March 7, 2011
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SMYRNA, Ga. --The Penn State softball team, coming off a perfect 3-0 Buzz Classic weekend, continues its Spring Break trip on Tuesday with two games at Kennesaw State's Bailey Park beginning at 2 p.m. PSU takes on the Owls in the first game before matching up with Georgia Tech at 5:30 p.m. in the nightcap. The Nittany Lions then travel to Auburn, Ala. for two games against No. 24 Auburn and Florida State on Wednesday afternoon.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (7-5)
Games 13-14: Bailey Park; Kennesaw, Ga.
Games 15-16: Moore Field; Auburn, Ala.
| Date | Opponent | Media |
| Tuesday, 2:00 p.m. | at Kennesaw State | |
| Tuesday, 5:30 p.m. | Georgia Tech | | Live Audio |
| Wednesday, 2 p.m. | Florida State | |
| Wednesday, 5 p.m. | at #24 Auburn |
GAME NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: Penn State used strong pitching and timely hitting for three-straight wins at the cold, rainy and windy Buzz Classic hosted by Georgia Tech this past weekend. Jackie Hill (San Jose, Calif.) fired a four-hit shutout of Massachusetts to open the tournament as Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.) smashed a solo home run to give Penn State a 1-0 victory. A similar story would unfold just moments later as Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.) matched Hill's showing with a four-hit shutout of Miami (Ohio) as Kasie Hatfield's (Lutz, Fla.) homer gave PSU a 1-0 win.
From there, the waiting game was played as Saturday's matchups against host Georgia Tech and Jacksonville State were cancelled due to rain at the Twin Creeks facility. A reshuffled schedule saw PSU on the ledger to play Rhode Island and Georgia Tech, but after subsequent rescheduling, field changes and ultimately a seven-hour delay to play a game against Jacksonville State. The Nittany Lions rallied from a two-run deficit to pound out nine hits for six runs powered by Kailyn Johnson's (Yorba Linda, Calif.) three-run blast in the fifth inning for a Penn State 6-4 win on a bitterly cold and windy night. Hill against earned the complete game win allowing two earned runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts. Danee Collett (Rogersville, Tenn.) chipped in with two RBI singles and Lauren Yao (Los Angeles, Calif.) failed to get out at the plate, going 1-for-1 with an RBI double, two runs scored, a walk and two hit-by-pitches.
ALL-TOURNEY TEAM: For her effort this weekend in wins over UMass and Jacksonville State, Hill was named to the Buzz Classic All-Tournament Team. Hill went 2-0 for the weekend with a 1.00 ERA in 14 innings of work, striking out 15 with 11 hits against and four walks allowed. The redshirt-senior has lowered her earned run average to 1.58 on the season while improving to 4-3 on the year.
SCOUTING THE OWLS: Kennesaw State (13-5) also went 3-0 on the weekend at Buzz Classic defeating Boston U (5-4), Niagara (12-1), and Austin Peay (1-0). The Owls have won 6-of-7, the lone loss an 11-1 thrashing at the hands of Jacksonville State at Bailey Park on March 1. Whitney Cross is the team's ace in the circle boasting a 7-2 record on a 2.25 ERA in six starts and five complete games. She has held opposing batters to .229 hitting with 42 strikeouts. Cross threw a one-hitter against Austin Peay on Sunday. Three other pitchers have been in the mix led by Amanda Henderson who is 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA in 27 innings of work. At the plate, the Owls feature slugger Sharon Swanson who has pounded out 26 hits including six homers in 18 games for a .464 batting average, .821 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage. Swanson is joined by three other hitters in the plus-.300 hitting category for a team that hits .293 on the year and has outscored opponents by 23 runs.
SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS: Georgia Tech (12-4) was the winner of its own tournament after tiebreakers, going 3-0 just like Penn State and Kennesaw State. GT crushed UAB Sunday night, 8-0, to run its winning streak to four in a row following a 4-of-5 game slide dating back to February. The Jackets are led by the one-two punch of Kristen Adkins (6-2, 0.99 ERA) and Hope Rush (3-2, 1.66) in the circle. Adkins has four complete games on the year with 48 strikeouts in a little over 49 innings of work. Offensively, Georgia Tech relies on Rush who has a .412 average with 14 hits, two doubles and four homers with 13 RBI. The balanced offense has five hitters with 10 or more RBI on the year with Kristine Priebe leading the way with 16 off five homers, three doubles and three triples. GT has pounded out 23 homers, while allowing just five on the season, hitting .336 collectively.
SCOUTING THE SEMINOLES: Florida State (12-8) is coming off a 3-1 weekend hosting its own tournament against Utah (5-4 loss, 7-3 win) and Wisconsin (7-1, 9-0 wins). Sarah Hamilton is the team's ace going 5-5 on the year and taking on 66.1 innings of the team's 131. Hamilton has nine starts with eight complete games and a 1.48 earned run average, striking out 88 and holding opposing batters to .201. The Seminoles hit .290 as a team with five sluggers over .300 led by Tiffani Brown (.359) who has a team-high 23 hits, a double, four triples and a homer while stealing 12 bases. The team's RBI (14) and leader in average (.364) is Robin Ahrberg. FSU's power is dispersed well throughout its lineup with eight hitters registering a double, four with triples and four more hitting homers. FSU is a speedy team with nine triples and 36 stolen bases this season.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS: Auburn (17-2) rose into the rankings last week opening the year with 15 straight wins on the year before going to Oklahoma. Auburn dropped matchups to Oklahoma (6-0) and Oklahoma State (3-2) while beating UIC (3-2) and Oklahoma State (4-3). The Tigers have three capable starting pitchers in their lineup with Jenee Loree (4-1, 1.81 ERA), Angel Bunner (5-1, 1.85 ERA) and Lauren Schmalz (8-0, 1.99 ERA). Schmalz and Bunner have gotten the majority of the innings with 45-plus apiece. Auburn has pounded out 34 doubles and 19 homers already this year with a .289 team batting average led by Morgan Estell with a .439 (18 H, 4 2B, 2 HR) and Lauren Guzman (.356, 7 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 16 RBI). Auburn is aggressive on the base paths with 37 stolen bases on 43 attempts and 10 Tigers have at least one swiped bag in 2011.
NEXT TIME OUT: Penn State returns to Atlanta for a four-game tournament at Georgia Tech, the SpringHill Suites Buckhead Classic. The Nittany Lions play Bowling Green at 2:00 p.m. Friday before taking on Georgia State at 7:00 p.m. in the nightcap. PSU has a rematch against Georgia Tech on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and the final game of Spring Break will be against Belmont, a 10:00 a.m. Sunday affair at Mewborn Field.
--NITTANY LIONS--