May 6, 2011
Game Notes | 2011 Yearbook | Nittany Lion Softball Park | Twitter
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Nittany Lion softball team heads into the homestretch of the 2011 season when it travels to Iowa for a two-game series beginning Saturday. Penn State and the Hawkeyes square off at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday before a 2 p.m. ET matchup on Sunday, which will be carried live on Big Ten Network.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (24-21-1, 6-7-1 Big Ten)
Games #47-48 •â€ˆMay 7-8 • Bob Pearl Field • Iowa City, Iowa
| Date | Opponent | Media |
| Saturday, 7 p.m. | at Iowa | |
| Sunday, 2 p.m. | at Iowa | | Big Ten Network |
GAME STORIES
•â€ˆPenn State looks to continue a four-game winning streak over Iowa
• Nittany Lions coming off an undefeated weekend (1-0-1) vs. Purdue
• Lisa Akamine threw 12.1 innings of three-hit, two-run ball holding Purdue to just .075 hitting
• Akamine earned Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District II Honors
• First baseman Kailyn Johnson leads the team in average (.339), RBI (27) and walks (25)
• Johnson is 16 hits away from 100 in her career
• Centerfielder Cassidy Bell is the team's leader in runs (25), hits (42) and doubles (12)
• Bell is 3 hits away from 100 in her career
• Jackie Hill leads the team in innings (171.0), record (14-11) and strikeouts (158)
• Hill is 4 strikeouts away from 650 in her career
GAME NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: The Nittany Lion softball team overcame a three-run deficit on Saturday at Beard Field to defeat Purdue, 8-5. Penn State used a three-run third inning and a five-run fourth inning rally to cement the victory. Kailyn Johnson went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored to lead the Nittany Lions. Lisa Akamine picked up the win going 4.1 innings with five strikeouts and just two hits and two runs no her ledger. Cassidy Bell scored two runs while the first six Nittany Lions in the order all tallied markers. On Sunday, Akamine shut down the powerful Boilermaker offense, but Penn State couldn't solve Purdue's Suzie Rzegocki as an odd game ended in a 0-0, eight-inning tie. The Nittany Lions and Boilers withstood a three hour, thirty-eight minute rain delay in the third inning as zeroes went across the board. Purdue had to leave Happy Valley in a hurry to catch its flight home. Akamine tallied a double to go along with her brilliant eight-inning, one-hit masterpiece where she struck out nine and walked only two. Lauren Rossi notched Penn State's only other hit, an eighth-inning single. The Nittany Lions held the speedy Boilermakers, Big Ten's leading squad in stolen bases, to just one swipe all series, a Molly Garst steal of second in the first inning on Sunday. Kasie Hatfield gunned her down trying to take third in the same inning ending Purdue's only scoring opportunity.
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES: Iowa (26-23, 8-10) closes out its regular season against Penn State, while enduring a season-long seven-game losing streak. The Hawkeyes were an impressive 8-3 following an upset win at then-No. 1 Michigan, but haven't won since, dropping the second game to UM before getting swept at home by Wisconsin, at Indiana and again at home to Illinois. Stephanie Ochoa and Liz Watkins lead Iowa at the plate with Ochoa batting .384 to go with nine doubles and a .417 on-base percentage, while Watkins has nine home runs, a .566 slugging percentage and a team-high 36 RBIs. The Hawkeyes hit .268 collectively with a .380 slugging percentage and 60 stolen bases. In the circle, Iowa has found some issues with a 3.36 ERA and a .263 average against. In Big Ten play, the Hawks' ERA has shot up to 4.68 with a .298 average against. The pitching staff consists of sophomore Chelsea Lyon (14-12, 3.57 ERA, 158.2 IP, .274 BAA) and freshman Kayla Massey (12-11, 3.20 ERA, 166.0 IP, .252 BAA).
COMEBACK KIDS: Penn State has played well when in front with a 17-1 record when scoring first, while failing to overcome a deficit in a game until Mar. 6 against Jacksonville State. There, the Nittany Lions scored six straight runs to turn a 2-0 game into an eventual 6-4 victory. Since Mar. 26, eight of Penn State's last 11 wins have been in comeback fashion including the first four Big Ten victories and five of six Big Ten victories overall.
