April 6, 2010
Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score | Construction Photo Gallery
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State softball team (23-11, 2-2 Big Ten) split their doubleheader against Pittsburgh on Tuesday at Nittany Lion Field. After dropping the first game, 6-3, PSU won the second game in a 5-1 victory.
Sophomore Morgan Long (Oro Valley, Ariz.) had a strong day for the Nitttany Lions as she went a combined 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI.
In Game One, senior Jackie Hill (San Jose, Calif.) got the start in the circle and went the distance, giving up 10 hits and three earned runs. She added seven strikeouts on the outing.
After a scoreless three innings to start the game, Pittsburgh got on the board first. With one out, Pittsburgh's Holly Stevens got on base with a walk. From there, Amadna Heitmeier singled down the right field line, scoring Stevens.
In the top of the fifth, Pittsburgh added another run as Ciera Damon homered to leftfield to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead. The Nittany Lions answered back though in the bottom half of the inning. Freshman Lauren Yao (Los Angeles, Calif.), who was hit by a pitch, scored on a throwing error while stealing third base.
Pittsburgh began to run away with the game in the sixth inning as they added two runs to increase their lead to 4-1. The Panthers then tacked on another two runs in the top half of the seventh inning. Ashley Amistade scored on a double by Yvette Bravo to give the Panthers a 6-1 lead.
Penn State attempted to rally in the bottom of the seventh. Long started the inning with a double. She then advanced to third on a groundout by sophomore Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.). Hill then roped a double to left center to score Long, to make it a 6-2 Pittsburgh advantage. Freshman Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.) singled to score Alyssa Renwick (Laurens, S.C.), who ran for Hill, to make the score 6-3. Nevertheless, Penn State was unable to get any more runs.
In Game Two, Akamine got the start and made another impressive start. The sophomore had a shutout heading into the final inning, but a one-out homer stripped it. Akamine struck out nine and gave up just five hits.
Penn State got off to a great start in the bottom of the first. Senior Ashley Griffith (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) started the three-run first inning with a single. Sophomore Danee Collett (Orange, Calif.) singled and freshman Kailyn Johnson (Yorba Linda, Calif.)was drilled in the back of her head by a high fastball, giving the Nittany Lions the bases loaded with one out. Griffith scored on a fielder's choice groundout by freshman Lauren Rossi (Yardley, Pa.). Base hits by junior Desi Giordano (West Caldwell, N.J.) and Yao scored Collett and Johnson.
The Nittany Lions added two more runs in the fourth inning as Akamine and senior Danielle Noll (Bald Eagle, Pa.) scored on RBIs by Bell and Griffith, making the score 5-0.
Pittsburgh's attempted rally fell short in the top of the seventh, as Bravo knocked a solo home run over the centerfield fence, decreasing Penn State's lead to 5-1. The Panthers were unable to produce anything else though.
Penn State will be in action again this weekend with a two-game series at Wisconsin. The two teams will play a game on Saturday and Sunday, with both games slated for a 2 p.m. start.
--NITTANY LIONS--