March 9, 2013
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Penn State softball returned to the win column with a 10-8 decision over Toledo Saturday evening at the 2013 South Florida Under Armour Showcase. The Nittany Lions (5-11) downed the Rockets (5-13) with a 12-hit effort at the Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex.
Kailyn Johnson (Yorba Linda, Calif.), in her first game back from injury since the LSU contest, led Penn State with three RBI on a pair of hits while Macy Jones (Ashburn, Va.), Reina Furuya (Waipahu, Hawaii), Alyssa Renwick (Laurens, S.C.) and Lauren Anderson (Valencia,Calif.) combined for five RBI in the victory. Jones (4-4) picked up the win by tossing the final two innings, allowing one earned run on two hits while striking out four.
After Toledo jumped out to a quick, 1-0 lead, the Nittany Lions struck after Johnson's single to left field scored Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.) from second. The Rockets loaded the bases after walking Lexi Knief (Ramsey, N.J.) in the following at-bat before Anderson drew the fourth walk of the inning to score Karlie Habitz (Newhall, Calif.), but that was all the team could conjure in the opening frame.
Penn State returned to work in the second with a three-spot supported by four hits. Jones opened with a double, advanced to third on a single from Alyssa Sovereign (La Canada, Calif.) and scored on a bad throw. After Alicia Walker (Los Alamitos, Calif.) entered the game to run for Sovereign, Bell singled through the left side. A long fly ball from Habitz advanced Bell and Walker to second and third, respectively, before Johnson's second single of the day brought them both home to extend the Penn State lead to 5-1.
Three hits from Shannon Hutchinson (Sewell, N.J.), Renwick and Jones moved the score to 6-1 through three innings before Toledo earned three runs back in the top of the fifth on a home run from Courtney McCarthy. After the Nittany Lions scored two of their own in the bottom of the frame with singles from Knief and Renwick, Toledo rocketed to an 8-8 tie with four runs in the top of the sixth with two singles and a pair of doubles.
Hutchinson posted her second hit of the day in the bottom of the sixth to continue the winning rally after Knief drew a walk. With Knief on third and Hutchinson on second, Furuya sliced a ball to the outfield to score them both and set the final score at 10-8. Jones closed out the top of the seventh by forcing a pair of fly outs while striking out Jen Behunin.