March 8, 2009
STANFORD, Calif. - In the final game of the Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic the Nittany Lions came up short taking a 1-0 loss to the San Diego State Aztecs. Penn State is now 7-8 on the season while San Diego State improves to 12-11. Freshman catcher Danee Collett (Orange, Calif.) came up big for the Lions going 2-for-2 while catching two Aztecs stealing.
In the pitchers' duel, the first run wasn't scored until the top of the fourth when Felicia Reifschnieder reached on an error and was later brought home on a Monica Alnes single to right center with one out. Penn State minimized the damage as Collett and sophomore shortstop Desi Giordano (West Caldwell, N.J.) teamed up to catch a steal and junior pitcher Jackie Hill (San Jose, Calif.) struck out Traci Wolf.
Penn State got started in the sixth when Collett ripped a single down the right field line and advanced to second when junioir left fielder Ashley Griffith (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) walked. They both moved on with a wild pitch and were in good scoring position with two outs. Senior first baseman Danielle Kinley (Carlsbad, Calif.) then hit a hard line drive that had base hit written all over it, but the Aztecs pitcher made a slick grab to retire the inning.
This wasn't the Lions only opportunity to score as senior center fielder Sam Hovanec (Pittsburgh, Pa.) fired a double down the right field line in the bottom of the third, but the inning was retired on a ground out a fly out. Kinley also picked up a single in the fifth with two outs, but the Aztec outfield continued to cause problems for Penn State as Giordano flied out to center field to end the inning. The Lions ended up leaving four runners on base.
Hill struck out eight batters in seven innings work taking the loss to become 4-5 in the circle.
The Nittany Lions will return to the diamond next weekend for the Judi Garman Classic hosted by Cal State Fullerton.