April 14, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - By Jack Dougherty, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State softball team continues its season on Wednesday, Apr. 15 as it hosts the Ohio State Buckeyes in a doubleheader. The first pitch will be at 5:30 p.m., and the second game will commence shortly after.
The Nittany Lions come into the series sporting a 21-20 record on the year, with a 4-8 mark in Big Ten competition. Coach Lehotak and her squad will be looking to bounce back after dropping three straight games to Indiana over the weekend.
Fresh off a four game winning streak, OSU comes into the match up with a 22-16 record on the year (6-6 B1G). Their hot spurt has vaulted the Buckeyes to seventh place in the Big Ten, while PSU sits at 12th. A Penn State sweep would put them right back in contention for the final playoff spot.
What stands in Penn State's way is the brute force that is OSU's offense. The Buckeyes have trouble keeping runs off the board, but they can sure put some big numbers up. Led by senior Caitlyn Conrad, OSU features nine hitters who carry a batting average above .300, and it's totaled 44 long balls this season.
Conrad enters the series with a .394 batting average. She leads the team with 52 hits, nine home runs, nine steals, and three triples. Redshirt junior Maddie McIntyre has been just as solid for the Buckeyes this year, leading the team in slugging (.761), on base percentage (.532), and runs scored (37).
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