March 23, 2010
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion softball team (17-7) opens its home schedule on Wednesday night, hosting the Saint Francis Red Flash (7-14). Both games will be broadcast live through ComRadio and live stats can be found on GameTracker.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (17-7)
vs.
SAINT FRANCIS RED FLASH (7-14)
Games #25-26: March, 24, 2010 • Nittany Lion Field • University Park, Pa.
GAME DAY
VENUE: Nittany Lion Field (1,000)
STREAMING COVERAGE: Penn State ComRadio (Live at 6 p.m.)
TALENT (Game One): Jacob Wilkins (pxp), Steve Didamo (color)
TALENT (Game Two: Mark Wishnia (pxp), Zach Dobbin (color)
SERIES RECORD vs. SFU: Penn State leads 27-1
NEXT SERIES: Mar. 27 (2 p.m.) and Mar. 28 (11 a.m.) vs. Minnesota at Nittany Lion Field
GAME STORIES
• Penn State opens the final season at Nittany Lion Field with a doubleheader against local rival Saint Francis at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Mar. 24
• Final approval given to start construction on Beard Field, future home of PSU Softball; Stadium will be ready in time for 2011 season
•â€ˆLions hold a 27-1 mark all-time against SFU, including a 20-1 record under Robin Petrini • Red Flash enter Wednesday's doubleheader winning four of last six games
• Nittany Lions swept the USF Under Armour Showcase with four-straight wins as they went 8-3 over the Spring Break trip in Clearwater, Fla.
• Jackie Hill named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 15, going 3-1 with a 0.88 ERA
• Penn State went 3-2 at the USF Invitational and split two mid-week games (Mar. 5-10)
• Nittany Lion pitching has held opponents to seven earned runs in past six games (5-1)
• Penn State opens Big Ten play this weekend against Minnesota at home.
GAME NOTES
SCOUTING THE RED FLASH: The Saint Francis Red Flash come into Wednesday's doubleheader having won its past four of six games. SFU (17-14) took a doubleheader at Youngstown State before winning two games in shutout fashion over Rhode Island and Delaware State at the DSU Tournament. The Flash earned a spot in the tournament's Championship, but fell 9-1 and 7-0 to Binghamton. Taylor Darneille lead the Red and Black at the plate with a .386 batting average, belting a team-high 22 hits, which includes two doubles, a triple and double with eight RBI. In the circle, Megan Layne is 5-9 with a 2.44 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 94-plus innings. She is backed up by Carmen Gurrola (2-4) who sports a 2.66 ERA in 47 innings of work.
SERIES HISTORY: The series history between Penn State and Saint Francis dates back to 1990 with Penn State taking the first 26 meetings. Last year, SFU won its first game from the Lions, a 4-2 victory, before falling 2-0 in the nightcap. All but one game has been played at Nittany Lion Field in the series with Penn State holding a 26-1 record in Happy Valley. The current senior class is 5-1 against the Red Flash, outscoring SFU, 33-9.
HOME OPENERS: Penn State will host its 34th overall home opener in Happy Valley against Saint Francis on Wednesday. The Nittany Lions are an impressive 30-13 all-time in the first home game of the year and are 8-0 all-time against SFU in home openers. Under Robin Petrini, Penn State is 11-2 as this will be the 14th home opener under the program's winningest coach.
HOME OF THE FUTURE: Friday, March 19, 2010 will go down as one of the defining days in Nittany Lion softball history as the Penn State Board of Trustees approved final funding towards the Beard Field/Penn State Softball Stadium project. Groundbreaking is set to begin this week for the 1,084-seat facility that will have all the bells and whistles, which will represent one of the finest facilities in the Big Ten and in the country. Complete with new offices, clubhouses, locker rooms, training areas, batting cages, bullpens, permanent seating, concourse, consessions, bathrooms, dugouts and a brand new press box, Beard Field serve its patrons, coaches and student-athletes as second-to-none. "We are tremendously excited of the Board of Trustees' approval," head coach Robin Petrini said on March 19. "We have been waiting for this day for a long time. Everyone is looking forward to being a part of this project and the student-athletes can't wait to play in one of the best facilities in the nation." Plans call for the stadium to be energy efficient and responsible by design, earning Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. An official groundbreaking ceremony has yet to be announced.
USF UNDER ARMOUR SHOWCASE SWEEP: The Nittany Lions endured a delayed start to the USF Under Armour Showcase when heavy rain wiped out play on Friday, Mar. 12. When play resumed, Jackie Hill put together three-straight masterpieces effectively shutting down Kennesaw State (5-0), Southern Illinois (1-0) and Florida Gulf Coast (4-2). Lisa Akamine helped lead the Lions past Boston College, 2-1, when Lauren Rossi's bloop hit scored two in the bottom of the sixth for the team's fifth-straight victory and a perfect 4-0 mark in the Showcase, the best record of all participants. Against Kennesaw State and Southern Illinois, Penn State received strong performances from Alyssa Renwick and Ashley Griffith who each hit 3-for-6 apiece in the two games with flawless performances in the field. In the circle, Hill went 21.1 innings with just a two-run homer against FGCU being the only blemish on her docket for the weekend. Moreover, Hill came in for the final out against Boston College to record the save with the winning run at the plate.
