Kinley (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad) and a single by junior Shana Madura (Slate Hill, N.Y./Minisink Valley).
The Nittany Lions moved runners to third base on two occasions including the first inning and the 13th inning but came up just shy of the winning run.
The game marked the longest outing of the season for the Nittany Lions and also a career high innings pitched for Esparza.
The Nittany Lions will return to action tomorrow, April 26 at noon as they finish up their series with Northwestern.