Feb. 26, 2010
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.-- The Nittany Lion softball team hits the road for its third-straight weekend away from home to start the season with a four-game tournament at the ECU Pirate Classic. Penn State opens play on Saturday against Towson (10 a.m.) and Delaware (Noon) before wrapping up play on Sunday against Morehead State (9 a.m.) and host East Carolina (11 a.m.).
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (6-3)
at ECU Pirate Classic
Games #10-13: February 27-28, 2010 • ECU Softball Field (1,000) • Greenville, N.C.
GAME STORIES
• The Nittany Lions open play at the ECU Pirate Classic against three sub-.500 teams
• Penn State took three of four while in San Diego to improve to 6-3 on the year
• Head coach Robin Petrini earned her 400th win last weekend vs. Utah State
• Jackie Hill won all three of her starts with a 1.11 ERA at the Campbell/Cartier Classic, while the team committed just two errors and allowing just eight runs
• Cassidy Bell went 5-for-13 with two doubles and triple and three runs scored
• Kailyn Johnson smacked her third homer of the year, batting .400 for the weekend
• Danee Collett hit her second homer of the year and led the team with 4 RBI in Calif.
SERIES HISTORIES: For the first time this season, Penn State will see a slate of opponents who have losing records against the Nittany Lions. PSU holds a 2-0 mark over Towson, 1-0 over Delaware, and is 10-6 against East Carolina. In fact, Penn State is 3-2 against ECU at its home ballpark and 7-1 in the last eight games played in Greenville. Penn State and Delaware have not faced off since 1978, while the last meeting against Towson was Robin Petrini's first win as a collegiate head coach at PSU in 1997.
OPPONENTS
TOWSON (1-1)
Saturday, Feb. 27, 10:00 a.m. ET •
SCOUTING THE TIGERS:  The 2010 preseason Colonial Athletic Association favorites, Towson had yet to play a game this season until splitting a doubleheader at Longwood (5-6 (8 inn.) and 3-2). Last weekend, the Tigers were supposed to play in the Longwood Tournament that was snowed out and moved to Newport News, Va., where Towson did not take part. This week, the Tigers were set to host UMBC, but those games were postponed due to snow cover and unplayable field conditions forcing an impromptu tune up for its time in North Carolina with a two-game set at Longwood on Thursday. Last year, Towson went 34-22, falling in the CAA final to James Madison, one step from the NCAA Tourney. The Tigers were participants in last year's Pirate Classic, going 1-1, beating Siena (5-2) and dropping a 9-2 possession to East Carolina. Towson begins its tournament play on Friday against Morehead State before taking on the Nittany Lions.
DELAWARE (1-3)
Saturday, Feb. 27, Noon ET •
SCOUTING THE FIGHTIN' BLUE HENS: Delaware comes into this weekend's tournament a 1-3 team and in a serious scoring slump, failing to score in its past three games, a span that has stretched 20 innings. UD downed UNC Greensboro 8-7 in the opening game of the Carolina Classic before falling to No. 23 North Carolina (11-0, 6 inn.), Saint Joseph's (6-0) and UNC Greensboro (4-0). At the plate, the Blue Hens are led by Jenny Richards, who is batting .429 in the leadoff spot, gathering a run and an RBI behind six singles. In the circle, the team's ace has been Anne Marie Pagano who sports a 2.80 ERA in two starts allowing eight hits and six strikeouts, but walked nine last weekend. Delaware will see Morehead State and East Carolina on Friday before facing the Nittany Lions on Saturday.
MOREHEAD STATE (1-3)
Sunday, Feb. 28, 9:00 a.m. ET •
SCOUTING THE EAGLES: Morehead State opened its play at the Longwood Tournament, which was moved to Newport News, Va. due to playing conditions in Farmville, Va. MSU began its season in the worst way possible, failing to get a batter on base all day in a 10-0 loss to Fordham, who had Jen Micheau throw the first perfect game in school history. Morehead State rebounded to win 7-5 over host Longwood, but 4-0 and 8-0 (6 inn.) losses to Fordham and Longwood, respectively, ended the tournament on a sour note. The Eagles are led by Rebecca Butler at the plate, who is 4-for-13 with a double and an RBI, while Sarah Funston (1-1, 2.69 ERA) leads the team in the circle. Penn State will be MSU's final opponent of the ECU Pirate Classic.
