March 5, 2013
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Penn State softball surrendered four runs in the seventh inning to fall to Central Michigan, 7-4, Tuesday afternoon in Clearwater, Fla. The Nittany Lions (3-9, 0-0 Big Ten) took the lead with a three-run fifth inning, but couldn't hold off the Chippewas (7-4, 0-0 MAC) at the Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex.
Penn State plays Loyola (Chicago) at 1 p.m. at the Moore Softball Complex before facing Loyola Marymount, Western Michigan, Toledo, Maine and South Carolina at the South Florida Under Armour Showcase Friday through Sunday.
Four Nittany Lions combined to handle pitching duties as starter Jordan Wheatley (Troy, Mich.) and relievers Macy Jones (Ashburn, Va.) and Rachel Myers (0-1) (Millheim, Pa.) each pitched two innings while Christy Von Pusch (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) added an inning in the circle. Central Michigan's Kara Dornbos tossed 4.2 in the start, but it was Chelsea Sundberg (2-1) who picked up the win with no runs allowed over the final 2.1 innings.
Freshman catcher Karlie Habitz (Newhall, Calif.) accounted for three of Penn State's four runs with a home run in the third that scored Alyssa Renwick (Laurens, S.C.) and Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.). Renwick, Habitz and Taylor Abeyta (San Diego, Calif.) each recorded a hit while Lauren Yao (Los Angeles, Calif.) led the Nittany Lions with two singles.
After CMU opened an early, 1-0 lead in the second inning, Penn State responded in the bottom half of the frame with a run of its own. Yao singled to right field, but CMU's Summer Knoop misplayed the ball and the extra time allowed Yao to hustle to third base. With two outs, Lexi Knief (Ramsey, N.J.) walked and proceeded to attempt to steal second during Renwick's, giving Yao a clear path to home during the throw down.
Central Michigan again took the lead in the top of the fourth with a pair of runs but the Nittany Lions were up to the task in the bottom of the fifth, putting up three on Habitz' homer to left center. The 4-3 PSU lead held until the Chippewas rose in the seventh with the help of a walk and a pair of errors while a double and a sacrifice fly added three runs.