March 22, 2014
9 (16-16-1, 3-0 B1G) | University Park, Pa.. • Nittany Lion Softball park & Beard Field | 2 (6-18, 0-3 B1G) |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; March 22, 2014 - The Penn State softball team could not match the offensive production of Purdue on Saturday afternoon as it dropped a pair of contests, 9-2 and 13-4 (5), to the Boilermakers. Kasie Hatfield (Tampa, Fla.) led the charge for the Nittany Lions, turning in three hits on the day.
The Blue and White (6-18 overall, 0-3 Big Ten) continue their eight-game homestand next weekend, inviting No. 5/6 Michigan to Nittany Lion Park and Beard Field for a three-game series before facing Saint Francis (PA) in a midweek doubleheader on Wednesday, April 2.
Hatfield registered a career-high ninth double in the second game of the day, surpassing her previous best of eight from 2012 while Lexi Knief (Ramsey, N.J.) added her third double of the season in game one. Sophomore Karlie Habitz (Newhall, Calif.) and freshman Shelby Miller (Sugar Land, Texas) also notched extra-base hits for the Lions. Habitz shot a solo bomb over the left field wall in the first game and Miller added her second triple of the weekend and the season in game two.
GAME 1: PURDUE 9, PENN STATE 2
Both teams got off to a slow start in game one with neither getting on the board until the third inning. Purdue (16-16-1 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) dropped three runs in the opening half of the inning, all of which were earned on a home run from Tori Chiodo.
The Nittany Lions added their first run of the day in the bottom frame as Reina Furuya (Waipahu, Hawaii) scored her fifth run of the season. Knief ripped a double to left center field to send Furuya across the plate and put the count at 3-1.
The scoring was even in the fourth inning with the Lions and the Boilermakers putting up one run each. Danielle Fletcher led off with a homer to left field to give Purdue its fourth run and Habitz matched the effort with her fourth long ball of the year.
The Boilers slowly added to the count over the next two innings, notching one run in each while the Blue and White went scoreless. A single up the middle from Ashley Burkhardt put Lindsey Rains across the plate in the top of the fifth and Andie Varsho scored in the sixth on an error by Habitz.
Purdue further extended its lead in the final frame with three additional runs. Burkhardt brought in the first run, scoring Chiodo on another single up the middle and a double to left field from C.J. Parsons drove in Burkhardt and Sydney Pencek, bring the score to 9-2.
The Nittany Lions failed to answer in their final turn at the dish, resulting in a 9-2 defeat.
GAME 2: PURDUE 13, PENN STATE 4 (5)
Penn State trailed from the beginning in the second contest, giving up three runs in the opening frame. Varsho led off with a double to left field and was brought in on the next at-bat as Chiodo shot a single to left. Burkhardt followed with a two-run homer to right field to bring in Chiodo.
The Lions cut Purdue's lead to two in the bottom of the second as Jones crossed the plate for the 14th time of the season. Miller punched a triple to left center, bringing in Jones and tallying her fifth RBI of the year as the scoreboard read 3-1.
PSU kept pace with the Boilers over the next two innings as each team totaled three runs in the third and fourth inning. Chiodo scored once again for Purdue in the third, heading home on a ground out from Katy McJunkin while Knief posted a run for the Lions as she stole home.
Both of Purdue's runs in the fourth came on a hard-hit single from Rains down the left field line as Varsho and Maia Monchek crossed the dish. Hatfield's double to left center accounted for both of Penn State's fourth-inning runs, driving in Knief and Furuya.
The fifth inning proved costly for the Nittany Lions as they gave up a staggering seven runs. Varshoe brought in the first two, sending a double to left field to put Monchek and Pencek across the plate. A Burkhardt single to right center drove in two more as Rains and Varsho scored. A Fletcher bomb over the scoreboard in left field was the lethal blow, adding three more runs as Chiodo and Burkhardt ran home.
A three up, three down performance for PSU in the bottom of the fifth sealed the deal and ended the game early as the Blue and White fell to the Boilermakers, 13-4.
After Saturday's losses, Purdue has taken over the all-time series and now holds a 24-23-1 advantage over the Nittany Lions.
With her pair of hits in the first game, Knief has now registered at least one hit in 19 of Penn State's 24 games this season. The sophomore leads the Lions in on-base percentage (.471) as she has reached base in all but one game in 2014.