EAST CAROLINA (2-7)
Sunday, Feb. 28, 11:00 a.m. ET •
SCOUTING THE PIRATES: East Carolina has had a tough start to the young season, facing one of the toughest schedules in the country to begin the year. After going 1-3 at the USF DeMarini Tournament, ECU returned to play at the Lipton Invitational, going 1-4, falling twice to No .3 Florida (4-3, 1-0). It was the third time this season East Carolina lost to the Gators by one run in 2010. The lone win for the Pirates came against Campbell, 7-2, before dropping three straight to end their time at UF. Marie Gusman-Brown is the team's leader at the plate wtih a .423 average, belting a homer, two triples and a double with four RBI this season. The Pirates' ace is Toni Paisley (2-4, 1.71 ERA, 52 K) while Faith Sutton (0-3, 5.35 ERA) will also be used by ECU this year.
GAME NOTES
ECU PIRATE CLASSIC PREVIEW: Penn State makes its annual to the American Southeast for a four-game set at the ECU Pirate Classic. The Nittany Lions, no strangers to the Pirate Classic having played there in 2006 and 2008, will face Towson, Delaware, Morehead State and host East Carolina on Saturday and Sunday.  Two years ago, PSU won the classic and has won seven of its last eight matchups in Greenville dating back to the `06 tournament.
CAMPBELL/CARTIER WRAP UP: The Nittany Lions headed out west for the second straight week and for the second straight time came back with three wins. Penn State led off with a 5-4 loss to Western Kentucky, unable to overcome a 5-2 deficit. The Nittany Lions quickly rebounded, downing the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos by a 3-1 score thanks to Jackie Hill's performance in the circle. She would throw another pair of one-run performances on Saturday in defeating Utah State (6-1) and host San Diego State (3-1) to run the team's record to 6-3. Penn State capped its weekend in California with a match up against No. 1 Washington on Sunday, a game that would be rained out in the fourth inning as the teams were tied, 0-0. Hill and consensus national player of the year Danielle Lawrie were matching zeros through the first three innings in a pitchers' duel with PSU's Mary Ostman reaching third base in the third inning, but unable to score.
400 THE ALMA MATER WAY: Head coach Robin Petrini achieved a milestone achievement when Penn State beat Utah State, 6-1, on Saturday. Petrini, a 1983 graduate of Utah State, where she won two AIAW National Championships as a shortstop, also picked up win No. 401 against San Diego State later that day. She was greeted by a cookie cake and balloons at the hotel to commemorate the achievement. Already the all-time leading coach in wins at Penn State, Petrini has also led the squad to more NCAA appearances (seven) in her 13 years than the program had before her arrival (two). She'll go for win No. 402 against Towson, the team she beat for her first career win back in 1997.
DEFENSE AND PITCHING: While in San Diego, Penn State saw a return to normalcy in the pitching and defensive departments.  The thicker, cooler air helped to keep balls in the park and the natural dirt at the SDSU Complex made for easier grounders. Penn State tossed a 2.00 ERA as a team including Jackie Hill's 1.11 ERA effort, holding opposing batters to a .188 batting average. The squad made just two errors all weekend, the team sporting a .982 fielding percentage and managed to strand 32 opposing base runners.
HOT START IN NEW MEXICO: The Nittany Lions got off to a roaring start at the Hotel Encanto Invitational last weekend with a 12-3 run-rule win over UTEP and a thrilling late-night come from behind 9-8 win over Colorado State to open Friday. The two wins on opening day was the first 2-0 start to a season since 1997 for Penn State. The next day, PSU lost a back-and-forth slugfest, 10-9, to host New Mexico State. The following game, PSU got up early on UTSA, and cruised to an 8-4 win. On Sunday, Penn State dropped another back-and-forth game, surrendering a sixth-inning lead to Nebraska in an 11-6 loss. Penn State finished third in the Hotel Encanto Invitational standings, behind NMSU (4-1) and Nebraska (3-2).
HOTEL ENCANTO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:  Sophomore catcher Danee Colett earned mention on the 2010 Hotel Encanto Invitational All-Tournament Team.  Collett hit a team-high .471 for the weekend with eight hits, one homer and a double, while driving in seven RBI. For the weekend she got on base at a clip of .500 and slugged .706 while posting a nearly flawless performance on behind the plate (40 putouts, zero errors, one passed ball).
