March 6, 2010
Ball State 1, Penn State 0 • FIU 5, Penn State 0
CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Penn State Nittany Lion softball team struggled at the plate and in the field, falling to Ball State (1-0) and Florida International (5-0) on Saturday at the Eddie C. Moore Complex. Penn State falls to 2-2 at the USF Under Armour Invitational.
In a tight battle with the Ball State Cardinals (8-5), Penn State put two runners on in each of the first two innings against Elizabeth Milian (7-1), the reigning Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Year, but no one could drive runs home. Ace Jackie Hill (San Jose, Calif.) was outstanding again, going six full innings with just two hits and a walk allowed with eight strikeouts and no earned runs. The lone run came in the bottom of the third on a series of errors by the Nittany Lions. Three successive errors allowed Alicia Barkley to lay down a perfect squeeze bunt to score Lisa Rozanski from third base.
After the first two innings, Penn State couldn't muster any offense, in the end leaving five runners on base to start Saturday. Ashley Griffith (Mt. Laurel, N.J.), Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.) and Morgan Long (Oro Valley, Ariz.) hit successfully, Long's was a double.
In the second game of the day, the defense would again come undone as Penn State (11-6) committed four errors against the FIU Panthers. After a first-inning RBI single, things unraveled in the second with two outs when a grounder to Long seemed to end the half inning, but the ball scooted off her glove and allowed Beth Peller to score from second. Jessie Alfonso singled and another error on a flyout to rightfield allowed two more runs to score, giving the Golden Panthers a 4-0 lead.
FIU would tack on another run in the fifth inning for the final 5-0 scoreline as Penn State put just two hits into play, a double by Akamine and a single by Mary Ostman (Northbrook, Ill.). Akamine went the distance striking out two, but just two runs were tagged to her line.
The Nittany Lions return to action on Sunday when they take on the host team South Florida Bulls at the Eddie C. Moore Complex Field No. 8. Game time is set for Noon and live video streaming will be available for the game.