April 8, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State faces a pair of midweek opponents in Saint Francis (PA) and Pittsburgh. The Nittany Lions (8-23, 1-7 Big Ten) take on the Red Flash (16-15, 1-3 NEC) at home at 6 p.m. Tuesday before heading to Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers (14-20, 3-6 Big East) in a doubleheader kicking off at 4 p.m.
FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE
Tuesday, 6 p.m. vs. Saint Francis (PA) -
Wednesday, 4 p.m. vs. Pittsburgh -
Wednesday, 6 p.m. vs. Pittsburgh -
ON THE HORIZON
After traveling to Columbus, Ohio, for a three-game series against Ohio State April 12-15, Penn State returns home April 17 for a doubleheader against Purdue to open a seven-contest homestand, the club's longest of the season. That stretch also features visits from Northwestern and Kent State.
A GLIMPSE OF THE RED FLASH
Junior catcher Chelsy Cosentino leads Saint Francis with a .373 mark (38-102) at the plate with 12 multi-base hits, including a pair of home runs and 16 RBI. Cosentino is one of five players with an average above .300 as the team has been clicking at a .292 clip this season. Junior shortstop Davina Kachnovitz paces the club with 22 RBI on the strength of a team-best six home runs.
First-year pitcher Ketarah Devries (11-9) owns a 3.13 ERA through 123.0 innings pitched in 25 appearances this year while limiting opposing batters to a .263 average. Sophomore hurler Chelsea Rex (4-2) has contributed 52.2 IP this season while accumulating a 5.32 ERA.
Head coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift leads Saint Francis in her second year with the program.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Pittsburgh enters on a seven-game losing streak after trips to DePaul and Robert Morris and a sweep at home against South Florida. Freshman outfielder Tori Nirschl is the lone Panther with a batting average over .300 this year as she owns a .308 mark (33-107) with eight home runs, three triples and a trio of doubles. Senior catcher Holly Stevens leads the group with 19 RBI with six home runs. As a team, Pittsburgh has hit .233 in 2013.
Second-year hurler Savannah King (6-10) leads the pitching staff with a 3.25 ERA through 114.0 innings of work. She's also picked up a pair of saves and carries a 67-49 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Classmate Alexa Larkin (7-9) has thrown 89.2 innings this season, producing a 4.14 ERA with a team-high 88 strikeouts.
Fifth-year skipper Holly Aprile leads the Panther program.
A HISTORY OF THE SERIES
Penn State owns a 28-2 advantage all-time against the Red Flash and took the first 26 meetings before Saint Francis secured a 4-2 win in 2009. The programs met every year from 2000 to 2010, but have not faced each other in the spring since splitting a doubleheader March 24, 2010.
The Blue and White lead Pittsburgh, 11-5, in the all-time series. The Panthers and Nittany Lions have met every season since 2005 and have split each of their doubleheaders since 2008. Last season, Penn State claimed a 4-0 victory after dropping a 7-2 decision at home.
THE BELL'S CHIME
Entering the week of March 31, senior outfielder Cassidy Bell ranked in the top 10 nationally in home runs per game (1st/0.54), slugging percentage (2nd/1.063), runs batted in per game (6th/1.31), runs per game (10th/1.15) while ranking 18th in batting average (.456).
Noting her offensive capabilities, opposing teams have opted to walk Bell nine times this season.
CHASING HISTORY
Multiple Nittany Lions will have opportunities to leave their names in the program career record book when the season is finished. Bell is currently third in batting average (.351), sixth in doubles (34), second in home runs (32) and runs (119), third in total bases (334), tied for sixth in RBI (103), seventh in walks (76), 10th in hits (188) and 11th in stolen bases (34).
Kailyn Johnson is tied for fifth all-time in walks (80), sits in 12th in doubles (27) and is within striking distance of hits, home runs, total bases and RBI.
With 15 home runs this year, already a career-high, Bell has also put herself in second place in the all-time single-season record book behind Jennifer Tripken's mark of 16 HRs in 2002 while trailing career leader Shannon Salsburg (1995-98) by just three.
QUITE THE SLATE!
Eight of Penn State's 2013 opponents are listed in the April 2 ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, including top-ranked Oklahoma. Other opponents include Texas (No. 8), Texas A&M (No.10), Michigan (No. 12), LSU (No. 13), Washington (No. T-15) and Nebraska (No. 19) while Iowa is receiving votes. Seven of the teams are also included in the current USA Today/NFCA rankings.
