April 5, 2013
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - A two-run home from Macy Jones helped Penn State softball lead late against Indiana before the Hoosiers posted a two-run sixth inning to claim a 4-3 victory Friday night at Andy Mohr Field in Bloomington, Ind. The Nittany Lions (7-22, 0-6 Big Ten) return to face Indiana (18-19, 2-5 Big Ten) at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Starting pitcher Marissa Diescher (Livingston Manor, N.Y.) matched a season-high with 5.0 innings of work while allowing just one earned run and striking out a pair of Hoosiers. Jones (Ashburn, Va.) (6-9) threw the final inning, allowing one unearned run on one hit while adding two strikeouts to her season total. Indiana's Meaghan Murphy picked up the win in the circle for the Hoosiers with 6.0 IP while allowing three runs on three hits. Brooke Boetjer earned her first save of the season after limiting Penn State to one hit in the seventh.
After the Hoosiers took a 1-0 lead with a pair of hits in the first, the Lions roared back with a three-spot in the top of the third. Senior Shannon Hutchinson (Sewell, N.J.) led off by putting down a one-out bunt single on the first pitch, followed by an intentional walk for classmate Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.). Those two advanced to third and second, respectively, on a wild pitch from Murphy and rookie Reina Furuya (Waipahu, Hawaii) placed a fly ball deep enough to center field to allow Hutchinson to beat a strong throw from Brianna Meyer to the plate and give Furuya her ninth RBI.
After Bell reached third on a failed pickoff attempt when IU catcher Kelsey Dotson's throw ended up in left field, Jones snuck a long fly ball just inside the right foul post to give Penn State a 3-1 lead. The home run is the third of the season for the freshman.
The Hoosiers put the Nittany Lion defense in a tough spot in the bottom of the third after loading the bags with no outs, but a couple force outs at the plate and Diescher's second strikeout of the game helped the Blue and White escape the jam while limiting Indiana to just one run.
Indiana reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the sixth with a pair of runs to go up, 4-3. Boetjer earned the save after allowing just one hit, a single to Kasie Hatfield (Tampa, Fla.) in the top of the seventh.
Bell led off the game with a triple to the wall in left center, her first three-base hit of the season, to reach safely in her 12th-consecutive game. She also stole her team-leading 10th base of the season after swiping second in the fifth.
The meeting was the first Big Ten contest and just the fifth overall at Andy Mohr Field. The facility opened earlier this season when Indiana hosted Toledo March 15.