April 11, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - On a windy afternoon, the Penn State softball team was victorious in a 2-1 decision over the Wisconsin Badgers. The Nittany Lions are now 12-18 overall and 3-6 in Big Ten play while Wisconsin falls to 12-27 (1-6). Senior first baseman Danielle Kinley (Carlsbad, Calif.) hit her 40th career double while senior right fielder Christana Crivellaro (Coopersburg, Pa.) hit her first career home run.
The Lions got started early as Kinley led off the Penn State at bat with a double. Senior center fielder Sam Hovanec (Pittsburgh, Pa.) followed with a double of her own to score Kinley as the Lions took an early 1-0 lead. But Wisconsin wasn't going down quietly as Karla Powell led off the second with a home run before the Badgers were retired to tie the game at one.
Crivellaro connected in the bottom of the third for her first career home run. Penn State never looked back and sealed the win. The Badgers threatened to score again in the fifth with a runner on third and two outs, but the Lions kept their cool and closed the inning with a ground out to third.
Penn State scored two runs off four hits and left two on base while the Badgers scored one run with four hits and one left on. Junior pitcher Jackie Hill (San Jose, Calif.) continued her dominance in the circle fanning five Badgers while taking the win to become 8-5. Letty Olivarez took the loss for Wisconsin becoming 8-19 from the pitcher's rubber.
The Lions will return to the diamond tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET in an attempt to sweep the series.