March 7, 2015
| PENN STATE @PACIFIC &CAPITAL CLASSIC | |
| Tuesday, Mar. 10 @ 7 p.m. & 9 p.m. | |
| Bill Simoni Field | Stockton, Calif. | |
| Gm 1 Live Stats | Live Video | |
Gm 2 Live Stats | Live Video | |
Thusday, Mar. 12 - Saturday, Mar. 14
| Shea Stadium| Sacramento, Calif. |
Live Stats Gm 1 | Gm 2 | Gm 3 | Gm 4 | Gm 5
| GAME DAY LINKS |
TV: ESPN2 -->Tournament Event Page | Softball BlogFollow Us: @PennStateSB | Facebook | InstagramGameday Central
Game Notes | Statistics (PSU) | B1G Stats
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State softball team will play a total of seven games between four different opponents during spring break this coming week in California. The Nittany Lions (8-9) will first take on the Tigers of Pacific University in a doubleheader, Tuesday, Mar. 10 in Stockton before heading to the state capital to square off against Grand Canyon, Loyola Marymount and host Sacramento State in the Capital Classic.
Both games vs. Pacific will be streamed live online via pacifictigers.com and live stats will be available for all Capital Classic contests, which stretch from Thursday, Mar. 12 - Saturday, Mar. 14.
SERIES NOTES
QUICK HITS
• Penn State has not played a Capital Classic opponent more than two times heading into the mid-week tournament, squaring off against Sac State and Loyola Marymount just one time prior while never having played Grand Canyon.
• Nittany Lions have played Pacific the most out of any opponent on the upcoming road trip, going 0-3 in three previous meetings.
• This weekend marks the sixth time in the last seven seasons that PSU has traveled to the Golden State to take part in a tournament. In 2014, the Lions did not travel past the Mountain Time zone but return to California for the first time since Mar. 15, 2013 when they took part in the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif.
• Kristina Brackpool is first on the team in a number of offensive categories, including hits (16), RBI (14) and home runs (4). She is also second in avg., hitting at a .340 clip.
• Macy Jones is first on the team in ERA (2.33) and hits (16) and second in wins (2) and HR's (3)
HOT STREAK
Sophomore first baseman Kristina Brackpool continues to showcase her offensive prowess this season. Last weekend in Orlando at the Citrus Classic, she went 4-13 (.308) with three RBI and smacked her team leading her team leading fourth home run and to go along with a pair of walks. She is currently riding a seven game reached base streak and is first on the team with 4 home runs, 14 RBI and is second in hitting with a .340 average. 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 (.341). She is also tied for the team lead in doubles with three and her six RBI is tied for third most on the team.
COLLECTING TWO AND PASSING GO
Back in the starting line-up after missing time in the Aggie Classic (Feb. 13-15), redshirt freshman Mia Monopoli made the best of her time at DP this past weekend down south. The catcher turned designated player went 3-10 (.300) with a single, a double and her first collegiate home run. She knocked in a pair of runs during the Citrus Classic and even had her first career two-hit game vs. Fordham (Feb. 27).
QUADROUPLE DOUBLES
A total of four Penn State players have accumulated double-digit hit totals this season as Kristina Brackpool (16), Macy Jones (16), Lexi Knief (14) and Alyssa VanDerveer (11) account for a little more than half (57 of 108) of all the PSU base knocks in 2015.
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONES'
Macy Jones played quite a pivotal role this past weekend in PSU games at the Citrus Classic in Orlando. She made two relief appearances, one of which was during a bases loaded jam in the third inning of the Western Illinois game (Mar. 1) in which she worked out of trouble and pitched 4+ innings to qualify for the win. Then in the second game of the day she smacked a game tying home run against James Madison to send the contest into extra innings.
WHAT'S YOUR NAME AGAIN...??
Penn State will be playing some unfamiliar opponents this weekend in the Golden State as it has played Pacific, Grand Canyon, Sacramento State and Loyola Marymount a combined five times before. The Lions and Tigers have the `lengthiest' resume with three prior meetings on the docket. Sac State and PSU have met just once but not since 1989 and State and Marymount just met for the first time in 2013. Penn State and Grand Canyon have never played on the softball diamond, it will mark the second time in as many weekends Amanda Lehotak's squad is scheduled to play a first time opponent as last weekend's match-up with Nebraska-Omaha was a washout.
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. Catcher Alyssa VanDerveer is tied for second on the team with three home runs and first-year pitcher JessicaCummings is second on the team in innings pitched with 27.2. Fellow freshman Mollie Sorenson ranks fourth on the team with five RBI, while Gianna Arrizurieta is tied for second on the in two baggers with her 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 throughtheir 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 callHappy 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 8-9 .471
* 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.