April 10, 2015
| 3 | 9 |
| Beard Field | University Park, Pa. | Attn: 311 | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score: (HTML) | (PDF) | Play-by-Play |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Despite accumulating double-digits hit totals and hitting at least one home run for the 10th straight game, the Penn State softball team fell to Indiana 9-3 Friday night at Beard Field.
The Lions banged out 10 hits and Macy Jones (Ashburn, Va.) stroked her eighth home run of the season, but PSU was unable to overcome a four-run fifth inning by IU which proved to be the difference.
The Hoosiers came out swinging against starter Jessica Cummings (Owings, Md.), scoring two in the top of the first, but Cummings settled in after that, allowing just three more hits through the next three innings until Jones would take over pitching duties in the top of the fifth.
Before she would enter the circle though, Jones helped her own eventual cause by doubling home Shelby Miller (Sugar Land, Texas) for the Blue and White's first run. An Alyssa VanDerveer (Hillsborough, N.J.) double the very next at bat brought home Jones to make it 2-2.
The IU bats were not very welcoming to Jones in the top of the fifth as she was making her 12th relief appearance of the season. Indiana put four runs up on the board off of three hits, one of which was a two-run homer to make it 6-2.
After IU tacked on another run in the top of the sixth, Penn State tried to mount a comeback in the bottom of the inning as Jones went deep with one out. A VanDerveer single and a Kristina Brackpool (Valencia, Calif.) two bagger put runners on second and third and then an Erin Pond (Lagrange, Ohio) two out walk loaded the bases.
With the tying run at the plate Indiana made a pitching change and the Hoosiers' new hurler got Reina Furuya (Waipahu, Hawaii) to pop out to third to end the Lion threat.
IU added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh off of another two-run homer to make it 9-3 and the PSU bats were silenced in the bottom half of the inning to secure the victory.
Despite the loss, a quartet of Penn State batters had multi hit days as Lexi Knief (Ramsey, N.J.), Miller, Jones and VanDerveer each registered two hits apiece.
Jones took the loss, only her second of the season and moves to 6-2 as the Nittany Lions fall to 21-18 overall and 4-6 in the Big Ten.
The Lions and Hoosiers will back at it Saturday, with a 3 p.m. first pitch time at Beard Field. A free pre-game tailgate starting at 12:30 p.m. will precede the contest.