April 1, 2015
| 9 | 8 |
| 13 | 1 |
| Wednesday, Apr. 1, 2015 | |
Beard Field | University Park, Pa. | Attn. 308
| POST GAME LINKS |
| VIDEO:Post Game Interviews Lehotak/VanDerveer/Brackpool/Cummings |
| Game 1: Box Score (HTML) | (PDF) |
Game 2: Box Score (HTML) | (PDF)
| FINAL STATISTICS |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Aided by grand slams from Alyssa VanDerveer (Hillsborough, N.J.) and Kristina Brackpool (Valencia, Calif.) as well as a solid performance in the circle by Jessica Cummings (Owings, Md.), the Penn State softball team swept a doubleheader with in-state rival Bucknell Wednesday night by 9-8 and 13-1 scores.
The first of the Lions' grand slams came in the bottom of the seventh inning in game one, when trailing 8-4 with no one out, VanDerveer came to the plate and smoked a pitch over the right center field fence to tie the contest up and send Beard Field into a frenzy.
With new life, PSU put a runner on after pinch hitter Alicia Walker (Los Alamitos, Calif.) reached on an infield single. Following a Maegan Tupinio (Wahiawa, Hawaii) sac bunt, Brackpool came to the plate as a pinch hitter and promptly lined a single to center to cap off her team's stunning five run come from behind walk-off win.
Game one's start was very different from its finish as the Bison got ahead of their non-conference rivals early, plating a pair in the first and second off of starter Marlaina Laubach (Northampton, Pa.) for a quick 4-0 lead.
Amanda Lehotak's squad fought back adding a pair of its own in the bottom of the second while playing small ball and then another in the bottom half of the third courtesy of VanDerveer's RBI double.
Bucknell kept pace though, tacking onto its lead off of reliever Macy Jones (Ashburn, Va.) who came into the circle in relief to start the third. BU scored one in the third and another two in the fifth before Jones helped her own cause doubling home Shelby Miller (Sugar Land, Texas) to make it 7-4.
After a scoreless sixth, the Bison added another run in the top of the seventh, setting the stage for the improbable comeback, sparked by second baseman Mollie Sorenson's (Stevenson Ranch, Calif.) leadoff double to start the Penn State seventh. Jones was credited with the win in the wild walk-off affair and improved to 4-1.
The second contest of the night featured less drama as Cummings, the starting pitcher was in control from the start. The freshman hurler did not allow a hit until the third inning, giving her offense all the breathing room it needed.
Penn State bats continued their hot streak from the seventh inning of game one into the first inning of game two as the Nittany Lions put a five spot up on the board in both the first and second frames.
A Miller two RBI double and run producing singles by Walker and Meghan Bradley (Santa Monica, Calif.) highlighted the scoring in the first, while Brackpool stole the show in the second with her team's second home run with bases loaded in as many games.
After Sorenson doubled home State's sixth run, the sophomore first baseman stepped to the plate with the bases full of Blue and White uniforms and just one out. She then cracked a pitch in the same direction as VanDerveer's game one shot over the right field fence for yet another grand slam, making it 10-0 PSU after two.
The Lions' plated another run in the third as Brackpool added to her RBI total with a run producing single, then pushed a pair across in the fourth following back-to-back doubles by Sorenson and Miller, followed by an RBI single by Jones.
Cummings took a one hit shutout into the fifth but a second Bucknell hit spoiled the shutout bid and made it 13-1 after five, when the mercy rule took effect and gave Penn State the doubleheader sweep.
With the win the freshman pitcher improved to 4-5 on the year in arguably her most dominating outing to date.
The Lions have now won six of their last seven and have scored an average of a little more than eight runs a game during that stretch of time. They posted 22 total runs and knocked out 25 hits during the doubleheader sweep of the Bison.
As a whole the PSU offense had a stellar night, but a handful of Blue and White bats were especially hot.
Brackpool led all teammates with six RBI, going 4-5 during the two game sweep, while VanDerveer knocked in five and went 3-3 with five walks after splitting time as the DP and catcher. Miller staked claim to three RBI of her own as she went 5-8 with three doubles. Sorenson also joined the party walloping a trio of two baggers, while Jones accounted for a pair of her team's runs, going 3-6 in the combined 12 innings of play.
Standing at 19-16 on the year and 2-4 in the B1G, Penn State will resume conference play this weekend in Madison, Wisc., as it takes on the Badgers in a three game series. Games one and two will be played in a doubleheader format on Friday, starting at 4 p.m., and Game 3 will begin at 12 p.m. on Saturday.