May 13, 2010
Friday: • Listen Live • Saturday: • Listen Live
Game Notes • Twitter • YouTube Channel • Softball Park Construction Photos
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State softball team (28-22, 7-11 Big Ten) wraps up its regular season schedule this weekend with a two-game set at Indiana starting Friday at 4:00 p.m. Saturday's game between the Nittany Lions and Hoosiers is slated for 1:00 p.m. Both games will have live stats coverage through GameTracker and free audio streaming supplied by Indiana.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
(28-22, 7-11 Big Ten)
at
INDIANA HOOSIERS
(12-35, 4-13 Big Ten)
Games #51-52: May 14-15, 2010 • 4 p.m. / 1 p.m. • IU Softball Field • Bloomington, Ind.
GAME DAY
VENUE: IU Softball Field (1,000)
AUDIO: IUHoosiers.com on Stretch Internet
TALENT: TBA
SERIES RECORD vs. IU: Penn State trails 27-22
GAME STORIES
• Penn State closes out its regular season at Indiana for a two-game set starting Friday
• Nittany Lions have won 10 of the last 15 games against Indiana including the past five of six games vs. the Hoosiers
• Penn State looks to snap a season-long six-game losing streak
• Five bring home team awards: Ashley Griffith (Blue-White), Jackie Hill (MVP), Cassidy Bell (Offensive), Lauren Rossi (Defensive) and Lisa Akamine (Most Improved)
• Jackie Hill threw 11 innings against Ohio State last weekend, allowing just a three-run homer with 14 strikeouts and four hits against total. Kailyn Johnson and Cassidy Bell each added three hits against the Buckeyes, while Lauren Rossi gathered two
• Ashley Griffith and Danee Collett garnered Academic All-District II honors on 5/6
• Future home of Penn State softball, Nittany Lion Softball Park, on time for 2011 opener
• Ceremonial groundbreaking was held May 7 for the new $10.2 million facility
GAME NOTES
NITTANY LION PARK GROUNDBREAKING: Friday, May 7, 2010 began a new era in Penn State softball history as the groundbreaking for the $10.2 million Nittany Lion Softball Park. The new 1,084-seat facility is slated for a March 2011 opening day and will feature state-of-the-art features that will make it one of the finest softball complexes in the country. "The project getting started is exciting," Head coach Robin Petrini said on Apr. 23. "We see it everyday at practice and everyone from the coaching staff to the student-athletes are excited about it. I walk out on the construction site after practice with my hard hat on and it makes me very proud of what will be built." Construction began on March 28, 2010 and will take 11 months to complete. Penn State president Dr. Graham Spanier and athletic director Tim Curley were on hand for the ceremony including many of the donors to the project.
CLOSING UP SHOP: The 36-year history of Nittany Lion Field ended on Sunday with the last pitch against Ohio State. Opened in 1974 after serving as the home to Penn State freshman baseball, Nittany Lion Field saw 501 games over its time. Penn State went 265-236 all-time at the field, including 11 seasons of double digit wins. The most wins in any given season was 16 during the 1990 campaign and the team had four undefeated years in the 1970s and 80s. Penn State's best years at Nittany Lion Field came during Robin Petrini's tenure as a pair of 11-2 seasons in 2000 and 2005 rank as the winningest seasons (.846) in which more than 10 games were played.
END OF YEAR AWARDS: Five Penn State softball student-athletes garnered year-end team awards at the annual banquet on May 8. With head coach Robin Petrini playing the role of emcee, she announced that senior pitcher and co-captain Jackie Hill was named the team's Most Valuable Player as voted on by her peers. Fellow senior co-captain Ashley Griffith earned the Blue-White Award given to the player who exemplifies commitment, desire and unity towards Penn State softball. Sophomore hurler Lisa Akamine was tapped as the Most Improved Player for raising her win total by nine and dropping her ERA by over a run and a half. Freshmen Cassidy Bell and Lauren Rossi took home the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year Award home, respectively.
SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS: Indiana is playing out a disappointing season that has seen just 12 wins in 47 games with a fairly young roster. All told, 10 freshmen dot the Hoosier lineup with six newcomers seeing their names in the starting lineup at least 11 times. The pitching has been a concern all year with the opposition hitting .293 and the staff earning a 4.73 ERA. In Big Ten play, those numbers have shot up with opponents hitting .320 and the pitchers giving up a 6.07 ERA. Sara Olson (6-14, 4.29 ERA, 106.0 IP) and Monica Wright (4-13, 4.59 ERA, 106.2 IP) carry the load in the load in the cirle for the Hoosiers. At the plate, Jennifer Glueckert leads the team in batting average (.354), on-base percentage (.380) and doubles (9). Breanna Saucedo is hitting .315 with a team-best 51 hits and 14 stolen bases. Saucedo has offset her offense, however, with a league-worst 22 errors. The power in the line up is provided by Olson who sports a team-leading .511 slugging percentage wtih 24 RBI, eight doubles and eight homers, while Cassie Cogreve has driven home 21 runs with seven doubles.
For Olson's and Wright's lifetime numbers against Penn State, check out the complete game notes
SERIES HISTORY: Indiana is Penn State's second-oldest Big Ten rival (after Ohio State) with the teams' first meeting in 1977. The Nittany Lions have been more successful of late taking 10 of the last 15 matchups including five of the past six.  In Bloomington, Penn State is 10-17 overall, but has won four of the last seven games and is 8-4 at IU since 1999. Last season, the Nittany Lions run-ruled the Hoosiers in six innings by a score of 9-1 after falling in the first game of a May 2 home doubleheader, 4-3.
BUCKED BY OHIO STATE: Penn State out-hit No. 19/22 Ohio State in both games (6-4 and 7-5), but two key two-out three-run homers by the Buckeyes gave OSU the sweep in the final games at Nittany Lion Field. Lauren Rossi's bunt single in the seventh inning of the first game started a furious rally that ended two runs short of extending the game. Rossi would come around to score on an RBI-single by Kailyn Johnson, but Penn State eventually fell 3-1. In Sunday's game, Ohio State raced out to a 5-0 lead in the first three innings, but eight stranded Nittany Lions, including six in scoring position, doomed Penn State. PSU picked up seven hits with Cassidy Bell notching three of her own. Rossi, Johnson, Desi Giordano and Danielle Noll each added a single of their own. Jackie Hill was nearly flawless in the circle, going 11 innings in the two games, giving up just four hits, two walks and striking out 14.
SENIOR DAY CORONATION: Sunday's game against Ohio State served as Senior Day for Penn State's three graduating student-athletes. Ashley Griffith, Danielle Noll and Kimi Wong will played their final game in Happy Valley with Griffith starting in left, Noll coming in as a reserve in right field and gathering a hit and Wong making a pinch-hitting appearance.
COSIDA/ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC HONORS:  The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced that two Penn State softball student-athletes, Ashley Griffith and Danee Collett, were selected to the Academic All-District II honor roll on Thursday, May 6. Griffith made the first team, while Collett landed on the second team. Griffith, a co-captain of the 2010 Nittany Lion softball team, earned her first CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine honor on Thursday thanks to her 3.95 cumulative grade point average and stellar play on the field. Collett has had a breakout year in 2010 setting new career highs in hits (40), doubles (11), homers (5) and RBI (29), while batting .292 this season. Both Griffith and Collett are now eligible to earn Academic All-America honors.
WINDY CITY HEARTBREAK: The Nittany Lions put together a solid hitting display for the second consecutive Big Ten weekend, but it wasn't enough as two swings by Northwestern gave the Wildcats a sweep. Penn State twice had early leads in each game (5-0 and 2-0) and NU home runs garnered 8-6 and 9-5 wins over PSU. Jackie Hill went 3-for-5 with three doubles and three RBI, while Cassidy Bell led the Lions with four hits in six at bats. Lauren Yao added two hits including her first career homer in Saturday's game, a sixth-inning go-ahead shot to center field. Yao and Lauren Rossi each added three RBI.
SACRIFICING FOR THE TEAM:  Through 48 team games, Ashley Griffith leads the country with 22 sacrifice bunts. She is just one off tying the school record, which was twice recorded by Dena Tauriello (1988, 1990). Tauriello holds the all-time record at Penn State for sacrifices with 69 and Griffith is second with 55.
ORANGE JUICED: Penn State couldn't generate any offense in a Tuesday evening doubleheader against Syracuse, dropping both games, 2-0 and 6-1. Jackie Hill pitched a complete-game with nine strikeouts in the first tilt, but a two-run blast helped the Orange to the win. In Game Two, Ashley Griffith provided two hits, but Morgan Long scored the team's only run of the day. Sophomore hurler Lisa Akamine struck out 15 in Game Two, tying the school record for most in a game set by Missy Beseres at Northwestern (Apr. 24, 2005).
