Feb. 26, 2012
UNC 11, Penn State 3 (6 inn.) | JMU 10, Penn State 8 (9 inn.)
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Penn State softball rallied twice on Sunday, but to no avail, dropping games to host North Carolina and James Madison. The Nittany Lions lost 11-3 in six innings to the Tar Heels before falling to James Madison, 10-8, in nine innings after a five-run deficit. For their efforts, Alyssa Renwick (Laurens, S.C.) and Kailyn Johnson (Yorba Linda, Calif.) made the Carolina Classic All-Tournament Team.
NORTH CAROLINA 11, PENN STATE 3 (6 inn.)
North Carolina (11-2) jumped on Penn State (2-5) early with a two-run double by Haleigh Dickey to put the Tar Heels up 2-0 in the bottom of the first. Only one of the runs was charged to Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.) after a passed ball strikeout of Logan Foulks.
The Nittany Lions fought back in the top of the second when Ellen McNair (Niceville, Fla.) took the first pitch she saw all season to left-centerfield, doubling home pinch-hitter Rachel Myers (Millheim, Pa.) and Renwick. Lauren Anderson (Valencia, Calif.) set the inning up with a lead-off single to left in her collegiate starting debut. Renwick followed up with an infield single. McNair was eventually stranded on third.
Penn State gained the lead in the top of the third when Johnson smashed the first PSU home run of the year off UNC's Lori Spingola. The four-bagger was Johnson's 10th career home run.
After shutting down the Tar Heels for the next two frames, Akamine ran into trouble in the bottom of the fifth. A lead-off walk coupled with a double by Ally Blake tied the game at three. Then pinch-hitter Constance Orr smacked a go-ahead two-run home run to right field to put UNC up 5-3. The Heels added six runs in the bottom of the sixth on two wild pitches and a bases clearing double that ended in a throw-away error for the 11-3 score line.
For the game, Johnson paced Penn State going 2-for-3 with the home run. Akamine pitched 5.2 innings with nine earned runs and six hits against, while UNC's Spingola went six innings allowing six hits, three earned runs and a walk with five strikeouts.
JAMES MADISON 10, PENN STATE 8 (9 inn.)
Much like the first game against North Carolina, James Madison (3-4) leapt to an early lead, managing four runs on three hits in the opening frame. Ultimately, JMU opened a 6-1 advantage only to see Penn State roar back and tie things up and force extra innings. Nevertheless, the Nittany Lions fell in nine innings, 10-8.
Penn State (2-5) squandered a scoring opportunity in the bottom of the first as Alyssa Sovereign (La Canada, Calif.) was thrown out at the plate for the second out of the inning. PSU stranded a runner on base and still trailed by four. It bounced back in the bottom of the second, using a Duke error and an Ashley Todd (Mill Creek, Wash.) two-out single to center to score Kasie Hatfield (Tampa, Fla.) from third base, cutting the lead to three at 4-1.
The Dukes tacked on two of their own in the top of the third, one on an RBI single by Haley Johnson before a throwing error brought home another run for a 6-1 lead. Penn State answered in the bottom half of the frame as Anderson tallied an RBI ground out scoring Sovereign Hatfield then singled to centerfield to score Renwick and cut the lead to 6-3.
Penn State had a great chance to cut into the lead the bottom of the fifth, loading the bases with no outs. Johnson led off with a double to centerfield and Danee Collett (Rogersville, Tenn.) was hit by a pitch before Hatfield reached on an error at second base. A force out at home and a questionable strikeout call nearly got Duke pitcher Reba DePriest out of the jam. A feisty 11-pitch at-bat by McNair earned an RBI walk and cut into the lead at 6-4, but PSU couldn't muster anything else.
The Nittany Lions gathered another rally in the bottom of the sixth. Sovereign led off with a walk and was sacrificed to second by Renwick. Sovereign reached third on a wild pitch and scored on Collett's RBI single, cutting the lead to 6-5. Then a wild pitch by JMU's Sarah Mooney went into the Penn State dugout and scored Collett all the way from second base, tying the game at six apiece through six full innings, eventually seeing the game go to extra frames.
With the international tiebreaker rule in place, JMU sacrificed its runner to third and scored on a single up the middle for an 7-6 lead, but Jordan Wheatley (Troy, Mich.) continued to shut the door on the Dukes, giving Penn State a chance to tie or win the game.
Sovereign would score on a fielder's choice RBI from Collett with no outs to knot the game at 7-7. With runners on the corners, a grounder to short by Hatfield forced Collett out and led to a double play as Hatfield appeared safe at first, cutting short the rally at a crucial moment.
James Madison capitalized on two Penn State errors by Todd to add three in the top of the ninth inning. The first run came across on a soft liner down the line scoring Ashley Burnham for an 8-7. With Mooney at the plate, she popped up for what would've been the second out of the inning, but Todd dropped it in foul territory. The very next pitch was sent over the right-centerfield wall, a two-run shot to stretch the lead to 10-7.
Penn State attempted another rally in the bottom half of the ninth as Hatfield came around to score on a pair of wild pitches from Mooney. The Nittany Lions got the tying run to the plate in Akamine, but a ground out ended the game and James Madison walked away with a tough victory.
For the game, the Dukes had 13 hits and three errors, while Penn State knocked a season-high 10 hits with four errors. Renwick was 2-for-4 in the second game with a run scored, while Collett went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Hatfield went 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI, while Sovereign had a 1-for-3 night scoring three times. Wheatley had her strongest game yet for PSU, going eight innings, her longest outing for Penn State. She allowed one earned run with three walks and 10 hits, taking the loss
Penn State returns to action on Friday when it takes part in the Citrus Classic at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Fla. The Nittany Lions take on Virginia (10 a.m.) and Long Island (12:15 p.m.) to start the tournament.
--NITTANY LIONS--