March 1, 2012
Feb. 24, 2012
Series Notes | 2012 Yearbook | Facebook | Twitter | Nittany Lion Softball Park
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. --Penn State softball begins a 12-game Spring Break trip in the Sunshine State on Friday at the Citrus Classic against Virginia (10 a.m.) and LIU Brooklyn (12:15 p.m.). The Nittany Lions finish their time in Kissimmee against N.C. State (2:30 p.m.) and Lipscomb (4:45 p.m.) on Saturday before taking on No. 19 Auburn (11:15 p.m.) and Illinois State (1:30 p.m.) on Sunday. All games will have GameTracker live stats through GoPSUsports.com
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (2-6)
Games 9-14: Mar. 2-4 • Citrus Classic • ESPN Complex • Kissimmee, Fla.
SCHEDULE
Friday, 10 a.m. vs. Virginia: | Field 15
Friday, 12:15 p.m. vs. LIU Brooklyn:
Saturday, 2:30 p.m. vs. N.C. State: | Field 10
Saturday, 4:45 p.m. vs. Lipscomb: | Field 10
Sunday, 11:15 a.m. vs. Auburn: | Field 15
Sunday, 1:30 p.m. vs. Illinois State:
SERIES INFORMATION
VENUE: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
ALL-TIME RECORD vs. UVA: 12-16 (Last: 3/28/04, UVA 5-0)
ALL-TIME RECORD vs. LIU: 1-1 (Last: 2/19/11, LIU 1-0)
ALL-TIME RECORD vs. NCSU: 1-3 (Last: 3/9/08, NCSU 4-3 in 9 inn.)
ALL-TIME RECORD vs. LU: First Meeting
ALL-TIME RECORD vs. AU: 0-2 (Last: 2/20/99, AU 3-0)
ALL-TIME RECORD vs. ISU: 0-3 (Last: 3/7/09, ISU 5-4)
NEXT SERIES: Mar. 7 vs. Miami (Ohio) in Clearwater, Fla. // Mar. 9-11 USF Under Armour Showcase, Tampa & Clearwater, Fla.
SERIES STORIES
• Nittany Lions travel to Kissimmee, Fla. for the Citrus Classic
• Penn State faces a strong field consisting of Virginia, LIU Brooklyn, N.C. State, Lipscomb, Auburn and Illinois State
• Kailyn Johnson & Alyssa Renwick earned Carolina Classic All-Tournament Team
• Nittany Lions went 1-3 at Carolina Classic, coming from multi-run deficits in all four games to tie or gain the lead at some point
SCOUTING THE CAVALIERS
Virginia won its own tournament last week to improve to 11-2 on the year. The Cavaliers have been strong in the circle (1.70 ERA) behind the arm of Melanie Mitchell (7-1, 0.85 ERA). Mitchell has struck out 67, while allowing just three walks on the year as the UVa ace. At the plate, the Cavs are hitting .287 with 11 homers, five triples and 11 doubles, slugging .450 and getting on base at a clip of .412. A patient team at the plate, UVa has already drawn 50 walks and 22 hit batters. Kristen Hawkins is the leading hitter with a .385 average, three homers and 11 RBI. Erica Cipolloni has belted four homers with a .349 average, while Marcy Bowdren is .275 at the plate with two doubles, two triples, three homers and 10 RBI.
SCOUTING THE BLACKBIRDS
LIU Brooklyn (2-13) has struggled early this season against tough competition, including four ranked teams. LIU's troubles have come in the circle with a 4.39 ERA, allowing opposing batters to hit .281. Sarah Reynolds has thrown 59.2 innings for the Blackbirds with a 3.64 ERA, going 1-8 on 48 strikeouts and 20 walks. At the plate, LIU is hitting .162, led by Emily Kakuska (.222). So far the Blackbirds have nine doubles and three home runs coming off the bats of Sterling Hoham (.195), Nicole Archer (.194) and Paris Shipp (.125).
SCOUTING THE WOLFPACK
N.C. State (8-7) is coming off a 13-0, five-inning win over N.C. Central following a 3-2 weekend at the Wolfpack Challenge. Lead-off hitter Katie Mansilla has an outstanding .438 average and a .521 slugging percentage in the early stages. The power in the lineup comes from Renada Davis (.343, .629 slugging, 2 HR, 11 RBI) and Bethaney Wells (.302, .558 slugging, 3 HR, 12 RBI). The team hits .294 collectively with 12 homers on the year. In the circle, the Wolfpack are led by Emily Weilman (6-5) who has thrown 62.2 of the 95.2 innings. Weilman boasts a 1.45 ERA and a .197 average against, striking out 81 and walking 24.
SCOUTING THE BISON
Lipscomb (7-3) is riding a six-game winning streak after sweeping the College of Charleston Classic. Whitney Kiihnl has been spectacular on the mound, throwing a 1.30 ERA, going 7-2 in 53.2 innings. She has held opponents to .214 hitting in leading the Bison to all seven victories. Kelsey Cartwright (.406) leads a balanced lineup that has eight hitters with three RBI or more. Cartwright has a team-high 13 hits, four doubles, a triple, two homers and six RBI. No other Bison batter is above .300 for a team that hits .254 and slugs .369, while stealing 14 bases.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
No. 19 Auburn has won all 14 games to start the year, including the first eight of the season at home. Auburn has a potent lineup that hits .346 with eight batters above .300. The team slugs .587 with 20 homers and 15 doubles. Elizabeth Eisterhold, who ranks eighth in school history in home runs (26), has four this season with a .350 average. Six Tigers have more than 10 RBI and all hit above the .350 threshold. As for pitchers, Auburn has three capable hurlers all with ERAs below 2.00. Lauren Schmalz (0.71 ERA, .232 BAA) has 29.2 innings to her name, while Angel Bunner (1.25 ERA, .160 BAA, 28.0 IP) and Jenee Loree (1.62 ERA, .128 BAA, 30.1 IP) round out the threesome. The Tiger staff has struck out 106 batters with only 21 walks.
