March 25, 2011
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State softball opens its brand new Nittany Lion Softball Park this weekend against Big Ten foe Wisconsin beginning Saturday at 2:00 p.m. PSU and Wisconsin wrap up the two-game set on Sunday for a 1:00 p.m. showdown before Penn State travels to Pittsburgh on Tuesday for a doubleheader at brand new Petersen Sports Complex.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (13-11, 0-0 Big Ten)
Games 25-26: Mar. 26-27 • Nittany Lion Softball Park • University Park, Pa.
Games 27-28: Mar. 29 • Petersen Sports Complex • Pittsburgh, Pa.
| Date | Opponent | Media |
| Saturday, 2:00 p.m. | Wisconsin | | ComRadio |
| Sunday, 1:00 p.m. | Wisconsin | | ComRadio |
| Tuesday, 3:00 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | |
| Tuesday, 5:00 p.m. | at Pittsburgh |
TICKET & MEDIA CREDENTIAL INFORMATION
Penn State will be charging an admission price of $5 for general seating and PSU students with valid identification will earn free entry. Additionally, groups of 15 or more will be charged a reduced fee of $3 per person. Fans will have two ways of purchasing tickets--at the Nittany Lion Softball Park ticket office on game days and the Bryce Jordan Center box office--to all softball games this year. Nittany Lion Softball Park and its ticket office will open one hour prior to first pitch on all game days. All media that requested credentials for game days may pick up their credentials at Nittany Lion Softball Park ticket office as well. All credential requests are to be made 24 hours in advance of any game to Jeremy S. Fallis of Penn State Athletic Communications at jsf16@psu.edu.
More information: 2011 Nittany Lion Softball Park Ticket Information
GAME STORIES
• Penn State opens the new Nittany Lion Softball Park against Wisconsin
• Nittany Lions look to extend six-game overall winning streak over the Badgers
• Wisconsin is on a 10-game losing streak in Happy Valley dating back to 1998
• Saturday's game will be Penn State's 20th season opener in the Big Ten
• PSU travels to Pittsburgh to open the Panthers' new Petersen Sports Complex
• Penn State comes off a 2-3 weekend at the Judi Garman Classic, which included an upset win over then-No. 9 Oklahoma, 5-2
• Jackie Hill posted a Big Ten best 0.97 ERA in 21.2 innings last week at Garman Classic and needs just three wins to become the all-time wins leader at Penn State
• Nittany Lion pitching has held opposing teams to .195 hitting and a 1.64 ERA
• Outfielder Cassidy Bell leads team in hits (19), doubles (5), homers (3) and RBI (10)
GAME NOTES
HOME, SWEET HOME: When important dates in Penn State softball history are recounted, some will point to Apr. 27, 1965 when the Nittany Lions played their first game or May 18, 2000 when PSU won its first NCAA Tournament game. For head coach Robin Petrini, it's probably Mar. 28, 2010, when the first shovel full of dirt went flying and the project to build Nittany Lion Softball Park commenced.
"Fifteen years," Penn State's winningest coach repeated before Tuesday's practice, the first on newly minted Beard Field.
Fifteen long years for Petrini and the hundreds of student-athletes that toiled their trade at old Nittany Lion Field, an inadequate home for a Big Ten program, let alone one that made seven trips to the NCAA Tournament this past decade.
Read More: Home, Sweet Home: Nittany Lion Softball Park
JUDI GARMAN CLASSIC RECAP: The Penn State Nittany Lions went 2-3 at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif. PSU played No. 6 Arizona State tough, but fell, 5-1, as PSU allowed three unearned runs due to errors. The Lions bounced back as Jackie Hill pitched a shutout against Fresno State, 1-0. Lisa Akamine drove home the winning run in the sixth on a single to left field. PSU followed that up with a dominating 5-2 victory over Oklahoma as the Lions pounded a season-high 13 hits and Hill didn't allow a run for the first 6.2 innings. Alyssa Sovereign went 3-for-4 in the game, while Cassidy Bell struck for a lead-off homer in the top of the first inning on the third pitch of the game. Unfortunately, Penn State ran out of steam in 2-1 and 1-0 losses to Pacific and Boise State last Saturday.
Jackie Hill and Alyssa Renwick with Bill Beard. |
QUEEN OF THE HILL:  Thanks to two terrific victories over Fresno State and Oklahoma, Jackie Hill moved two steps closer to claiming the all-time victories record at Penn State. Currently, Hill sits at 51 wins in second place, while trailing Missy Beseres (53, 2002-06) by two. Hill passed the duo of Jaci Kalp (1997-2000) and Ashley Esparza (2005-08) who are now third with 49 victories. Additionally, Hill has struck out 566 batters during her four-plus years in Happy Valley and she is just 28 strikeouts away from moving into second place past Esparza (593). Beseres is the all-time strikeouts leader with 745.