BATTLING THE ELEMENTS
Six games have been cancelled or postponed this season due to weather. Alongside the two contests cancelled at the Carolina Classic because of rain, Penn State's Big Ten-opening series against Michigan State was pushed back to April 2 after cold and snowy conditions created an unplayable environment in East Lansing, Mich., March 22-24.
Penn State's meeting with Saint Francis (Pa.), originally scheduled for April 2, was moved to April 9 because of the Michigan State doubleheader.
OUR STORY SO FAR
Penn State played its first 23 games away from home, including 1,000-plus mile trips to New Mexico, Florida and California and a trip down the East Coast to North Carolina, before opening its home schedule with a series against Michigan March 29-30. In all, the Lions traveled more than 12,000 miles over the first five weekends of play.
INDIANA
Penn State grabbed its first conference win of the season after taking the middle game of the set against the Hoosiers April 5-7. The Lions tossed their second shutout of the season as Macy Jones pitched 6.2 innings of scoreless work and the trio of Alyssa Renwick, Lexi Knief and Reina Furuya accounted for the three RBI.
MICHIGAN STATE
The Nittany Lions could not derail the Spartans undefeated start to Big Ten season as they dropped a pair of contests in a Wednesday afternoon doubleheader in East Lansing, Mich., 4-1 and 7-1, respectively.
Shannon Hutchinson, Jones and Kailyn Johnson each tallied a pair of hits on the day, led by Jones' two doubles. Hutchinson and Furuya accounted for both of Penn State's RBI.
In the start in game one, Jones tossed her sixth complete game of the year, allowing three earned runs on eight hits while striking out six Spartans. In the second game, starting pitcher Christy Von Pusch went 3.2 innings for the Nittany Lions, including three scoreless frames to open the game, before finishing with five earned runs on six hits. Jordan Wheatley closed out the game, relieving Von Pusch in the fourth. Wheatley allowed just two hits over the final 2.1 innings.
MICHIGAN
The Wolverines claimed victory in all three contests over Penn State's Big Ten and home-opening weekend. Freshman Reina Furuya led the Lions with clutch hitting, producing four RBI, a pair of runs and a home run while senior Cassidy Bell followed with three RBI with a home run and a pair of singles. Kailyn Johnson added two RBI with a double over the series. Liz Presto and Alyssa Sovereign tallied one RBI apiece.
JUDI GARMAN CLASSIC
Penn State faced its toughest competition of the season at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif., March 15-17, taking on four teams ranked 16th or higher nationally at the time, including top-ranked Oklahoma.
The Nittany Lions benefited from a three-RBI effort from Abeyta to escape with a 7-6 win over DePaul as Macy Jones tossed her fourth complete game of the season in the victory.
UNDER ARMOUR SHOWCASE
The team downed Loyola (Chicago) after giving up a contest to Central Michigan in the middle of the week before finishing 2-3 at the Under Armour Showcase with wins over Toledo and Maine in Clearwater, Fla.
Yao led the squad with five RBI, all against Western Michigan with a pair of doubles. Bell, Jones and Johnson added three RBI apiece.
CITRUS CLASSIC
The Blue and White battled cold conditions and strong gusts at the Citrus Classic in Orlando, Fla., the following weekend as they finished the tournament 0-4, including one-run losses to then-No. 11 LSU and Longwood.
Bell added five RBI to her season total after finishing the weekend 7-12 (.583) at the plate with two doubles and two home runs. Freshman Taylor Abeyta posted three RBI over three games, while classmate Karlie Habitz and junior Kasie Hatfield recorded two each.
CAROLINA CLASSIC
After rainy weather washed out Penn State's games with George Washington and North Dakota State on the first day of the Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C., Alyssa Renwick bombed a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth to score Lauren Yao to down Iowa State, 9-8, in eight innings before falling to North Carolina, 10-2.
Bell again led the team with six RBI while going 4-7 at the plate with a pair of home runs. Senior Alyssa Renwick and freshmen Lexi Knief and Habitz each finished .429 at the plate with three hits.
TROY COX CLASSIC
At the Troy Cox Classic in Las Cruces, N.M., the Nittany Lions rebounded to take the final two contests against New Mexico State and Missouri-Kansas City after dropping decisions to Colorado State,
NMSU and Texas Tech. Cassidy Bell and Macy Jones combined to tally 18 of the team's 26 RBI at the tournament as Bell led the team with a trio of home runs and Jones tossed 14.2 innings to collect both wins on the mound.