SCOUTING THE REDBIRDS
Illinois State (7-8) is enduring a five-game losing streak coming into this weekend, while facing three ranked teams and another two that are now ranked this week. The Redbirds have a 4.56 ERA against that competition led by ace Jordan Birch (2.65 ERA). She has thrown 42.1 innings with a .222 average against and 56 strikeouts. Illinois State is hitting .257 at the plate with Lauren Kellar and Lizzie Andrews leading the way. Kellar has a .333 average with two homers, while Andrews is hitting .317 with sevne RBI and two homers. Sara Bradley is the leading run producer with 10 RBI in 13 games.
CAROLINA CLASSIC RECAP
The Nittany Lions came away from the Carolina Classic (Feb. 25-26) with a 1-3 record in four hard-fought games. Penn State fell 6-3 to Notre Dame, coming back from 3-0 down, only to have a three-run home run by UND in the sixth prove to be the difference. PSU fought back in the nightcap on Saturday, beating James Madison 5-4 after trailing 3-0. Sunday wasn't as kind to the Lions as a six-run sixth pushed North Carolina past Penn State, 11-3, and JMU held off a furious five-run rally by the Nittany Lions to win 10-8 in nine innings. For their efforts, Alyssa Renwick and Kailyn Johnson earned Carolina Classic All-Tournament Team nods. Renwick hit .500 with seven hits, while Johnson belted a homer and hit over .300 at first base. Johnson has now been on two straight all-tournament teams to start the year.
TIGER CLASSIC REVIEW
Penn State opened the season in fine fashion, upsetting then-No. 22 LSU in its home ballpark, 5-3, to begin the Tiger Classic. Penn State used five runs in the fifth inning to create a 5-1 lead. The five-run, two-out rally was capped by Kasie Hatfield's three-run double to right centerfield. Lisa Akamine pitched all seven innings to earn the victory over the Tigers. Unfortunately for Penn State, the timely hitting was not available over the next two days of the tournament, dropping a 4-2 game to Lousiana Tech, while leaving 11 on base, and falling to LSU (1-0) and Michigan (12-1). What also failed the Nittany Lions were seven errors in the field that led to six unearned runs during the weekend. Kailyn Johnson was named to the Tiger Classic All-Tournament team thanks to her .364 average and 5.33 on-base percentage. Akamine posted a 1.85 ERA in 11.1 innings pitched while holding opposing batters to .195 at the plate.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES
Two Nittany Lion softball student-athletes were honored by CollegeSportsMadness.com on Wednesday, Jan. 4 on its preseason All-Big Ten teams. Senior pitcher Lisa Akamine and junior outfielder Cassidy Bell were placed on the second team.
PERFECT FALL BALL
Nittany Lion softball enjoyed a successful Fall Ball season, going 8-0 in two home tournaments, while out-scoring opponents 43-4. Penn State's bats were alive, hitting .283 with four home runs, while the pitching staff boasted a 0.25 ERA in its eight contests. Penn State's first tournament was hosted at Beard Field in the Nittany Lion Softball Park as PSU rolled to a 5-0 win over Bucknell and a 9-1, six-inning triumph against Delaware on Sept. 17. The following day, Penn State downed Bucknell, 2-0, before handing Lock Haven an 8-2 defeat. Danee Collett collected eight hits, batting .727 with four doubles, a homer and six RBI. In the circle, Lisa Akamine dazzled, going 10.2 innings allowing just two hits and two walks with 17 strikeouts against 39 batters.
During the second weekend of play (Oct. 1-2), rain and cool temperatures played havoc with the schedule as all games were moved inside to Holuba Hall with a makeshift field. Akamine was again the star in the circle, spinning 15 innings of scoreless ball and striking out 23 of the 55 batters she faced with just four hits against. Kailyn Johnson was the leader at the plate, hitting .600 with a double and a homer for four RBI in Penn State's 4-0 weekend. PSU downed Cleveland State, 1-0, in eight innings, before defeating Colgate on Saturday. The Nittany Lions bounced local squads, Indiana (Pa.), 9-1, and Saint Francis, 5-0, to cap the 8-0 Fall season.
NEW CROP OF NITTANY LIONS
Penn State formally announced its seven incoming Nittany Lions from the high school ranks on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011. Joining the Nittany Lions as freshmen in the 2012-13 academic year are Taylor Abeta (San Diego, Calif.), Reina Furuya (Waikele, Hawaii), Shannon Good (Horseheads, N.Y.), Karlie Habitz (Santa Clarita, Calif.), Macy Jones (Ashburn, Va.), Lexi Knief (Ramsey, N.J.) and Christie Von Pusch (Bryn Mawr, Pa.).
"The 2012 class is one of the largest classes we have ever signed and just oozes with talent," Head coach Robin Petrini said. "They are all very bright young ladies that understand the commitment, drive, and determination it takes to be successful in the classroom and on the field as a student-athlete at Penn State. We are very excited about what each one brings to our roster and we are eager to see them succeed throughout their careers."
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State continues its 12-game Spring Break trip in Florida went it travels to the Gulf Coast to face Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday. The 1:00 p.m. game will take place at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla. Following that midweek contest, PSU will participate in the USF Under Armour Showcase. The first two games will be played at South Florida in Tampa on Friday, Mar. 9, before the final three games are played in Clearwater the following two days.
--NITTANY LIONS--