GETTING HAWKISH AGAINST IOWA: The Nittany Lions broke out of their mid-season swoon and four-game losing streak in a big way, taking out second-place Iowa in a pair of games over the weekend, 7-1 and 5-2. Penn State pounded out 23 hits for a .426 average, out-pacing the Hawkeyes, who only garnered six with a .130 average. Cassidy Bell led the charge going 5-for-8 with a pair of doubles and three RBI, while Lauren Yao combined for a 4-for-7 weekend, scoring three times. Kailyn Johnson added a 3-for-6 showing, while Lauren Rossi's three-run home run on Sunday powered a four-run second inning. Mary Ostman, Desi Giordano and Lisa Akamine each provided two hits over the weekend. Jackie Hill threw a one-hitter, allowing just one earned run, while striking out nine with no walks in Saturday's win, while Akamine notched her 15th victory of the season with a one-earned-run effort, striking out seven and only walking one with five hits allowed. Hill helped herself with an RBI single and a bases-loaded walk on Saturday. Morgan Long added two RBI, one in each game with a single and a sacrifice fly. Ashley Todd belted her first career double in Saturday's game driving in a run as well.
TOUGH LOSSES AT MICHIGAN: The No. 2/2 Michigan Wolverines proved why they're one of the best teams in the country with their hitting display on Wednesday, April 21. Michigan hit four home runs and won both games by a score of 8-0 in five innings. Ashley Griffith beat out a grounder for an infield single in Game Two for the Nittany Lions. The losses were the first at Michigan since 2004.
GRIFFITH EARNS MCCOY HONOR: Senior outfield Ashley Griffith was named Penn State's female Ernest B. McCoy Award recipient on April 16. The award is presented annually to the top male and top female student-athlete who combine successful athletic participation with academic excellence. McCoy was PSU's athletic director and Dean of the College of Physical Education from 1952-70, his name adorns the natatorium. The men's recipient was soccer forward Jason Yiesley, who was named the conference's most outstanding offensive player and drafted by FC Dallas of the MLS.
FIRST BIG TEN WEEKLY AWARD FOR AKAMINE: Sophomore hurler Lisa Akamine garnered her first Big Ten Pitcher of the Week award on Monday, March 29 for her excellent performances in the circle against Saint Francis and Minnesota.  Akamine went 2-0, pitching 18.1 innings with 23 strikeouts, nine hits against and just two earned runs allowed. Akamine was especially impressive against Saint Francis with an 11.1 inning performance in which she allowed just five hits with no walks and struck out 14 batters.
OFFICIAL RADIO BROADCAST HOME:   On Thursday, March 25, Penn State announced the radio home of Nittany Lion softball for the remainder of the 2010 season.  Eight home games will be broadcast on 1390 AM WRSC in the State College area. All of those games will also be streamed on All-Access for free so that fans can tune in and listen. As scheduled, March 27th's game against Minnesota, Game One vs. Pittsburgh (Apr. 6), both Michigan State games (Apr. 14) will kick off the radio slate. Other games to be broadcast are against Illinois (Apr. 17), Iowa (Apr. 24), Syracuse Game One (Apr. 27) and Ohio State (May 8). ComRadio traveled with the team on March 31 to Kent State for a doubleheader, the first away broadcast by a Penn State crew to do a softball game. Other radio additions may be announced at a later date, specifically for away games. Combined with the two Big Ten Network television broadcasts and two bigtennetwork.com webcasts, at least 26 of the final 27 games will have live coverage from the broadcast booth.
Penn State's new stadium is set to open in 2011. |
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 New Nittany Lion Softball Park project. Groundbreaking took place on March 28, 2010 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, concessions, bathrooms, dugouts and a brand new press box, the new stadium 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 took place May 7, 2010.
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 3/13-14 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 had a season ERA of 1.43 following the Mar. 14 games.
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.
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).
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) were on the BTN's website, and the two matchups at Northwestern (5/1-2) will be televised. 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. Finalists were named on March 29, but Griffith was not one of the 10 candidates for inclusion on that list.
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--NITTANY LIONS--