March 4, 2012
Box Scores: Penn State 2, No. 19 Auburn 1 (9 inn.) | Illinois State 1, Penn State 0
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The Nittany Lion softball team concluded its time at the Citrus Classic by splitting its two games on Sunday, defeating No. 19 Auburn, 2-1, in nine innings before a defeat by Illinois State, 1-0. Penn State went 4-2 during the Citrus Classic hosted by the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
PENN STATE 2, No. 19 AUBURN 1 (9 inn.)
The Nittany Lions notched their second win over a ranked SEC team by defeating No. 19 Auburn, 2-1, in nine innings on Sunday. Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.) went all nine innings, a new career-high, to win her third straight decision as Shannon Hutchinson (Sewell, N.J.) scored the game-winning run on an error.
Penn State (6-7) broke a 1-1 stalemate in the top of the ninth. It started when Hutchinson reached third on a Sovereign ground out to short. During pinch-hitter Danee Collett's (Rogersville, Tenn.) at-bat, Auburn's Eisterhold attempted to pick Hutchinson off third, but the ball skimmed off Caitlin Schultze's glove and allowed the Nittany Lions to take the lead, 2-1.
Penn State scored in the first inning for the fifth straight game when Lauren Yao (Los Angeles, Calif.) singled home Alyssa Sovereign (La Canada, Calif.) from second base. The Nittany Lions would leave the bases loaded as Auburn's Jenee Loree wiggled out of the jam with a strikeout.
Auburn (16-3) would also leave the bases loaded in the bottom of the first as Akamine worked out of a jam. The Tigers would tie the game in the bottom of the third as Amber Harrison's two-out single scored Lauren Guzman from third base. On the run-scoring single to right, Rachel Myers (Millheim, Pa.) gunned down Elizabeth Eisterhold trying to reach third to end the inning.
Penn State threatened in the top of the fourth as lead-off hitter Liz Presto (Bethlehem, Pa.) was hit by a pitch. An unsuccessful sacrifice attempt put pinch-runner Alicia Walker (Los Alamitos, Calif.) on board with one out. PSU would eventually put runners on the corners with one out, but nothing came across, keeping the game knotted at one.
The Nittany Lions again loaded the bases in the top of the sixth inning, which began on a Yao hit-by-pitch. Following a sacrifice, Ellen McNair's (Niceville, Fla.) double landed between two Tiger fielders, preventing Yao from scoring. A strikeout followed before Hutchinson walked, but another strikeout by relief pitcher Lauren Schmalz kept PSU at bay.
Auburn looked to end the game in both the seventh and eighth innings, but key Penn State plays continued the game. With runners on first and second in the seventh, Yao made a diving stab to get the force at second for the second out of the inning. Another nice play by Alyssa Renwick (Laurens, S.C.) at short yielded another force to second to end the seventh.
After PSU left runners on second and third in the top of the eighth, the Tigers again pressed for the winning run. A sacrifice pushed the tiebreaker runner over to third with an out before Renwick made a game-saving running grab on a popup behind third base. Following an eight-pitch walk, Yao corralled a lineout to send PSU back to the plate and win the game in the ninth as Akamine stranded Tigers on first and third.
Akamine (4-4) scattered five hits and eight walks, striking out six while stranding 12 Auburn base runners. PSU also managed to leave 12 runners on the base paths as Loree went five innings of two-hit ball, striking out eight and walking three with one earned run to her name. Schmalz (5-2) went four innings and took the loss with three hits allowed, a walk, eight strikeouts and an unearned run.
PSU beat Auburn for the first time in school history, previously losing two ballgames in February 1999. Moreover, Penn State beat its second ranked team of the year after knocking off No. 22 LSU in Baton Rouge on Feb. 10. The last time Penn State beat two ranked foes in the same season was 2009 when the Lions defeated No. 13 DePaul (Feb. 27) and No. 12 Arizona (Mar. 14). The Nittany Lions also defeated an SEC opponent that wasn't LSU for the first time since Feb. 24, 2006 when they beat Arkansas.
ILLINOIS STATE 1, PENN STATE 0
Penn State (6-8) missed several scoring opportunities as Marissa Diescher (Livingston Manor, N.Y.) pitched well in a 1-0 loss to Illinois State (11-10). The Nittany Lions had their four-game winning streak snapped by the Redbirds, who won their fifth straight game. Diescher fell to 2-3 on the year, throwing her finest game yet with four hits and two walks allowed in seven complete.
Penn State left seven runners on board throughout the game, including four in the first two innings. Sovereign singled and Renwick walked, but Redbird hurler Jordan Birch (6-6) got out of the jam in the first inning with two popups and a strikeout. The second inning was more of the same as McNair walked and Akamine singled with one out. A strikeout and a running catch by leftfielder Jhavon Hamilton quelled the potential PSU rally.
While Penn State wasn't getting it done at the plate, Diescher was working quickly through the ISU lineup. After a lead-off single, Diescher held the Redbirds hitless over the next 5.2 innings before back-to-back knocks gave Illinois State a chance to score. On the second single, which went to leftfield, Illinois State sent its runner home from second but Hutchinson sent a laser to home as Kasie Hatfield (Tampa, Fla.) made the tag and end the half-inning.
Illinois State got on the board in the top of the seventh with two outs as pinch-hitter Kelsey Turczyn's grounder up the middle was bobbled by Renwick, but she couldn't throw Turczyn out in time as the winning run came across the plate. The loss dropped Penn State to 0-4 all-time against Illinois State, the pre-season pick to win the Missouri Valley Conference and return to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year.
Penn State is off the next two days of Spring Break, taking on Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. The single game will be played at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla. PSU will then participate in the USF Under Armour Showcase beginning Friday at South Florida in Tampa. Live stats will be provided through GoPSUsports.com's GameTracker with updates on Twitter (@PSULionSoftball) and Facebook (PennStateSoftball).
--NITTANY LIONS--