March 17, 2013
FULLERTON, Calif. - Oklahoma played to their top-ranking as Penn State softball dropped an 8-0 decision in five innings Sunday afternoon at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif. After giving up all eight runs in the first two innings, the Nittany Lions (7-16) held the No. 1 Sooners (26-1) to three hits and no runs over the final three frames.
The Blue and White turn their attention to Big Ten play with its first conference series of 2013 approaching. The squad travels to East Lansing, Mich., to play three against Michigan State, beginning with a 4 p.m. showdown Friday.
After relieving starter Christy Von Pusch (0-5) (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) in the first, senior Rachel Myers (Millheim, Pa.) threw 5.0 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits. Michelle Gascoigne (11-1) earned the victory for Oklahoma, tossing all five frames and giving up just one hit to Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.), a single back up the middle in the first. Macy Jones (Ashburn, Va.) and Shannon Hutchinson (Sewell, N.J.) reached safely on a walk and being hit by a pitch, respectively.
The Sooners opened their scoring in the first. After loading the bases on walk, Jessica Shults brought around Lauren Chamberlain on a sacrifice fly before Brittany Williams doubled for a pair of RBI. Oklahoma tallied two singles later in the inning to account for three more runs before Shults' home run to right field and Henson's ground out to Reina Furuya (Waipahu, Hawaii) produced the final two runs of the contest.
Penn State's trip to the Judi Garman Classic was highlighted by a 7-6 win over DePaul Saturday night. Bell led the team offensively over the five-game span, batting .500 (8-16) with three home runs, two doubles and three singles while racking up six RBI, pushing her season total to 31. Furuya followed closely with a .455 average at the plate (5-11) with a pair of doubles and one RBI. Classmate Taylor Abeyta (San Diego, Calif.) added three RBI to her season total, all coming on a double in the victory over the Blue Demons. Liz Presto (Bethlehem, Pa.) notched her first HR of the season against Texas while finishing with a pair of hits.
The Nittany Lions finished 6-6 on stolen base attempts as six different players swiped a base apiece, including Bell, Furuya, Jones, Alyssa Sovereign (La Canada, Calif.), Alicia Walker (Los Alamitos, Calif.) and Maegan Tupinio (Wahiawa, Hawaii).