March 10, 2011
SMYRNA, Ga. - The Nittany Lion softball team added No. 1 Georgia to the schedule early Thursday morning to make up for games lost this past week. Penn State will travel to Athens, Ga. for a 6:30 p.m. showdown.
Penn State (8-6) was scheduled to play 12 games on Spring Break, but through Wednesday, only five contests have taken place. Unseasonably cold and wet conditions have derailed much of the scheduling forcing the complete cancellation of Saturday's action at least week's Buzz Classic where only three games were played. After two games on Tuesday, both contests were cancelled yesterday in Auburn due to the wet stuff.
Georgia is the top-ranked team on the country according to the NFCA Coaches' Poll. The Bulldogs are coming off a successful 3-0 weekend at their own tournament where they defeated Indiana and Campbell by shutouts, 2-0 and 7-0, respectively. The Dogs capped off the weekend with a tight 4-3 win over Chattanooga. Georgia is on an eight-game winning streak to improve to 17-1 on the year.
The balanced yet powerful lineup features a team that hits .336 with 39 home runs, while out-scoring its opponents 127-31. Megan Wiggins (.443, 9 2B, 4 HR, 22 RBI) and Brianna Hesson (.333, 3 2B, 6 HR, 23 RBI) are the major power hitters. The pitching staff for Georgia has been top-notch as it has held opponents to .179 hitting and a 1.42 earned run average. Morgan Montemayor and Allison Owen are the team's best hurlcers as Montemayor is 7-1 with a 1.51 ERA in 41.2 innings of work and 47 strikeouts. Owen is 6-0 with a 0.44 earned run average, but has started just two of her 10 games for 31.2 innings.
Penn State split its Tuesday split doubleheader, defeating Kennesaw State, 2-1 in eight innings, before Georgia Tech sneaked by the Nittany Lions, 2-0, snapping PSU's four-game winning streak. Penn State returns to its regularly scheduled events when it participates in the SpringHill Suites Buckhead Classic hosted by Georgia Tech at Mewborn Field. The Nittany Lions take on Bowling Green at 2:00 p.m. before a 7:00 p.m. showdown with Georgia State. All Nittany Lion games will have live stats coverage through GameTracker as well as commentary and analysis on Twitter (www.twitter.com/PSULionSoftball).
--NITTANY LIONS--