SCOUTING THE BADGERS: Wisconsin (15-9) enters this weekend with a renewed sense of energy as first-year head coach Yvette Healy leads a youth-laden squad. The Badgers went 10-4 over Spring Break as UW played in various tournaments around Southern California. Wisconsin has a strong middle of the lineup as Karia Powell (5 HR, 15 RBI), Kendall Grimm (.320, 16 H), Stephanie Peace (10 RBI) and Shannel Blackshear (3 HR, 13 RBI) power the lineup while speedster Jennifer Krueger (.389, 16 R, 20 SB) sets the table. Freshman Casandra Darrah has stepped up for the Badgers carrying the pitching staff with a 10-1 record and a 1.79 earned run average. As a staff, the Badgers have a 3.17 ERA and opposing hitters are averaging .291 at the plate.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS: Pittsburgh (19-6) enters the weekend having swept Robert Morris in a doubleheader before traveling to play Seton Hall this weekend in the teams' Big East opener. Pitt's pitching has been fantastic posting a 1.28 ERA behind a three-pitcher set up of Alyssa O'Connell (7-2, 0.61 ERA), Cory Berliner (5-2, 1.54 ERA) and Karlyn Jones (7-2, 1.54 ERA). The Panthers hit .268 at the plate led by slugger Kelly Hmiel who is batting .353 with a team best seven homers and 28 RBI. Holly Stevens has 25 RBI, while Yvette Bravo is third with 12. Five Pitt hitters own averages over .300 this season.
BIG TEN OPENERS: Penn State will host its 20th Big Ten home opening game, having gone 5-14 all-time in those games. Overall, PSU is 5-14 in akk Big Ten openers with all five wins in both categories coming since Robin Petrini came on board in 1997 for 5-8 marks. The Lions are 2-0 against Wisconsin in Big Ten openers with both those games coming at home.
BUCKHEAD CLASSIC RECAP: Penn State garnered a 3-1 record at the SpringHill Suites Buckhead Classic (Mar. 11-13) hosted by Georgia Tech at Mewborn Field. PSU swept aside Bowling Green (8-0, five innings) and Georgia State (1-0) on the first day. The Nittany Lion bats produced 11 hits scoring eight runs in the first three innings against BGSU buoyed by a five-run third. Pitcher Lisa Akamine did it all throwing four scoreless and hitless innings while going 3-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and two runs scored. Against Georgia State, Jackie Hill picked up the shutout allowing only three GSU hits while Shannon Hutchinson scored an unearned run in the sixth inning. Penn State fell to Georgia Tech, 6-0, behind four homers by the Yellow Jackets before salvaging a 4-0 win over Belmont as Akamine helped PSU to its second one-hit shutout of the weekend. PSU scored three runs in the second inning as four Nittany Lions-Cassidy Bell, Danee Collett, Jackie Hill and Mary Ostman-tallied multi-hit games.
SPRING BREAK MID-WEEK RECAP: PSU's mid-week games (Mar. 8-10) got off on the right foot when Penn State pulled out a 2-1, eight-inning game at Kennesaw State when Cassidy Bell jacked her second homer of the week for the slim victory. Jackie Hill went all eight innings, striking out six while giving up a lone unearned run and three hits. PSU's bats went silent in the next two games dropping 2-0 and 8-0 decisions to Georgia Tech and No. 1 Georgia, respectively. The game against Georgia was added at the last minute as PSU's games at Auburn were cancelled.
BUZZ CLASSIC RECAP: Penn State went a perfect 3-0 at the rainy and chilly Buzz Classic (Mar. 4-6), which saw all of Saturday's games cancelled and another of PSU's matchups on Sunday, Mar. 5 get washed away. Jackie Hill and Lisa Akamine pitched back-to-back 1-0 shutouts against Massachusetts and Miami (Ohio), respectively. Both games were quite similar as Penn State needed solo home runs to win each game: the first against UMass came from Cassidy Bell and the second came from freshman Kasie Hatfield vs. Miami. In Sunday's night game, PSU square off with Jacksonville State as the two teams combined for 10 runs, 15 hits and three errors and the Nittany Lions pulling out a key 6-4 win. PSU fell itself down 2-0 after the Gamecocks opened the game hot with four straight hits. Danee Collett's RBI singles in the third and fifth evened the score before Kailyn Johnson rocked a three-run homer to right and give the Lions a 5-2 lead they'd never relinquish.
BUZZ CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Penn State had one representative, Jackie Hill, on the 10-person Buzz Classic All-Tournament Team. Hill went a perfect 2-0 during the weekend, allowing just two earned runs against Jacksonville State, while shutting out Massachusetts.
CAROLINA CLASSIC RECAP: Penn State's bats woke up on the first day of the Carolina Classic in wins over FIU (3-0) and Georgetown (6-0). Jackie Hill threw a one-hitter, coming one strike short of a no-hitter against FIU. Freshman Alyssa Sovereign led the offense wtih a 6-for-6 day at the plate with three doubles, three runs, three RBI and her first career homer between the two games. Lisa Akamine captured a complete game shutout vs. Georgetown behind 10 strikeouts. In a frustrating and quirky Sunday, Penn State fell 1-0 to FIU after Cassidy Bell's homer in the fourth inning was wiped out by an umpire's appeal that Bell failed to touch home. That proved to be the difffence as FIU forced extra innings and went on to win in the bottom of the 8th. Against North Carolina, PSU hit the ball hard including two shots down each foul line that missed being crucial homers. Despite the many line drives, UNC's Lori Spingola picked up the perfect game, in a 3-0 win.