Pitcher Jackie Hill |
HILL EARNS BIG TEN PITCHER OF THE WEEK NOD: Senior Jackie Hill won her second Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honor after compiling a 3-1 mark over the weekend for Penn State. The senior tossed three complete games, two of which were shutouts, and struck out 31 hitters, allowing just 12 hits and nine walks through 26 innings of work for an 0.81 WHIP. Hill allowed just three earned runs in her four appearances this week for an 0.81 ERA. In appearances against Kennesaw State and Southern Illinois, Hill combined for 18 strikeouts and no runs on seven hits in complete-game victories. She improved her record to 10-4 on the year and has a season ERA of 1.43.
MIDWEEK SPLIT: After a tough 5-2 loss to Central Michigan, in which Jackie Hill was fighting a stomach illness, Penn State rebounded with a 6-3 win over Saint Joseph's. Lisa Akamine went the distance in the circle with eight strikeouts, while freshman Cassidy Bell went 2-for-3 with two runs scored in her first appearance in the No. 3 spot in the lineup. Danee Collett, Morgan Long, Lauren Rossi and Alyssa Renwick all tallied one RBI apiece to lead the Lions at the plate. Against Central Michigan, Rossi belted her first collegiate home run.
USF UNDER ARMOUR INVITE RECAP: The Nittany Lions' 11-day stay in Florida got off to a strong start when Penn State knocked off Central Michigan (3-1) and Florida Gulf Coast (4-3) in a split doubleheader. For all that went correct in those games, the opposite happened the following day against Ball State, a 1-0 loss, and Florida International,a 5-0 loss. Penn State's bats started to go silent, registering just five hits, while committing seven errors, which led to four of the six runs allowed. The Lions looked set to suffer the same fate the next day against host South Florida, mustering just one hit, trailing 1-0 with two outs to go. Lauren Rossi belted a game-tying double to right center to send the game into extra innings and three more tallies in the 10th inning backed a career performance by Jackie Hill (10 IP, 1 ER 11 K) in the circle to capture a 4-2 win and a 3-2 weekend record.
ABOVE AVERAGE HITTING: Penn State hitters in 2010 are hitting .282 through the team's first 24 games. Five batters-Danee Collett (.313), Mary Ostman (.316), Cassidy Bell (.370), Alyssa Renwick (.300) and Ashley Griffith (.348)-are hitting above .300. Last season, the Lions struggled at the plate against a tough schedule, hitting just .246 with only one player, Ashley Griffith (.311) above a .300 average. Six regular returning hitters have averages better than they did in 2009. The biggest margin for starters is Collett who is .056 above last season's average of .257, already matching her homer total from a year ago at three.
LIONS AT THE PIRATE CLASSIC: Penn State got to a roaring start in the ECU Pirate Classic, defeating Towson (10-1), Delaware (9-1) and Morehead State (11-0) in run-rule fashion. Penn State outscored its first three opponents 30-2 and scored 17 runs in the first frame. Lisa Akamine was the Lions' best all-around player as she hit .571 at the plate and threw 11.1 innings in the circle, allowing three hits and two runs, picking up the win in all three decisions, improving to 4-1. Cassidy Bell had a superb weekend hitting .538 behind 7-for-13 batting with a team-high five RBI and seven runs scored. Danee Collett and Ashley Griffith batted .500 with Collett driving home four and Griffith scoring five times. Over the last three trips to Greenville, N.C., Penn State has racked up a 10-2 record dating back to 2006.
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. In East Carolina, that trend continued as the Lions committed no errors while pitching to a 1.27 ERA with just 10 hits allowed. Penn State has yet to yield more than two runs in a game in the past eight ballgames since giving up five to Western Kentucky on February 19. Last weekend, the Lions gave up just three runs in its past four games.
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:  Penn State will see the final five teams for the first time in softball. Florida Gulf Coast (3/5), Florida International (3/6), Kennesaw State (3/14), Middle Tennessee State (3/13), and Stony Brook (3/12) will all be first-time matchups.  Last week, PSU downed Morehead State 11-0 (5 inn.) to raise its record to 2-1 against first-time opponents. PSU defeated UTEP 12-3 (5 inn.) to open the season, but dropped a 5-4 decision to Western Kentucky for the previous meetings.
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.
Left Fielder Ashley Griffith |
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 has 11 Lions back on the squad from 2009, while welcoming in seven newcomers. Five starters will return to their normal positions in Ashley Griffith (LF), Desi Giordano (3B), Jackie Hill (P/1B/DP), Lisa Akamine (P/DP), and Danee Collett (C). So far this season, Cassidy Bell (CF), Alyssa Renwick (SS) and Kailyn Johnson (1B/DP) have filled in at their spots everyday, while second base (Lauren Yao/Morgan Long) and right field (Mary Ostman/Danielle Noll) are being platooned for now.
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: PSU opens Big Ten play at home against Minnesota on Mar. 27 (2 p.m.) and 28 (11 a.m.). Both games will have live coverage with commentary through Twitter and stats through GameTracker.
--NITTANY LIONS--