AKAMINE'S ACADEMIC HONOR: Standout pitcher Lisa Akamine was named to the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District II Team for the first time on Thursday, May 5. For the fifth straight year and 11th time in head coach Robin Petrini's 15 years at the helm of Penn State's softball program, a Nittany Lion garnered CoSIDA Academic All-District Honors. Akamine headlined the lone team in District II that featured members from Lehigh, Bucknell, Robert Morris, Temple, Monmouth and Saint Francis (Pa.). Last season, Penn State's Ashley Griffith earned Academic All-District II First Team accolades en route to All-America Third Team honors, Penn State's eighth CoSIDA Academic All-American. Along with Griffith, Danee Collett landed on the All-District II Second Team. Akamine is the 22nd Academic All-District student-athlete from Penn State and 13th to make the first team. Akamine is now eligible for Academic All-America honors.
RPI UPDATE: Penn State sits in 44th place in the latest NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (May 1), the primary tool used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. Last week the Nittany Lions were 46th. Penn State's best wins are against No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 26 Tulsa and No. 32 Fresno State. Big Ten opponents Michigan (10th), Indiana (27th), Illinois (38th) and Northwestern (50th) PSU in the Top 50. Penn State faces Iowa this weekend who is ranked 56th.
LONGWOOD RECAP: The Nittany Lion softball team lost a pair of tough games on Easter Sunday to Longwood, 5-3 and 3-0, at Beard Field. Alyssa Sovereign tallied two hits on the afternoon for Penn State. In the doubleheader opener, Jackie Hill threw eight innings of five-hit ball, but it wasn't enough as the Nittany Lions' fielding let them down. Much like the first game, Longwood took a first-inning 1-0 lead when Nichole Simmons laced her sixth home run of the season over the leftfield wall to open the game. Longwood added two more in the fourth inning.
MICHIGAN RECAP: The Nittany Lion softball team gave a valiant effort against No. 1 Michigan, but dropped a pair of 5-4 games on Wednesday night (Apr. 20) at Beard Field. Penn State saw a slim 3-2 lead fade away in the opener and a seventh-inning rally cut short by a poor call at first base in the nightcap. Kailyn Johnson led the Nittany Lions with two homers and six runs batted in. Her homer in the first game was a go-ahead three-run shot, while the two-run homer in the second game should've been for three runs and tying the game. Cassidy Bell was incorrectly ruled out at first base on an earlier play, thwarting PSU's chances for an extra-inning game. In all, PSU belted 17 hits against the Wolverines while hitting .298 in the twinbill. Lauren Yao went 3-for-6 in the two games to run her hitting streak to a career-high eight games. Lisa Akamine and Alyssa Sovereign each chipped in with a pair of hits in the finale.
MINNESOTA RECAP: The Nittany Lion softball team used two first-inning runs and a Jackie Hill shutout to defeat Minnesota, 2-0, on Sunday (Apr. 17) at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. Hill scattered eight Gopher hits for her sixth shutout of the season, while Cassidy Bell went 2-for-3. Lauren Yao tallied the game's only RBI, an infield single, to give PSU an insurance run. The win followed up a tough 1-0 loss on Saturday in which the travel-weary Nittany Lions out-hit the Gophers, 5-4, but an RBI double in the third gave Minnesota the win. Penn State played the game on little sleep after a nearly 17-hour travel day due to weather and other issues.
DOUBLE SWEEPS: Penn State softball won two different types of games in a Wednesday (Apr. 13) night doubleheader sweep of Kent State at cool and damp Beard Field. The Nittany Lions took the first game 9-1 in six innings before a walk-off two-run homer by Kailyn Johnson won the nightcap, 4-2, in eight innings. Nine different Penn State players tallied at least a hit paced by Cassidy Bell who went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI in the opener. Jackie Hill picked up the victory in game one before Lisa Akamine notched the win in the finale. On Thursday (Apr. 14), Penn State took two more games from a MAC opponent when it swept Buffalo, 4-3 and 7-4. PSU had to come from behind in both contests as Akamine posted two more victories. Johnson went 5-for-7 with three RBI in the two games, while Danee Collett posted a 2-for-2, three-RBI fifth inning to lead PSU to victory in the nightcap. The Nittany Lions pounded out 13 hits in game two, tying a season high, the most since 13 base knocks in a win over then-No. 9 Oklahoma.
