Feb. 25, 2015
| PENN STATE @CITRUS CLASSIC | |
| Friday, Feb. 27 - Sunday, Mar. 1, 2015 | |
| ESPN's Wide World of Sports | Orlando, Fla. | |
| GAME DAY LINKS |
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Game Notes | Statistics (PSU) | B1G Stats
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - For the second time this season the Penn State softball team will travel to the Sunshine State to play non-conference games in a tournament format. The Lions will compete in the Citrus Classic II, which is being held at ESPN's Wide World of Sports in Orlando.
PSU stands at 6-7 on the season and is trying to snap a four game losing skid after dropping the final contest of the Aggie Classic to Eastern Michigan (Feb. 15) and then three at Mississippi State last weekend.
The Nittany Lions will play five games in three days at ESPN's Softball Diamondplex, starting with a pair Friday, Feb. 27 vs. Fordham (1:15 p.m.) and Missouri (5:45 p.m.). They then will take on Nebraska-Omaha (11:00 a.m.) and Georgia (1:15 p.m.) on Saturday before wrapping up the weekend with a 12:15 p.m. tilt with James Madison on Sunday, Mar. 1.
SERIES NOTES
QUICK HITS
• Penn State has not played a Citrus Classic opponent more than five times coming into the weekend tournament. It has played Missouri the most out of the grouping (five times) and Nebraska-Omaha the least as it will be the two's first ever meeting on the diamond
• Nittany Lions last meeting with Fordham was a historic one, a 16 inning 5-2 in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, hosted by Penn State at newly minted Beard Field
• PSU is 2-4 against SEC opponents in 2015, having defeated Arkansas and Texas A&M
• Kristina Brackpool is first on the team in a number of offensive categories, including hits (12), RBI (11) and is tied for first with 3 HR's, she is also second in Batting Avg. at .353
• This weekend marks the second time Penn State will play in the state of Florida this season, the Lions went 3-2 in the FAU Kick-Off Tournament (Feb. 6-8) in Boca Raton
HOT STREAK
Sophomore first baseman Kristina Brackpool had a banner weekend in Starkville vs. Mississippi State as she went 5-7 (.714) with a double, three RBI and two runs scored while drawing a walk and reaching base another time on a hit-by-pitch. She is currently first on the team with 11 runs batted in, second in hitting with a .353 average and is tied for the team lead in home runs with three. Brackpool slammed a total of two dingers last season and is on pace for more than a dozen in 2015.
CUTS LIKE A KNIEF
Junior Lexi Knief's ability to cut through opposing pitching this year has been remarkable. Despite missing four of the first five games of the season due to injury, she leads the team in batting average for player with at least 10 at-bats this season with her .360 average. She is also tied for the team lead in doubles with two and her pair. Her three RBI is tied for fourth most on the team.
COLLECTING TWO AND PASSING GO
Back in the starting line-up for the first time since the team's opening series in Boca Raton, redshirt freshman Mia Monopoli made the best of her time at DP this past weekend down south. The catcher turned designated player went 2-5 (.400) with two singles and an RBI, her second this season. The San Francisco native started the final two games of the series in the DP slot and raised her season average even with the Mendoza Line.
TRIPLE DOUBLES
A total of three Penn State players have accumulated double-digit hit totals this season as Kristina Brackpool (12), Macy Jones (11) and Alyssa VanDerveer (11) account for almost half (34 of 76) of all the PSU base knocks in 2015.
STIFF OPPOSITION
This weekend Penn State will square off against not one but two different ranked opponents in the SEC's Georgia and Missouri. UGA is currently garnering a No. 8 ranking in both national polls with its 12-2 record, while Mizzou coasts in at No. 20 in both the NFCA/USA Today and ESPN/USA Softball polls. The Tigers are 8-2 this season with their freshman pitcher Paige Lowary most recently garnering conference pitcher of the week honors.
WE'll BE SEC'EEING YOU
Penn State has played a total of six games against SEC opponents this season and will add to that total this weekend when it takes on Georgia and Missouri. So far the Nittany Lions have mustered a 2-4 mark against opponents from the Southeastern Conference in 2015 with a 1-0 record against Arkansas, a 1-1 mark vs. Texas A&M to go along with an 0-3 tally vs. Mississippi State. PSU is 1-4 all-time vs. Missouri and holds a 1-3 record vs. Georgia. This will be the Lions' first contest against the Tigers as a member of the SEC.
FRESHMEN FAST STARTS
Penn State freshmen have started off their first season in the Blue and White on the right foot as a number of them got off to hot starts. This past weekend catcher Alyssa VanDerveer added to her home run total with her team leading third long ball of the season and first-year pitcher Jessica Cummings now leads the team in innings pitched with 25.1. Fellow freshman Mollie Sorenson ranks third on the team with four RBI, while Gianna Arrizurieta is tied for the team lead in doubles with a pair.
TRAVEL TESTED
Penn State will play its first 24 games on the road before the weather warms up and it's able to play the season's first games at Nittany Lion Softball Park at beard Field. Last season the Lions were 6-15 through their first 21 games on the road, featuring stops in Arizona, Mississippi, Florida and Virginia before returning to Happy Valley.
NEW NAMES AND NUMBERS
2015 brings with it a new season but also some new names and numbers to the Penn State program. This season a half-dozen freshman litter the Lion lineup and roster as Jessica Cummings (#1), Mia Monopoli (#13), Rebecca Ziegler (#15), Gianna Arrizurieta (#21), Mollie Sorenson (#22) and Alyssa VanDerveer will all call Happy Valley home for the first time. Junior transfer Erin Pond (#2) also makes her debut in the Blue and White.
SOPHOMORE SEASON
Although it's been a while since head coach Amanda Lehotak was a sophomore playing at Ole' Miss, she enters her sophomore season on the bench as the leader of the PSU program. In her first season the Lions went 14-35 with a 5-18 B1G mark. Here's a look at how second year coaches have fared at Penn State over the years.
Coach Year Rec. Pct.
Pat McTarsney 1966 2-2 .500
Pat McTarsney 1975 8-7 .533
Sue Rankin 1983 25-13 .658
Rob Petrini 1998 21-28-1 430
Amanda Lehotak 2015 6-7 .462
* Pat McTarsney returned to coaching after a one year hiatus in 1973.
ROUGH ROAD
Penn State's 2015 schedule is a challenging one, with 56 games on the slate against opponents in conferences such as the SEC, ACC and the Big 12. The Lions will take on a total of four teams (Michigan, Georgia, Texas A&M and Missouri in the Pre-Season Top 25 as well as another four (Wisconsin, Mississippi State, James Madison, Northwestern) who are receiving votes in both the USA Today/NFCA and the ESPN/USA Softball Top 25 polls.
NATIONAL PROGRAM
This season the Lions boast a total of 18 players from states other than the Commonwealth. Two from Hawaii, one from Washington and five from California dot the western edge of the States, while four from N.Y. and N.J. join other ones from Maryland, Ohio, Virginia and Florida to make-up the eastern part of the country. Three Pennsylvanians (Marlaina Laubach, Christy Von Pusch and Mary Ward) bring some in-state pride to the program while, one from Arizona and another from Texas add unique flair to an already diverse group.
A HALF CENTURY OF TRADITION
Penn State softball is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015, making it the oldest program among the schools in the power five conferences (ACC, B1G, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC). The Lions started up in 1965 under head coach Pat McTarsney and went 2-2 in their first season with wins against Elizabethtown and Wilson colleges. PSU defeated both in-state schools by a combined 46-4 score. The second oldest program among the power five is Arizona State, which began play just two years later in 1967.