March 13, 2010
PSU 5, Kennesaw State 0 | PSU 1, Southern Illinois 0 | Photo Gallery
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Led by the arm of Jackie Hill (San Jose, Calif.) and her two complete game shutouts, the Nittany Lion softball team defeated Kennesaw State, 5-0, and Southern Illinois, 1-0, on Saturday night at the Eddie C. Moore Complex. Hill threw 14 innings of shutout ball, allowing just seven hits while striking out 18 batters.
In Game One, Penn State (15-7) jumped out on Owl pitcher Jessica Cross with three runs in the top of the third inning. After Ashley Griffith (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) and Hill walked, Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.) sent a single screaming up the middle scoring Griffith and moving Hill to third. Bell would eventually steal second and with one out, Lauren Rossi (Yardley, Pa.) ripped another single to score Bell and Hill for a 3-0 lead.
In the circle, Hill was cruising as she went through the Kennesaw State (12-9) lineup in the third and sixth innings in a total of 15 combined pitches. Hill would end up with the first complete game shutout by a Penn State pitcher this year and the second by the team. Hill struck out eight in 98 pitches.
At the plate, Penn State would push another run across when Alyssa Renwick (Laurens, S.C.) belted an RBI single to center field scoring Giordano on the play for a 4-0 PSU lead. Renwick would again be a part of another Nittany Lion run, this time stealing home in the seventh inning when Griffith looked to steal second and got caught in a run down. Everyone was safe on the play and Hill successfully navigated the bottom of the seventh inning to end the 5-0 game.
In Game Two against Southern Illinois, Penn State manufactured the eventual game-winning run in the third inning when Desi Giordano (West Caldwell, N.J.) smacked a single to left field to open the frame. Morgan Long (Oro Valley, Ariz.) sacrificed Giordano to second and with two outs Griffith slapped a shot to third base, snagged by the SIU infielder but she couldn't get Griffith out at first, scoring Giordano.
SIU mounted a charge in the fifth when Katie Wilson got on board with a single and Croinna Gonzalez reached on a hit-by-pitch with no outs. The Salukis employed a double steal successfully putting runners on second and third with no outs. Hill struck out pinch hitter Allie Hanson and on the second pitch to Mallory Duran, Wilson left third base early for the second out of the inning. Duran would end up striking out to end the threat for Penn State.
Southern Illinois put together another rally in the sixth when Hill walked two batters and with two outs, Michelle Bradley had a 12 pitch battle with Hill. On the fifth 3-2 pitch of the at-bat, Bradley struck out looking on a gorgeous pitch on the outside corner of the plate, ending the SIU opportunity.
In the seventh, Hill hit Gonzalez with a pitch for the second time in the game and Courtney Kennedy pushed a bunt for a single, putting runners on first and second with just one out. Duran struck out swinging on a 3-2 pitch and Chelsea Held went down swinging to end the game, capping a 10-strikeout performance by Hill.
Hill (9-4) lowered her earned run average to 1.39 this season and 0.70 since February 19. She has allowed just 55 hits in over 85 innings of work with 17 earned runs against and 99 opposing batters struck out. Hill is just 53 strikeouts away from setting a new personal single-season record.
The Nittany Lions wrap up their time in Florida with a two-game tournament finale starting with a rematch against Florida Gulf Coast at 9:00 a.m. Penn State finishes play at the USF Under Armour Showcase with an 11:15 a.m. game against Boston College. Both games will be played at the Eddie C. Moore Complex Field No. 4 and will be streamed with live stats on GameTracker as well as commentary through Twitter (@PSULionSoftball).
--NITTANY LIONS--