INDIANA RECAP: Penn State ran into the buzz saw that was IU's Morgan Melloh as the super senior hurler threw back-to-back shutouts (3-0, 1-0) in a weekend sweep (Apr. 9-10) of the Nittany Lions. PSU's Jackie Hill went step for step with the All-American transfer from Fresno State as Hill threw seven shutout innings on Saturday before a three-run eighth by Indiana won the game and six scoreless on Sunday before she met a similar fate. Melloh was named the Big Ten's Pitcher of the Week for her efforts at Beard Field, the first wins by an opponent at the new ballpark.
MSU MID-WEEK SPLIT: The Nittany Lion softball team was powered to a first-game victory over Michigan State, 8-6, by a Cassidy Bell grand slam before dropping the second game, 7-6, at Secchia Stadium on a damp and cold Apr. 6 afternoon. The second game was called due to darkness after five innings despite a furious five-run Penn State rally. PSU trailed 3-1 in the opening game before a Bell gave the Lions a lead they'd never relinquish. The nightcap was a wild game as the matchup pushed up against the fading light as PSU stared a 6-1 deficit in the face. Home runs by Kailyn Johnson and Lauren Yao lifted the Nittany Lions into a tie before a fifth-inning homer gave the Spartans the lead again and the game was called following the inning's conclusion. Both Bell and Johnson went 4-for-7 with 4 RBI and two runs scored, while Alyssa Sovereign went 4-for-6 with two RBI.
All game recaps can be found in the game notes.
QUEEN OF THE HILL: The week of Mar. 31-Apr. 3 was historic for Jackie Hill and Penn State softball as the redshirt-senior set the new school record for career victories in dazzling performances against Pittsburgh and Illinois. Hill struck out a career-high 12 at Pitt in a 2-0 shutout victory to tie Missy Beseres (2002-06) at win No. 53, before downing 10 Illini in a 4-2 victory for win No. 54. Against Illinois she upped her career strikeout total to 600, moving her into second all-time behind Beseres (745) at Penn State. Currently, Hill sits at 57 victories and 637 strikeouts.
BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORS: Penn State softball student-athletes Lisa Akamine and Cassidy Bell were recognized by the Big Ten Conference for their efforts in the Nittany Lion sweep of Wisconsin (Mar. 26-27). Akamine was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, while Bell took home Co-Player of the Week honors with Liz Watkins of Iowa. Akamine allowed a lone hit in 8.2 innings of work while winning Saturday's inaugural game at Beard Field for the Nittany Lions and starting Sunday's victory against Wisconsin. Akamine proved instrumental in the win over the Badgers on Saturday, coming in relief to earn the win while pitching 3.2 innings of scoreless and hitless softball. The award was Akamine's second having won it similar honors on Mar. 29, 2010. Bell captured her first Big Ten weekly honor as Co-Player of the Week for her four-double effort against the Badgers this weekend. The sophomore centerfielder was only retired once all weekend by the Wisconsin pitching staff as she hit .667 with two RBI and game-tying run on Sunday in the eighth inning. Bell added two stolen bases and two runs scores as Wisconsin failed to get her out on Sunday during PSU's 3-2 victory. The last Nittany Lion to take home Player of the Week honors was Danielle Kinley on Feb. 13, 2007.
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.
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.
PSULIONSOFTBALL ON TWITTER: Nittany Lion softball is now on Twitter. Keep up to date with inside information and exclusive access @PSULionSoftball.
NEXT SERIES: Penn State ends its four-game road swing with a Wednesday doubleheader at Ohio State. First pitch is slated for 5:00 p.m. from Buckeye Field. PSU returns home for the final series of the regular season against Northwestern starting May 13 at 5:00 p.m. The season finale will take place May 14 at 1:00 p.m. Both home games will be streamed live on the BigTenNetwork.com.
--NITTANY LIONS--