April 24, 2014
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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.; April 24, 2014 - Penn State softball continues its five-game road swing this weekend with a three-game series at No. 12 Minnesota. The Nittany Lions look to get back in the win column after dropping a pair of midweek games to Ohio State on Wednesday.
PSU and Minnesota take the field at 7 p.m. (ET) on Friday for game one and continue the series on Saturday at 4 p.m. The series finale is set for Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Saturday's contest will air live on the Big Ten Network with Wayne Randazzo and Brooke Weisbrod on the call.
SERIES HISTORY vs. MINNESOTA
The Nittany Lions trail the Golden Gophers 21-32 in the all-time series. PSU is 9-16 against the Gophers in Minneapolis with its last win coming in a 2-0 decision on April 17, 2011. Penn State's most recently defeated Minnesota on April 29, 2012 at home, taking a 4-3 victory to seal a series sweep.
Penn State fell to Minnesota in the second round of last year's Big Ten Tournament, falling 4-0 after defeating Illinois in the first round.
GAUGING THE GOPHERS
Minnesota enters the weekend at 33-8 overall and hold the No. 12 spot in the USA Today/NFCA National standings. The Golden Gophers are 11-5 in Big Ten play and most recently defeated No. 3 Michigan, 1-0, last Friday.
Juniors Katelyn Richardson and Tyler Walker lead the charge for a potent Minnesota offense. Richardson is hitting at a team-best clip of .444 with 48 hits and 39 RBI while Walker is batting .395 with 51 hits and 35 RBI.
The Golden Gopher pitching staff has combined for 370 strikeouts this season and owns a stellar ERA of 1.93. Senior Sara Moulton has had an outstanding season as she owns a 20-6 record with a Big Ten-third best ERA of 1.73 through 154 innings. Moulton leads the conference in strikeouts with 192 and has given up just 38 earned runs on the season.
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State failed to put numbers up offensively on Wendesday evening, resulting in a pair of losses to Ohio State. The Buckeyes held the Lions to just one run through both contests to take the games, 3-1 and 3-0, respectively.
Freshman Kristina Brackpool stepped up for the Blue and White, delivering the lone run of the game with a solo shot to center field.
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.
The Lions trailed the Wildcats until posting five triples in the doubleheader vs. Bucknell (4/16).
Lexi Knief has set the pace for PSU, turning in six triple thus far. She needs just one more to enter the Penn State single season record books.
MAKING CONTACT
Sophomore Lexi Knief is the top hitter for PSU through the first 42 outings. The outfielder is 51-for-134 at the plate for a team-best batting average of .381 and has scored a team-high 36 runs. She leads the league and ranks second in the nation in triples with six and has also posted six doubles on the year. 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 .461.
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 3.27 through 120 innings. She has thrown 64 strikeouts on the season, including a season-high six vs. FAU (2/21), MSU (4/4) and Bucknell (4/16).
ON DECK
PSU returns home for its final midweek doubleheader of the season, taking on in-state rival Pitt next Wednesday. First pitch for game one is set for 5 p.m. while the nightcap is slated to begin at 7 p.m.