FAU KICK-OFF CLASSIC RECAP: The Nittany Lions went 2-3 in an up-and-down weekend at Florida Atlantic (Feb. 18-20). Penn State opened the weekend with a 3-1 win over Tulsa on Friday before falling 10-0 to Massachusetts. PSU wrapped up the weekend with a 1-0 loss to Long Island, a 2-1 win over host FAU and a 3-0 loss to Tulsa. The mixed performances saw solid pitching out of Jackie Hill and Lisa Akamine who combined for a 1.69 earned run average in 29 innings of work with 23 strikeouts. The duo held teams to a .228 batting average as well keeping the Nittany Lions in each of their games. At the plate, Desi Giordano stood out with a .333 batting average and a .600 on-base percentage with three hits, two runs and a homer vs. Tulsa. Danee Collett (.308) was the only other Lion to tally an average over .300 going 4-for-13 with a double. Cassidy Bell had the best one-game performance of all the PSU bats with a 3-for-4 showing vs. FAU notching a double and both the team's RBI.
MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU: Senior co-captain Desi Giordano climbed up the record books on Feb. 18 with a long bomb to left field, her first of the season and 20th in her career. The homer moved Giordano into a tie for fourth all-time at Penn State with Jen Acunto (2005-08). Giordano is just three off from matching Jennifer Tripken (1999-2002) and five from Ashley Esparza (2005-08) from third and second, respectively. PSU's all-time home run leader is Shannon Salsburg who belted 34 from 1995-98.
BIG LIFE. BIG STATE. BIG TEN NETWORK: Four Penn State softball games will be televised live by the Big Ten Network in 2011. PSU's doubleheader will be the live TV debut of Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field when Penn State plays host to Michigan on Apr. 20. The doubleheader starts at 5:30 p.m. against the defending Big Ten champs. A third home contest will be aired May 1 against Purdue at Noon while a lone away game, vs. Iowa, will be shown May 8 at 2:00 p.m. All game times are Eastern. In addition to the live schedule, the Nittany Lions will be apart of several BigTenNetwork.com streaming productions which are run through the Big Ten Network's Student U initiative. Many of those games are shown on the Network the following day in a tape delay fashion after their live stream. Penn State will have two such series on BTN.com as Kent State and Northwestern games at Penn State will be on there. Away games will be announced later.
RETURNING TO THE FOLD: Penn State's 2011 squad remains relatively intact from last year's team due to graduate of just one everyday starter in Ashley Griffith. All told, Penn State has 15 letterwinners from a year ago returning including the top three Nittany Lions in batting average (Cassidy Bell, Danee Collett, Lauren Rossi) and hits (Bell, Collett, Kailyn Johnson) as well as the top two pitchers in Jackie Hill and Lisa Akamine.
NEW ADDITIONS:  Penn State figures to improve with newcomers Alyssa Sovereign, Kasie Hatfield, Liz Presto, Jordan Wheatley and Jenn Edsall. Sovereign looks to fill the vacant spot in the outfield left by Griffith, while Hatfield and Presto have shown powerful hitting at the plate. Wheatley and Edsall are expected to back up and give depth in the pitching circle.
DIFFICULT 2011 SCHEDULE: The Nittany Lions will once again face some of the best teams in the country. By the numbers, the 2011 non-conference schedule will be one of the toughest in the country as 22 of Penn State's 26 scheduled non-Big Ten opponents participated in postseason action in 2010. Additionally, 10 of the first 12 scheduled opponents sported a winning record last year totaling eight NCAA Tournament appearances. Penn State will play at least 21 games this year against teams that won 30 or more games last season with 10 who won at least 40.
ALL-BIG TEN RETURNEE: Junior pitcher Lisa Akamine returns to the Nittany Lions as the lone All-Big Ten honoree having claimed third-team honors in 2009 and 2010. Fellow pitcher Jackie Hill is Penn State's only NFCA All-Great Lakes mention after her second-team performance in 2008.
FALL BALL REDUX: Penn State played six games this offseason going 4-2. PSU's hitting was superb knocking home 29 runs altogether. The Nittany Lions defeated Lock Haven (8-3), Virginia Tech (4-0) and Liberty (3-2 and 7-2), while falling to Bucknell (7-6) and Virginia Tech (11-1).
PSULIONSOFTBALL ON TWITTER: Nittany Lion softball is now on Twitter. Keep up to date with inside information and exclusive access @PSULionSoftball.
NEXT SERIES: The Nittany Lions have a quick turnaround as they travel to Pittsburgh on Tuesday for a 3 p.m. doubleheader. The Panthers are opening their new Petersen Sports Complex, which features new stadiums for softball, soccer and baseball. Following the Pittsburgh doubleheader, PSU travels to Urbana, Ill. to take on the Fightin Illini of Illinois for a two-game set starting Saturday, Apr. 2 (3 p.m. ET). The series concludes with a Noon ET game on Sunday, Apr. 3.
--NITTANY LIONS--