Softball Drops Final Game of Tiger Classic to No. 15 MichiganSoftball Drops Final Game of Tiger Classic to No. 15 Michigan

Softball Drops Final Game of Tiger Classic to No. 15 Michigan

Feb. 12, 2012

Box Score

BATON ROUGE, La. - The Nittany Lion softball team ended its time at the Tiger Classic with a 12-1 loss to No. 15 Michigan on Sunday. PSU finished 1-3 at Tiger Park this weekend.

Penn State nearly got out of the first inning unscathed, but a liner by Michigan's Bree Evans through the middle was knocked down and she reached second on an error, putting runners on first and second. A sacrifice moved the Michigan runners up a base and a throwing error allowed Evans to score from third. Following a pop up that would've ended the inning, Stephanie Kirkpatrick's two-out single made the Wolverine lead 3-0 after a half-inning.

From there Michigan (4-0) expanded its lead in the second adding two more runs on a pair of singles, ending Marissa Diescher's (Livingston Manor, N.Y.) morning. Diescher went 1.1 innings allowing two earned runs on six hits with a strikeout.

Catcher Liz Presto (Bethlehem, Pa.) led the bottom of the third with a single to right as Alicia Walker (Los Alamitos, Calif.) came in to pinch run. She reached second on a wild pitch, but a strike out and a fly out ended the scoring opportunity.

Michigan put the game out of reach in the fourth with two home runs, a three-run shot by Amanda Chidester and a solo homer by Ashley Lane to make the lead 9-0. The runs given up by Jordan Wheatley (Troy, Mich.) were the first allowed by the sophomore righty this season.

Penn State went on to strand a runner in the bottom of the fourth before Michigan tacked on another three runs. PSU gave it a valiant effort in the bottom of the fifth to extend the game as Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.) doubled home Liz Presto (Bethlehem, Pa.) after a Morgan Long (Oro Valley, Ariz.) single. The Lions couldn't muster anything else, falling 12-1. Presto went 1-for-1 with a walk and a run on Sunday in her second career start at catcher.

Penn State is off next weekend before traveling to the Carolina Classic hosted by UNC on Feb. 25-26. PSU plays Notre Dame, James Madison and North Carolina during its stay in Chapel Hill.

--NITTANY LIONS--