Feb. 11, 2012
BATON ROUGE, La. - Penn State softball struggled to push runs across on Saturday, leaving a combined 19 runners on base in 15 innings while losing to Louisiana Tech, 4-2, and No. 22 LSU, 1-0, in eight innings. PSU concludes its time at the Tiger Classic with a non-conference matchup against No. 15 Michigan on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. ET.
LOUISIANA TECH 4, PENN STATE 2
In the opening game on Saturday, Penn State got out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, but the bats went cold as Louisiana Tech squeezed out a 4-2 comeback victory at windy Tiger Park. Kailyn Johnson (Yorba Linda, Calif.) paced the Nittany Lion offense with a 3-for-4 day with a double to leftfield.
PSU (1-1) looked to make a big inning out of a few Louisiana Tech (1-1) miscues, the first being a catcher's interference during Cassidy Bell's (Bakersfield, Calif.) opening plate appearance. Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.) followed with a fielder's choice that was thrown into right field, allowing Bell to third with no outs. Pinch-runner Shannon Hutchinson (Sewell, N.J.) stole second to put runners in scoring position for Johnson, who struck out. Danee Collett (Rogersville, Tenn.) grounded to first as the throw went home, but Bell beat it out for an early 1-0 PSU lead. After a ground out to first, Alyssa Sovereign (La Canada, Calif.) walked to load the bases, but another grounder to short halted the rally.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the scorebook freshman Marissa Diescher (Livingston Manor, N.Y.) made her first start in the circle for Penn State. She became the first PSU freshman since Akamine in 2009 to be a starting pitcher. She fared well for the first four innings, keeping the Lady Techsters off the board before a tying run in the fifth started LT's rally.
Diescher pitched to the first two batters of the sixth, giving up a home run to Katelynn Hill before a single chased her from the game with five innings pitched, two strikeouts and eight hits allowed. Jordan Wheatley (Troy, Mich.) came in relief and limited the damage to two unearned runs during the three-run sixth inning, keeping Penn State in the game. Wheatley finished with two innings pitched, one hit and a walk allowed, while striking out two.
Penn State mounted a furious rally in the bottom of the seventh as Bell led off with a single, but was forced out at second on an Akamine grounder. Freshman pinch-hitter Alicia Walker (Los Alamitos, Calif.) came in for Akamine at first, advancing to second on a Johnson single to left. Collett's grounder to second was booted, loading the bases for Alyssa Sovereign (La Canada, Calif.) Sovereign's single to left cut the lead to 4-2 and only one out on the board. Unfortunately for PSU, Techster starter Michelle Jones induced a fly out to right and a foul pop to complete the victory.
Louisiana Tech gathered nine hits in the game, while committing three errors as PSU matched the errors and had seven hits of its own. Penn State fell to 0-3 all-time against Louisiana Tech in the teams' first meeting since the 1983 University Park Regional. Both teams had plenty of scoring opportunities, leaving 11 runners on base apiece.
LSU 1, PENN STATE 0 (8 innings)
Penn State had opportunities early to score against LSU's Rachele Fico, but fell 1-0 in eight innings to the 22nd-ranked Tigers. The Nittany Lions ultimately left eight runners on base, including four innings of runners in scoring position.
In a tied 0-0 game, a lead-off walk, wild pitch and fielding error gave the Tigers runners at the corners without any outs. Following a strikeout, Tammy Wray's groundout to second was unable to be turned into a double play as the winning run scampered home to give the Tigers their first victory of the year and avoid the program's first 0-3 start.
In the first inning, Alyssa Sovereign (La Canada, Calif.) walked with one out and Kailyn Johnson (Yorba Linda, Calif.) singled as Sovereign reached third on an error in centerfield. Following a strikeout, Kasie Hatfield (Tampa, Fla.) had a 10-pitch at-bat, which included a rocket to leftfield that barely went foul, but would've given PSU a 3-0 lead. She ultimately walked to load the bases before a strikeout got Fico out of the jam.
In the second, starting pitcher Jordan Wheatley (Troy, Mich.), making her first collegiate start, singled in the second inning with one out as Shannon Hutchinson (Sewell, N.J.) ran for her. She stole second but two strikeouts ended the scoring opportunity. The story would be told again in the third with a Johnson one-out walk and Alicia Walker (Los Alamitos, Calif.) stole second as a pinch-runner. A strikeout and a foul out ended the threat for PSU.
It was déjàvu all over again in the fourth when Liz Presto (Bethlehem, Pa.), starting her first collegiate game at catcher, walked with one out. Pinch-runner Rachel Myers (Millheim, Pa.) reached second on a wild pitch, but a long fly out to center was followed with a great play by LSU's Simone Heyward, robbing senior pinch-hitter Morgan Long (Oro Valley, Ariz.) of an RBI hit with a diving catch.
It was LSU's turn to turn on the pressure, beginning on the fourth. Wheatley walked two straight with one out, finishing the game with 3.1 innings pitched and no hits allowed with a strikeout and four walked. Senior Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.) came in relief and subsequently hit her first batter. Penn State got out of the bases loaded jam with a strikeout and a fly out.
A similar situation arose in the bottom of the sixth when Akamine would strand the Tigers with the bases loaded after no one was out. A double, an intentional walk and a single loaded the bases, but two strikeouts and a foul out quelled LSU. The Tigers advanced a runner to third in the seventh and a great throw by Akamine to first with two outs kept the game alive. PSU wouldn't be as fortunate in the eighth as Wray's weak two-hopper was enough to give LSU the victory.
The win snapped PSU's two-game winning streak against the Tigers and dropped Penn State to 1-2 on the season. Akamine went 4.1 innings of work with no earned runs, allowing three hits and two walks, while striking out seven Tigers.
On the entire afternoon, Wheatley threw 5.1 innings with no earned runs, five walks and three strikeouts, holding opposing batters to .056 hitting.
The Nittany Lions return to action on Sunday morning as PSU No. 15 Michigan at 11:00 a.m. GoPSUsports.com will provide live stats through GameTracker. Updates can also be found on Twitter (@PSULionSoftball) and Facebook (PennStateSoftball).
--NITTANY LIONS--