April 14, 2011
Penn State 4, Buffalo 3 | Penn State 7, Buffalo 4 | Quotes
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Powered by two huge innings, the Penn State softball team defeated Buffalo, 4-3 and 7-4, at Beard Field on Thursday evening. Kailyn Johnson (Yorba Linda, Calif.) went 5-for-7 with three RBI in the two games, while Danee Collett (Rogersville, Tenn.) posted a 2-for-2, three-RBI fifth inning to lead PSU to victory in the nightcap. Pitcher Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.) picked up both victories in the circle for Penn State to improve to 9-7.
"I felt that our team was hitting and so it's good to see we are getting more hitting through the order," head coach Robin Petrini said. "I think it was big to see Danee hit a home run."
PENN STATE 4, BUFFALO 3
Penn State found itself down 2-0 in the early going against Buffalo before Johnson doubled home Akamine from second base in the bottom of the first.
The Bulls would regain a two-run lead in the top of the second on a lead-off home run from Sammi Gallardo, making it 3-1 in the top of the second.
Buffalo would continue its hitting in the top of the third when back-to-back singles with one out, chasing PSU starter Jackie Hill (San Jose, Calif.) from the game, giving way to Akamine in the circle. Following a bunt single, Akamine was able to wiggle out of the bases-loaded, one-out jam to keep the Bulls at bay.
From there, Penn State would continue to try and chip into the lead against Buffalo pitcher Tori Speckman, but to no avail until the sixth inning.
Centerfielder Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.) led the sixth off with a triple to deep center setting up the Nittany Lion rally. Akamine earned a four-pitch walk as Mary Ostman (Northbrook, Ill.) pinch-ran for Akamine at first. Johnson followed up with a key double to left-centerfield, scoring Bell to cut the Buffalo lead to just one run.
Following a popup for the first out, Alyssa Sovereign (La Canada, Calif.) lined a shot toward the hole near second base as Andi Saucier laid out, but the ball tipped out of her glove, allowing Ostman to score from third and knot the game at three apiece. The very next batter was Lauren Yao (Los Angeles, Calif.) and she singled home the game-winning run, pinch-runner Rachel Myers (Millheim, Pa) from third.
Akamine allowed a pair of singles, but Kasie Hatfield (Tampa, Fla.) gunned down one baserunner trying to steal second and ended the game with a weak grounder to third base to earn her eighth win of the season. Akamine picked up the victory as she scattered five hits and a walk. Speckman (5-9) threw 5.1 innings, giving up five hits, four earned runs and two walks, while fanning two Nittany Lions.
PENN STATE 7, BUFFALO 4
In the nightcap, Penn State (22-16, 4-4 Big Ten) again fell behind in the first inning after Buffalo (9-25, 4-4 MAC) garnered a first-inning run when Holly Luciano belted a solo homer. Nonetheless, the Nittany Lions used a six-run fifth inning to brush aside the Bulls to win its fourth straight game.
Following the Luciano homer, Penn State was unable to get anything going against UB starter Holly Johnson as she preserved the slim 1-0 margin through four innings.
Collett opened the fifth with a towering solo homer over the leftfield videoboard to tie the game at one, as she would be the first of 11 batters to fly through the lineup in the inning. Collett's bomb was the first of the season.
Alyssa Renwick (Laurens, S.C.) notched her first extra-base hit of the season when she ripped a double immediately after Collett's home run. Shannon Hutchinson (Sewell, N.J.) was able to lay down a gorgeous bunt, advancing Renwick to third and gaining safety at first base. A ground out pushed Hutchinson to second as consecutive RBI singles by Akamine and Johnson opened a 3-1 lead.
Hatfield followed up with a fielder's choice in which everyone was safe, loading the bases with two outs when Yao laced a liner up the middle that caught Johnson in the arm, scoring another run and knocking Johnson out of the game as Speckman relieved her. Collett came back up and knocked a two-RBI single up the middle to cap the six-run inning, giving Penn State a 6-1 lead.
The Bulls would fight back in the top of the sixth, scoring two runs on a two-out triple by Kristin Waldron as PSU held a 6-3 advantage. The Nittany Lion onslaught continued in the bottom half of the sixth as Bell knocked a single to center and advanced to third on a Johnson single to right. Bell came around to score on the next batter as Hatfield lined a double to deep center to give Penn State a 7-4 lead.
Buffalo would threaten in the seventh, tallying one final run, but Akamine caught Ashley Bertot looking to end the ball game, her fifth strikeout of the game as she won her ninth game of the season. Akamine (9-7) allowed six hits and no walks in the outing, while Johnson (4-10) earned the loss with six runs against, nine hits and one walk. Penn State belted 13 hits in the second game and 18 collectively on Thursday.
PSU returns to action on Saturday as the Nittany Lions take on Minnesota at 2:00 p.m. ET in Minneapolis, Minn. The two-game Big Ten series concludes Sunday at Noon ET as both games will be covered through GameTracker as well as commentary and analysis on Twitter (www.twitter.com/PSULionSoftball).
--NITTANY LIONS--