BOMBS OVER LAS CRUCES: Homers weren't hard to come by in the thin air of Las Cruces (Elevation 4,300 feet), in total, 43 home runs were hit by the six teams in the tournament. Penn State alone hit 10 homers and scored 44 runs. To put that in perspective, the Nittany Lions hit 20 homers all of last year and scored 145 runs, 30 percent of the team's total from a 46-game schedule in 2009. Also, the team "only" hit for seven doubles and a triple. Desi Giordano and Kailyn Johnson led the team with two dingers apiece, while Mary Ostman, Danielle Noll, Jackie Hill, Alyssa Renwick and Johnson smashed their first collegiate homers. Kimi Wong hit her second-career homer vs. Nebraska. As a team, the squad hit .324 at the plate, while reaching safely at a .423 clip and slugging .604.
FIRST TIME MEETINGS:  Morehead State is the third of s the second of eight first-time opponents the Lions will face in 2010. PSU defeated UTEP 12-3 (5 inn.) to open the season, but dropped a 5-4 decision to Western Kentucky for the previous meetings against first-time opponents. The other teams Penn State will see for the first time in program history are Florida Gulf Coast (3/5), Florida International (3/6), Kennesaw State (3/14), Middle Tennessee State (3/13), and Stony Brook (3/12).
BIG STAGE, BIG TEN NETWORK: The Big Ten Network announced its annual televised softball schedule on Feb. 18 and at least four Penn State games will be broadcast live on television or through the network's website, BigTenNetwork.com. Penn State's games at Michigan (4/21) will be on the BTN's website, while the two matchups at Northwestern (5/1-2). There's a possibility that PSU's games at Indiana (5/14-15) could be picked up as part of the Big Ten Network's wild card weekend.
GRIFFITH HAS CLASS:  Senior outfielder Ashley Griffith is one of just 30 NCAA softball student-athletes to be named a Lowe's Senior CLASS Award candidate.  The award is "An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in SchoolTM, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: classroom, community, character and competition." Additionally, Griffith is one of just five Big Ten softball student-athletes to be a Lowe's Senior CLASS Award candidate.
ALL-BIG TEN RETURNERS: The Nittany Lions return two 2009 All-Big Ten performers, Ashley Griffith (Second Team) and Lisa Akamine (Third Team) to the fold. In addition to those two, Penn State also sees Jackie Hill, a 2008 All-Region selection, as its leading pitcher.
TEAM COMPOSITION: All told, Penn State sees 11 Lions back on the squad from 2009, while welcoming in seven newcomers. Five starters will return to their normal positions, while four spots are up for grabs entering this weekend's tournament.
FALL BALL SUCCESS:  The Nittany Lions had an impressive fall season as they welcomed their newcomers to the fold. Penn State went 5-1, including a back-to-back doubleheader sweeps in the Nittany Lion Fall Tournament, beating Virginia Tech (3-2), Iona (5-0), NCAA Division II Champ Lock Haven (4-2) and Saint Francis (2-0). In the Iona game, Lisa Akamine fanned 14 batters and was two outs away from a no-hit bid. Prior to the tournament, the Lions played a doubleheader against local rival Bucknell. Jackie Hill tossed a no-hitter to give Penn State a 1-0 victory in game one, while Akamine allowed just one earned run in a 2-1 eight-inning loss in the nightcap.
LION ALUM KINLEY PLAYS NPF: Former All-American and 2009 Alum Danielle Kinley made her debut with the Philadelphia Force this past summer as a starting first-baseman. The former Nittany Lion had 17 hits, seven RBI, three doubles and a homer during her rookie campaign.
PSULIONSOFTBALL ON TWITTER: Nittany Lion softball is now on Twitter. Keep up to date with inside information and exclusive access @PSULionSoftball.
NITTANY LIONS ON YOUTUBE: Check out exclusive interviews after every game on GoPSUsports.com and the GoPSUTV YouTube Channel (Youtube.com/GoPSUTV) and click on the softball playlist on the right side of the page.
NEXT TIME OUT:  The Nittany Lions will play its last two tournaments of the year at the USF Under Armour Invitational and Showcase in Clearwater, Fla. during Spring Break from March 5-14. In the Invitational, PSU will see Central Michigan, Florida Gulf Coast, Ball State and Florida International at the Eddie C. Moore Complex. Mid-week, the Lions will face Central Michigan and Saint Joseph's. To wrap things up in Clearwater, Penn State will take on Stony Brook, Toledo, Middle Tennessee State, Southern Illinois and Kennesaw State in the USF Showcase.
--NITTANY LIONS