March 19, 2015
| PENN STATE vs. NORTHWESTERN | |
| Friday, Mar. 20 - Sunday, Mar. 22, 2015 | |
| NLSB & Beard Field | University Park, Pa. | |
| Live Stats | | | | |
| GAME DAY LINKS |
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Winners of four in-a-row and five of its last seven, the Penn State softball team will welcome in the Northwestern Wildcats to Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field this weekend to begin Big Ten Conference play for the 2015 season.
The Lions and `Cats are scheduled to square off Friday, Mar. 20 at 6 p.m., Saturday, Mar. 21 at 3 p.m. and then Sunday Mar. 22 at 1 p.m., in only the second three-game set the two schools will have played in this century. At 13-12, PSU is fresh off its 3-1 victory over intrastate rival Pittsburgh during the 2015 home opener, Wednesday night. NU enters conference competition at 11-10 overall and like PSU has won four straight.
Fans coming to the park for the weekend set can look forward to 2015 team poster and schedule magnet giveaways.
GAME NOTES
QUICK HITS
• Penn State opens up 2015 B1G play with a 13-12 record, last year before its first conference game, PSU stood at 6-15 overall.
• The Nittany Lions have won four in-a-row, their longest winning streak of the season and have come out on top in five of their last seven games.
• Marlaina Laubach's 1.90 ERA leads PSU and is good enough for fifth in the B1G.
• Laubach's seven victories in the circle puts her in a tie for seventh most in the B1G, she is just two shy of equaling her entire win total from a year ago.
• Kristina Brackpool and Macy Jones have combined to hit 10 total home runs, with five apiece, they account for more than 60% of all of the Lions' long balls this season.
• Brackpool and Jones are also the only two players to start and play in all 25 games Penn State has played this season, Mollie Sorenson is second with 24 games played and 22 starts.
COVERAGE
For those not in attendance, live Stats will be available via CBS GameTracker and in game updates through the team's official Twitter feed @PennStateSB
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.
PROMOTIONS
From home run and double play innings to koozie and inflatable beach ball giveaways there is a little something for every Penn State softball fan to enjoy during the 18 home dates the team has at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field this season. Throughout the season there will be several reoccurring promotions such as dollar dog and winning weeknights (Mar. 25, Apr. 1, 7, 22) as well weekend games where kids can create signs at specially designated stations to cheer on the team or their favorite player. The team will also hold special autograph sessions following each Sunday contest and kids 12 and younger can run the bases following each Saturday home date. During each game fans will be able to participate in inning-by-inning promotions such as the Home Delivery Home Run and Double Play innings as well as Uncle Chen's Trivia Challenge. For a complete list of the promotions that fans can expect to see at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field this season click here.
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.
SERIES HISTORY vs. NORTHWESTERN
Penn State has played Northwestern a total of 59 times dating back to 1992 and has taken 15 matchups to the Wildats' 44. NU is currently riding a four-game win streak heading into the weekend, with the Lions' last win coming in May of 2011. The two schools met up last season but in a non-conference game during the FAU Invitational in Boca Raton, Fla. The last time they played as B1G foes was back in 2013 at Beard Field, which also marked the first time both schools squared off in a three-game set in nearly 15 years. The two schools played in two game series from 2000-11 following an eight season stretch (1992-99) of three-games series at campus sites.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Northwestern enters the weekend at 11-10 overall and like Penn State not having played a Big Ten Conference game yet in 2015. The Wildcats are winners of four in-a-row having swept IUPUI in a doubleheader (Mar. 14) following two wins vs. Ball State and Louisville in the Louisville Classic (Mar. 8). NU started the season 3-9 before winning eight of its last nine contests entering B1G play.
The Wildcat offense is led by the efforts of a pair of Andrea's. Senior Andrea Diprima is tops in batting average (.466), hits (27), on base percentage (.597) and walks (17), while junior Andrea Filler has the most runs (15), RBI (24), the highest slugging percentage (.717) and is tied for the team lead in home runs with seven.
In the circle, juniors Kristen Wood and Amy Letourneau make up the Northwestern pitching corps as Wood is tops in ERA (4.38), BAA (.224) and strikeouts (84), while Letourneau leads the team in wins (7) and innings pitched (68.2).
TRAVEL TESTED
Penn State went 12-12 playing its first 24 games on the road before coming home to take part in its 2015 home opener Wednesday night at Nittany Lion Softball Park and 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 | Record | 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 | 13-12 | .520 |
* Pat McTarsney returned to coaching after a one year hiatus in 1973.520
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.