March 31, 2015
| PENN STATE vs. BUCKNELL | |
| Wed. Apr. 1 - Gm 1 @ 5 pm / Gm 2 @ 7 pm | |
| NLSB & Beard Field | University Park, Pa. | |
| Live Stats | | Radio | |
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Notes/Event Program | Statistics (PSU) | B1G Stats
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State softball team will welcome in one of its most historic rivals to Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field, Wednesday evening as Bucknell comes to town for two.
The Nittany Lions and Bison have meet for a total of 31 times dating back to the 1966 season and will renew their rivalry with Game 1 scheduled to take place at 5 p.m. and game two at approximately 7 p.m.
PSU has won four of its last five entering the matchup and last played BU in a similar setting last season, sweeping a pair during a mid-week night in April at Beard Field.
GAME NOTES
QUICK HITS
· With just one win Wednesday, Penn State will reach the 18 win plateau for the first time since 2012, a mark it achieved for 18 straight seasons from 1995-2012.
· Junior Macy Jones has been red hot this past week going 8-16 (.500) in five games with a double, two home runs and seven RBI to go along with five runs scored.
· Lexi Knief and Alyssa VanDerveer are both currently on season long seven game hit streaks. They began their tear Sat. Mar. 21 vs. Northwestern and continued it this past weekend in East Lansing against the Spartans.
· Macy Jones is the only Nittany Lion to have played in and started in all of her team's 33 games this season. Mollie Sorenson is the next closest with 32 games played and 30 of them when she got the starting nod.
· With two of three wins over MSU this past weekend, Penn State now has exactly 950 in program history and stands at 950-926-3 (.506).
SERIES HISTORY vs. BUCKNELL
The Nittany Lions and Bison are two of the oldest rivals in all of collegiate softball, having first met back on Apr. 25, 1966 with Penn State easily winning by a 24-2 score. Since then the two have met another 30 times with PSU holding a 26-5 (.839) all-time series advantage over BU. The Lions are currently riding a four-game win streak over their Commonwealth rivals heading into Wednesday's matchup. Bucknell has not defeated Penn State since the 2007 season when it defeated then head coach Robin Petrini's squad 8-7 in Happy Valley.
SCOUTING THE BISON
Bucknell enters the mid-week non-conference doubleheader with a 19-12 overall record and a 1-2 mark in the Patriot League. The Bison have been streaky of late, losers of two straight after winning three-in-a-row this past week. They most recently were swept in a doubleheader with conference foe Colgate, after taking a single game with them, Saturday.
The Bucknell offense is relatively spread out when it comes to production as there are a number of different players with team leading totals. Junior outfielder/pitcher Amanda Fazio is tops in batting average (.380), hits (35), on base percentage (.424) and steals (21). Senior outfielder Kristen Zahn has the team's most RBI (29), is tied for the most home runs (4) and has the best slugging percentage at .562. Senior shortstop Cydnee Sanders leads the Bison in runs (23), while sophomore infielder Jacee Almond has drawn the most walks at 13.
In the circle, Bucknell is led by a familiar name as Amanda Fazio also leads the pitching charge. Fazio has the team's most wins (11), strikeouts (102), innings pitched (100.1), appearances and has the lowest earned run average at 3.21. Junior Dana Nielsen is the only other BU hurler with a stake in a pitching category as she is tops in BAA with a .221 avg.
DID YOU KNOW?
Penn State and Bucknell first met on Apr. 25, 1966 but did not play again for another 20 years as the two had a rematch two decades in the making on Apr. 9, 1986 in Happy Valley, with the Nittany Lions sweeping a doubleheader by 6-0 and 7-0 scores.
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. Live audio will also be available through Penn State Com Radio's official YouStream at http://bit.ly/1N95yjc
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.
NEW NAMES AND NUMBERS
2015 brings with it a new year but also some new names and numbers to the 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 | 17-16 | .515 |
* 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.