April 6, 2011
Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Nittany Lion softball team was powered to a first-game victory over Michigan State, 8-6, by a Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.) grand slam before dropping the second game, 7-6, at Secchia Stadium on a damp and cold Wednesday afternoon. The second game was called due to darkness after five innings despite a five-run Penn State rally.
PENN STATE 8, MICHIGAN STATE 6
The Nittany Lions won its fourth straight comeback game in Big Ten play with an 8-6 victory, which was highlighted by 11 PSU hits and a grand slam by Bell.
Penn State (18-13, 4-1 Big Ten) trailed 3-1 with two outs in the top of the fourth inning as the bases were loaded following for Bell. The sophomore belted an opposite field shot off the leftfield foul pole to give the Nittany Lions a crucial 5-3 lead. The grand slam was Penn State's first since Desi Giordano (West Caldwell, N.J.) hit one at Illinois (Mar. 22, 2009), the homer was Bell's fifth of the season as she went 2-for-5 in the game with a first-inning triple. Penn State got on the board in the third inning to tie the game at one when Kailyn Johnson (Yorba Linda, Calif.) singled home Alyssa Renwick (Laurens, S.C.) with two outs.
After Michigan State (19-15, 1-4 Big Ten) cut into the lead with a run in the bottom of the fifth, PSU responded with a big inning of its own as Mary Ostman (Northbrook, Ill.) led off with an infield single. A fielder's choice saw Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.) take over at first base for Ostman before a Johnson single put two runners on with one out. Akamine would come around to score on an RBI single by Kasie Hatfield (Tampa, Fla.) before an Alyssa Sovereign (La Canada, Calif.) double down the right-field line scored two more runs and pushed Penn State's lead to 8-4.
The bottom of the seventh inning proved to be an interesting end of the game as MSU's Jessica Bracamonte singled to start off the rally. Nevertheless, Bracamonte would be called out when the Spartans failed to re-enter her into the game, providing Penn State the first out of the inning. The call proved to be costly for MSU as the next pitch to Lindsey Hansen was sent over the leftfield wall to make it a three-run game. Michigan State's hitting would continue as a throwing error with two outs allowed another Spartan run to score before Jackie Hill (San Jose, Calif.) struck Heidi Purtzer out to end the game. Hill improved to 12-6 on the year with the victory.
MICHIGAN STATE 7, PENN STATE 6 (5 innings)
The Nittany Lions continued their timely hitting in the nightcap with a five-run rally, but ultimately dropped a 7-6 decision to Michigan State.
After trailing 1-0, Michigan State (20-15, 2-4 Big Ten) would add to its lead with four runs in the third inning. Lindsey Hansen singled home Bracamonte before Brett Williams homered to centerfield to add three more runs to the MSU lead.
Penn State (18-14, 4-2 Big Ten) would try to claw back into the game in the next half inning when Ellen McNair (Niceville, Fla.) singled home Sovereign from third with no outs on the board. Unfortunately, PSU couldn't tack on any more as a runner was caught stealing and two long fly outs ended the Nittany Lion threat.
Following a Spartan run in the bottom of the fourth, the Nittany Lions again fought back as Johnson roped a three-run show down the rightfield line to score Bell and Rossi. The Penn State rally would continue when Sovereign singled to center and Lauren Yao (Los Angeles, Calif.) smashed a game-tying homer to centerfield.
The home run crazy game would swing Michigan State's way in the bottom of the fifth when Sarah Bowling hit a pinch-hit homer over the leftfield wall as the Spartans regained the lead at 7-6. Despite Penn State getting out of the inning unscathed after that, PSU wouldn't get to fight back in the top of the sixth as the umpires called the game due to darkness.
The Nittany Lions and Spartans split the season series for the third straight year as the all-time series history sits at Penn State leading 24-22. Bell went 4-for-7 with four RBI and two runs scored, while Johnson went a matching 4-for-7 with four RBI and two runs scores as well.
Penn State returns to Happy Valley for a six-game homestand beginning Saturday with a 5:00 p.m. game vs. Indiana at Beard Field. The Indiana series will conclude on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Both games will feature have live stats coverage through GameTracker as well as commentary and analysis on Twitter (www.twitter.com/PSULionSoftball).
--NITTANY LIONS--