March 17, 2015
| PENN STATEvs. PITTSBURGH | |
| Wednesday, Mar. 18 @ 6 p.m. | |
| NLSB & Beard Field | University Park, Pa. | |
| | Radio (1450-AM/1430-AM) | |
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Notes/Event Program | Statistics (PSU) | B1G Stats
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -The Penn State softball team will play its first of 18 games at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field Wednesday night as PSU will take on intrastate rival Pittsburgh at 6 p.m.
The game is the first of a home and home set with the Panthers, with the second contest coming Wednesday, Apr. 15 in the Steel City.
Penn State comes home with an even 12-12 record on the year while Pitt boasts a 22-5 mark and a 4-5 record in ACC play. This will be the two's first meeting in the Commonwealth since the 2013 season as both schools squared off at the FAU Invitational in Boca Raton last season.
GAME NOTES
QUICK HITS
• Penn State opens up its 2015 home slate with a 12-12 record, last year before its first game at Beard Field, PSU stood at 6-15 overall.
• Junior Erin Pond is coming off a productive weekend at the plate during the Capital Classic in Sacramento, where she went 4-4 with a double and walk-off home run in a 9-1 win against the host Hornets
• Sophomore Kristina Brackpool walloped her fifth long ball of the season vs. Sacramento State (Mar. 14), she hit just two last season and is on pace for 11 in 2015
• Both Marlaina Laubach and Jessica Cummings picked up the first complete game shutouts of their respective careers this past weekend in Northern California. Laubach's came in a 1-0 win over Loyola Marymount (Mar. 13) and Cummings earned hers in a 4-0 victory over LMU the very next day.
SERIES HISTORY vs. PITTSBURGH
The Lions hold a 12-6 advantage over their intrastate rivals all-time dating back to the two's first meeting during the 2000 season. The Panthers have taken three of the last five meetings with Penn State, but PSU most recently took won two straight against from its ACC foe stretching from the 2012 season to 2013. The last Keystone State matchup took place in 2014 when the two met up in the FAU Invitational in Boca Raton, Fla., which also marked the first time since their initial meeting that both schools did not play in either University Park or the Steel City. 2015 will also usher in some change in the rivalry as it marks the first time Penn State and Pittsburgh will play in a single game home and home series. In the previous 17 meetings before 2014, the pair had either played one or two games at one campus site or the other.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Pittsburgh enters the contest at 22-5 overall and 4-5 in ACC play, having won three of its last four. It most recently took two of three against Georgia Tech in Atlanta this past weekend following a 4-3 tour at the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament in Fort Myers (Mar. 6-10).
Junior infielder/catcher Shelby Pickett leads the Panthers in a number of different offensive categories including batting average (.427), hits (41), runs (26) and slugging percentage (.656). When it comes to power, freshman infielder McKayla Taylor has the bases covered with a team leading six home runs, she also has patience at the plate with a team high 13 walks.
In the circle Pitt is led by the efforts of senior Savannah King who leads her squad in all major pitching categories including wins (13), earned run average (1.72), strikeouts (41) and innings pitched (89.1).
COVERAGE
For those not in attendance, play-by-play of the game can be heard courtesy of ESPN Radio 1450-AM in State College and 1430-AM in Altoona. Live Stats will also be available via GoPSUSports.com.
TICKETS
Admission to the game is just $6 for the general public. Tickets to 2015 home softball games can be purchased by calling 1-800-NITTANY or by logging on to gopsusports.com. Fans can also buy tickets the day of the game by walking up to the Beard Field Box Office.
ADMISSION & LIMITED BAG POLICY
Fans attending Penn State softball games at Beard Field will have to comply with Penn State University's Bag Policy. Fans are advised that no backpacks or briefcases may be brought into the stadium and all bags must be searched. For more information visit the Safety Policy SY44 Page or Penn State's Bag Policy Page.
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 California 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
Robin Petrini 1998 21-28-1 .430
Amanda Lehotak 2015 12-12 .500
* 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 instate 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.