March 15, 2014
0 (3-8) | Clearwater, Fla.. • Eddie C. Moore Complez | 5 (6-14) |
CLEARWATER, Fla.; March 15, 2014 - Macy Jones (Ashburn, Va.) turned in a 4-for-5 effort with two home runs, a triple and a single on Saturday afternoon as the Penn State softball team split with Wagner and Yale on day two of the Michele Smith Spring Break Tournament. The Nittany Lions fell to Wagner, 4-2, in the first game of the day before taking down Yale in a 5-0 decision.
Karlie Habitz (Newhall, Calif.) went 2-for-3 at the plate vs. Yale with a home run and a single while sophomore pitcher Christy Von Pusch (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) registered her first collegiate win and second complete game as a Nittany Lion.
PSU's (6-14) victory over the Bulldogs snaps a 10-game drought for the Nittany Lions, giving them their first win since upsetting No. 21 LSU on Feb. 17, and counts as their first shutout win of the 2014 campaign.
WAGNER 4, PENN STATE 2
Penn State (5-14) battled with Wagner (6-10) in the day-two opener, holding the Seahawks to just two runs through the first six innings, but the Lions were unable to hold on as Wagner posted two runs in the final inning to win 4-2.
It did not take long for the Nittany Lions or the Seahawks to get on the board as each team crossed the plate in the first inning. Wagner's Brianna Tredway led off with a single to right field to open the game and went on to steal second. The freshman was sent home on a Kelsey Parker single up the middle to give the Seahawks a 1-0 advantage early on.
Penn State responded in the bottom half of the inning as Lexi Knief (Ramsey, N.J.) registered her 18th run of the season. The sophomore drew a walk, advanced to second on a groundout by Kasie Hatfield (Tampa, Fla.) and was brought in by a Jones single down the right line, tying the game at 1-1.
Neither team added to the count in the third inning and Wagner went scoreless in the fourth, giving the Lions a chance to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning. Jones smacked her first homer of the day and second of the season over right-center to put PSU up by one heading into the fifth.
The Seahawks answered with the equalizing run in the next inning as Abigail Beasley hit a ground-rule double. The sophomore sent the ball deep into right-center, driving in Taylor Beeson and knotting up the score at 2-2.
The Nittany Lions failed to respond over the next two innings and Wagner added two runs in their final turn at the dish. Beeson reached first on an error by Reina Furuya (Waipahu, Hawaii) and moved to second on a sac bunt from parker, setting the stage for Beasley, who blasted a home run to left field and gave the Seahawks a 4-2 advantage.
Penn State failed to rally in the final frame, with Knief notching the lone run of the inning, and fell to Wagner, 4-2.
PENN STATE 5, YALE 0
The Nittany Lions (6-14) were ready to turn things around in game two and wasted no time getting on the board, posting two runs in the first frame while holding Yale (3-8) scoreless. Penn State tacked on three additional runs before the contest came to a close and recorded its first shutout of the season, allowing just one hit from the Bulldogs.
The Blue and White took two quick outs in the first before Habitz sent a single up the middle for the their first of five hits. Jones followed with her second homer of the day, driving in Habitz and putting PSU up 2-0.
The Lions and Bulldogs each went scoreless in the second and third innings but Penn State notched two runs in the fourth to extend its lead. Habitz led off with her third home run of the season, a bomb to center field to put PSU up 3-0. Jones and Shelby Miller (Sugar Land, Texas) drew walks, Jones advanced to third on a sac fly from Alyssa Sovereign (La Canada, Calif.) and crossed the plate after Yale's Chelsey Dunham threw a wild pitch, bringing the count to 4-0.
The Blue and White registered their final run of the contest in the bottom of the sixth. Jones sent her second triple of the year to right center and scored on a sac fly from Kristina Brackpool (Valencia, Calif.) to push the score to 5-0.
Yale was unable to respond in their final inning, giving the Nittany Lions a 5-0 victory.
Penn State returns to the field on Sunday morning to face No. 12 Baylor in the final game of the tournament. First pitch is set for 9 a.m. at the Eddie C. Moore Complex.