May 7, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After a breakout sophomore campaign, outfielder Lexi Knief (Ramsey, New Jersey) has been named to the All-Big Ten second team, the conference announced Wednesday morning. Sophomore Maegan Tupinio(Wahiawa, Hawaii) was Penn State's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Knief was formidable at the plate this season, leading Penn State in seven different offensive categories. The sophomore has hit at a clip of .382 in 2014, which stands as the eighth best in a single season in program history. She also leads the team in runs (37), hits (58), triples (6), total bases (80), slugging percentage (.526) and on base percentage (.457). The centerfielder totaled 17 multi-hit performances and, at one point, extended her hitting streak to 12 straight games.
Knief, who moved to center field in the off-season, has been tremendous for the Lions defensively, posting a perfect fielding percentage of 1.000. She has recorded 69 putouts and five assists on the year without committing a single error.
Michigan sophomore Sierra Romero picked up Big Ten Player of the Year accolades for the second year in a row while Minnesota's freshman hurler Sara Groenewegen collected Freshman of the Year and Pitcher of the Year honors. Nebraska head coach Rhonda Revelle was tabbed Coach of the Year after leading the Cornhuskers to a share of the Big Ten regular season title.
The Blue and White face Ohio State in the first round of the 2014 Big Ten Tournament at 2:30 p.m. (ET) Thursday. The winner of that contest will advance to the second round, taking on the No. 2 seed Nebraska Cornhuskers, who received a first round bye, at 2:30 p.m. on Friday.