May 8, 2011
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The Penn State softball team used two-run, third-inning rally to down the Iowa Hawkeyes, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon at Pearl Field. Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.) went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a double at the plate, while earning her 11th win in the circle.
Much like Saturday's game where Penn State (25-22-1, 7-8-1 Big Ten) stranded eight runners, the Nittany Lions put runners in scoring position early and often. Nevertheless, it was Iowa (27-24, 9-11 Big Ten) who would strike first. The Hawkeyes loaded the bases for the second straight day and Brianna Luna walked on four straight pitches to earn her sixth RBI of the season and a quick 1-0 lead.
Iowa doubled the lead the following inning as Katie Keim doubled to left center to score a runner from third. Two batters later, a single to center allowed Keim to round third, but she was thrown out by Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.) to end the Iowa half.
Penn State gathered some much-needed offense, scoring the weekend's first run when Alyssa Sovereign (La Canada, Calif.) sliced a hit down the leftfield line that got past a diving Jenny Schuelke. Her blunder allowed Kasie Hatfield (Tampa, Fla.) to score all the way from first base to cut the lead in half at 2-1.
The Lions' offense struck again in the fourth inning as Jackie Hill (San Jose, Calif.) and Lauren Rossi (Yardley, Pa.) each notched infield singles to lead off. Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.) walked to load the bases and Hill would eventually score on an RBI fielder's choice by Akamine to tie the score. The next at-bat saw Kailyn Johnson (Yorba Linda, Calif.) chop a grounder to third, which was mishandled as Bell rounded third to grab Penn State's first lead of the weekend.
The rally forced Iowa starter Kayla Massey out of the game after just three and a third innings of work. She allowed six Penn State hits, but walked four and gave up two earned runs and struck out none. Her starting counterpart, Hill, gave way to Akamine after just one and a third innings, giving up four hits and two runs with one walk and a strikeout.
Akamine was stellar in the circle going five and two-thirds innings, allowing just four hits and two walks, while giving up no runs and striking out three. The junior righty got into trouble in the sixth when Schuelke led off with a single and Michelle Zoeller singled to left. Substitute leftfielder Shannon Hutchinson (Sewell, N.J.) made an error on Zoeller's single down the line as Schuelke tried to take an extra bag, but Hutchinson fired a strike to Rossi as she applied the tag for the first out of the inning. Zoeller advanced to second on a ground out before Akamine induced a popup to short of leadoff batter Katie Keim.
Akamine improved to 11-9 this season, earning her second straight win following a successful home weekend against Purdue. The Nittany Lions and Hawkeyes each picked up eight hits, while the two teams combined to leave 19 runners on base: 10 for Penn State and nine for Iowa. Iowa's Chelsea Lyon relieved Massey going three and two-thirds innings, giving up two hits and fanning the only two Nittany Lions to go down on strikes in the game.
Penn State stays on the road for another series, going to Columbus to take on Ohio State on Wednesday beginning at 5:00 p.m. The doubleheader is a make up for a rain out on Apr. 27. Fans can follow the Nittany Lions through GameTracker as well as on Twitter (www.twitter.com/PSULionSoftball) for commentary and analysis.
--NITTANY LIONS--