March 27, 2010
Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score | Photo Gallery
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State softball team split their doubleheader against Minnesota on Saturday at Nittany Lion Field. After dropping the first game, 3-2, PSU picked up its first Big Ten victory on the season with an 11-hit outburst in an 8-3 victory.
In Game One, senior Jackie Hill (San Jose, Calif.) earned the loss in a well-pitched game. She managed to throw a complete game six-hitter with six strikeouts and three earned runs.
Penn State had a scoring opportunity in the bottom of the second inning when freshman Lauren Rossi (Yardley, Pa.) led off the inning and got on base thanks to an error by the second baseman. Sophomore Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.) singled to move Rossi to second base with one out. The Nittany Lions were unable to capitalize though with two straight groundouts to end the inning.
Minnesota got on the board in the third inning. Kari Dorle led off the inning with a double. The Gophers' Sammie Howard then bunted Dorle over to third base, setting up Malisa Barnes' RBI single to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, sophomore Danee Collett (Orange, Calif.) started with a leadoff single. The Nittany Lions eventually had runners on first and second with one out, but were again unable to produce runs with two more groundouts to end the inning.
Minnesota added some offense in the fifth inning as Alex Davis drilled a two-run homerun over the left centerfield fence to give the Golden Gophers a 3-0 lead.
Penn State rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning when junior Mary Ostman (Northbrook, Ill.) led off with a single. Freshman Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.) then got on base with a walk, giving the Lions runners on first and second with one out. The runners then advanced on a wild pitch, setting up freshman Kailyn Johnson (Yorba Linda, Calif.), who singled and scored Bell and senior Ashley Griffith (Mt. Laurel, N.J.). The Nittany Lions cut the score to 3-2 but were unable to tie it up from there.
Lacey Middlebrooks pitched a strong game for the Golden Gophers as she went the distance, striking out nine batters and giving up just five hits.
Due to forecasted inclement weather on Sunday, the coaches decided before the first game to move Sunday's game into a doubleheader on Saturday. In Game Two, Akamine got the start in the circle. After a rough first inning in which she gave up two earned runs, Akamine settled down and was able to hurl the complete game. Akamine gave up just four hits and two earned runs to earn the victory.
Minnesota got two runs in the first inning starting with another homer by Davis to give the Gophers a 1-0 lead. Heidi Carls followed with a double and Abby Rehberger's single scored Carls and gave the Minnesota a 2-0 lead.
Penn State answered back in the bottom half of the inning by tallying four runs to erase Minnesota's lead. Bell led off the inning with a walk. Griffith got on thanks to an error, which paved way for a two-run double for Collett. The Nittany Lions added two more later in the inning to take a 4-2 lead.
The Nittany Lions increased their lead to 6-3 in the second inning with an RBI double for Johnson and an RBI single for Akamine.
In the third inning, Davis belted her third homer of the day to cut into Penn State's lead. Nevertheless, the Nittany Lions answered back in the bottom half of the inning as Bell scored on an error, upping Penn State's lead to 7-3.
In the top of the fifth inning, Minnesota managed to load the bases with no outs. Akamine struck out the two-hitter and then forced Davis, who homered in her previous two at-bats, to ground out. She officially got out of the jam when Earls grounded out to third.
Penn State added an insurance run in the fifth inning when Griffith scored on Rossi's RBI groundout, making the final score, 8-3.
Penn State will be in action again Wednesday at Kent State in a doubleheader. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. and the game can be heard on ComRadio.