April 22, 2014
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COLUMBUS, Ohio; April 22, 2014 - Penn State softball opens up a five-game road swing on Wednesday with a doubleheader at Ohio State. The Nittany Lions look to pick up a pair of crucial wins as they enter the contest at No. 9 in the Big Ten while the Buckeyes are just ahead at No. 7.
PSU (14-26, 5-10 Big Ten) and OSU (23-23, 6-9 Big Ten) take the field at 4:05 p.m. for game one while the nightcap is slated for a 6 p.m. start. Wednesday's doubleheader will air live on the Big Ten Network with Lisa Byington and Garland Cooper on the call.
SERIES HISTORY vs. OHIO STATE
The Nittany Lions trail the Buckeyes 29-45 in the all-time series. Penn State last defeated OSU at Nittany Lion Softball Park on May 11, 2012, winning 6-5 in eight innings. PSU has not defeated Ohio State in Columbus since taking a 5-3 decision on May 11, 2011.
The Buckeyes swept Penn State in the most recent series between the two teams, taking three straight games in Columbus in last year.
EYEING OHIO STATE
Ohio State enters the weekend at 20-23 overall and has dropped four consecutive contests. The Buckeyes are 6-9 in Big Ten play with wins over Purdue, Indiana and Michigan State.
Senior Evelyn Carrillo and junior Caitlin Conrad have led the offensive strike for OSU in 2014. Carrillo is hitting at a team-best clip of .356 with 47 hits and 29 RBI while Mueller is batting .344 with 44 hits, including six home runs, and 27 RBI.
The OSU pitching staff has combined for 198 strikeouts this season and owns an ERA of 4.20. Junior Olivia O'Reilly has done most of the work for OSU, registering nine of the Buckeye's wins. O'Reilly has struck out 73 opponents and has an ERA of 3.15 through 111 innings.
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State was swept for the third time this season in a three-game series as Wisconsin took all three games this past weekend. PSU failed to put numbers up offensively and committed costly errors on defense, leading to a 6-3 defeat on Friday and 4-0 and 5-2 losses on Saturday. The Badgers limited PSU to just 13 hits through all three games and scored seven unearned runs on four Penn State errors.
TRIPLES CROWN
The Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten in triples with 15 on the year. PSU has registered three more than the No. 2 team, Northwestern, and six more than the next two teams. Lexi Knief has set the pace for PSU, turning in six triple thus far.
The Lions trailed the Wildcats until posting five triples in the doubleheader vs. Bucknell last week.
MAKING CONTACT
Sophomore Lexi Knief is the top hitter for PSU through the first 40 outings. The outfielder is 49-for-128 at the plate for a team-best batting average of .383 and has scored a team-high 36 runs. She leads the league and ranks second in the nation in triples with six. She needs just one more triple to enter the PSU single season record books.
The Ramsey, N.J. product leads the Lions and is 11th in the conference with an on-base percentage of .463.
LAU OF THE LAND
Freshman pitcher Marlaina Laubach has done the bulk of the work in the circle for Penn State, earning wins in nine of PSU's 14 victories, including a signature win over No. 21 LSU and three conference wins. The Northampton, Pa. native has a team-best ERA of 3.32 through 114 innings and has pitched 10 complete games. She has thrown 64 strikeouts on the season, including a season-high six vs. FAU (2/21), MSU (4/4) and Bucknell (4/16).
DOUBLING UP
Senior Kasie Hatfield officially earned a spot in the Penn State record books in the series finale at Indiana (4/13) after registering her 12th double of the year, tying for No. 9 on the single-season doubles list.
The Tampa, Fla. product is currently tied for fifth in the league in doubles and ranks 78th in the nation in doubles per game at 0.30.
ON DECK
PSU continues its road trip with a three-game bout at No. 12 Minnesota this weekend. The Lions and the Golden Gophers open the series on Friday at 7 p.m. (ET) and continue play on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Saturday's contest will air live on the Big Ten Network with Wayne Randazzo and Brooke Weisbrod on the call.