April 21, 2015
| PENN STATE vs. SAINT FRANCIS | |
| Wed. Apr. 22 - Gm 1 @ 5 pm / Gm 2 @ 7 pm | |
| NLSB & Beard Field | University Park, Pa. | |
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Notes/Event Program | Statistics (PSU) | B1G StatsUNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State softball team finishes up its non-conference home slate this week with a Wednesday doubleheader against Saint Francis. This marks the 34th meeting between the Pennsylvania schools. The Nittany Lions enter the matchup with a 23-23 overall record.
The first game of the doubleheader begins at 5 p.m., with the second contest at approximately 7 p.m.
Penn State is looking to bounce back after dropping three games at Maryland this past weekend.
SERIES NOTES
SERIES HISTORY vs. SAINT FRANCIS
The Nittany Lions' own a commanding 30-3 series lead all-time vs. their neighbors to the west, having taken the first 26 meetings between the two schools, a streak that lasted from 1990 until the 2008 season. PSU and SFU first met on Mar. 27, 1990 with the Lions claiming a 2-1 win in University Park. The final W of the streak for the Blue & White occurred on Mar. 26, 2008 by way of a 9-1 six inning victory. Coincidentally enough the Red Flash and Lions have played 30 of their 33 contests in Happy Valley with only three taking place in Loretto. Penn State won all three of those meetings, one of which took place in 1995 and then a doubleheader in 2007. Saint Francis has compiled all three of its wins in the storied series within the two schools' last seven meetings, meanwhile Penn State has taken three of four.
SCOUTING THE RED FLASH
Saint Francis is 26-12 overall this season and 7-3 in the Northeast Conference. The Red Flash won three of their four games last weekend, sweeping Wagner and splitting against LIU Brooklyn. Saint Francis hosts Cleveland State on Tuesday night in Loretto before heading to Happy Valley.
Senior infielder Taylor Parsons leads the Red Flash offense, batting .373 and slugging .659 with 47 hits, including 15 doubles, six triples and three home runs. Parsons and freshman Madison Cabell are tied for the team lead with 31 RBI. Sophomore infielder Alexis Bower is hitting .294 with a team-leading four homers. Senior outfielder Maggie Creciun leads the squad with 13 stolen bases.
Three Red Flash pitchers have a sub-3.00 ERA. Sophomore right-hander Blaire Lauthers is 11-5 with a 1.05 ERA, eighth-best in the nation, in 20 appearances and 73 innings. She has struck out 33 batters and walked 23. Fellow sophomore Ethel Santai has a 7-2 record with a 2.70 ERA in 23 appearances, including 12 starts. In 85.2 innings, Santai has struck out 55 and walked 25. Bower has a 2.86 ERA in 13 appearances, with a 4-4 record.
QUICK HITS
- With one more long ball, the Nittany Lions will have hit 40 in a season for the first time since 2013, when they sent a total of 42 over the fence.
- The power trio of Alyssa VanDerveer, Kristina Brackpool and Macy Jones have accounted for 29 of Penn State's 39 home runs this season, nearly 75 percent. VanDerveer leads the bunch with 11 while Brackpool and Jones each have hit nine.
- Freshman Mollie Sorenson is currently in the midst of an impressive offensive streak as she has hit safely in the last 18 games dating back to the Robert Morris doubleheader (Mar. 25). It is the longest such streak on the team this season and she is hitting .446 (29-65) with five doubles, a triple and seven RBI during that stretch.
- Penn State stands at 7-6 at home this season and with just four more wins will equal its record for W's at Beard Field since the facility opened in 2011. The all-time mark for victories at Nittany Lion Softball Park is 11 set in its very first year.
- Macy Jones has the unique distinction of being the leader in at least one of her team's offensive and pitching categories as she is tops in RBI (37), total bases (90) and walks (24). She also has the lowest earned run average among the pitching staff at 3.19.
GRAND PRESENCE
The Nittany Lions have hit an impressive seven grand slams during the 2015 season. Two came in the doubleheader sweep of Bucknell (Apr. 1) and another pair followed in the same game and the same inning no less, the top of the fourth in the series finale vs. Wisconsin (Apr. 4). Kristina Brackpool hit her second grand slam of the season in a mid-week doubleheader with Ohio State (Apr. 15). Alyssa VanDerveer hit her third slam, a first inning blast, against Maryland (Apr. 18) In all four Blue & White batters have hit HR's with the sacks jacked this season. Below is a look at the official tally, when they were hit and who against.
Player No. Date(s) Against
Alyssa VanDerveer 3 Apr. 1,3,&18 BU, UW, MD
Kristina Brackpool 2 Apr. 1&15 BU & OSU
Shelby Miller 1 Apr. 4 Wisconsin
Reina Furuya 1 Apr. 4 Wisconsin
HI2TORY IN GRAND FASHION
Staying with the grand slam theme, Penn State became just the sixth team in recorded Division I NCAA softball history to hit a pair of grand slams in one inning as it plated a total of nine runs in the top of the fourth during its 15-5 five inning mercy rule victory over Wisconsin, Apr. 4. Shelby Miller hit the first grannie with no one out and then Reina Furuya, who led off the inning with a double, came to the plate with just one out and already five in, in the inning and slammed another bases loaded homer to achieve the historic feat. The rare occasion has become less rare with each passing season as this is the third year in-a-row it's been accomplished, but the first time a team has done so in the fourth inning of play.
BTN SEASON DEBUT
The Nittany Lions will made their debut on the Big Ten Network during the series finale vs. Maryland on Sunday, April 19. It marked the first time since the 2013 regular season finale vs. Illinois that the Blue & White were on the national network.
MVP - MOST VERSATILE PLAYER
One could argue that Macy Jones is her team's most valuable player but there is no doubt that she is in fact Penn State's most versatile as she has starred in the field, circle and batter's box this season. Jones is the only member of the Blue & White pitching corps who yields the aluminum and she has done so quite successfully as she has compiled a team best 24 walks and is first on the team in on base percentage (.470) and slugging percentage (.657). Her 37 RBI is second best on the squad and her nine longs balls are tied for second with Kristina Brackpool. She also leads the pitching staff with a 3.17 ERA and has a team low 17 walks in 15 appearances.
CUTS LIKE A KNIEF
Junior Lexi Knief's ability to cut through opposing pitching this year has been remarkable. She leads the team in batting average (.410), hits(59), doubles (12) and triples(3). The centerfielder is slugging an impressive .535 on the season, fourth most among her teammates.
PUT ME IN COACH
Macy Jones is the only Nittany Lion to have started and played in all 46 games this season. She has split time in between the circle and the outfield and has even seen a little time at first base, making two starts and 13 relief appearances in the circle and 44 starts in the field. Freshmen Mollie Sorenson and Alyssa VanDerveer are the next closest iron women, as Sorenson has played in 45 of 46 total contests in 2015, with 43 starts. VanDerveer has started and played in 44 contests as either the backstop or designated player with the exception of one game at first base.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
The 2015 season is looking a lot like years from the past, that's because Penn State has now officially reeled off 23 wins in a season for the first time since 2011, when it compiled a 31-24-1 record during Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field's first season. With its series win vs. Wisconsin last weekend, Amanda Lehotak's squad will reached 20 wins in a season for the 26th time in program history.
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
Robin Petrini 1998 21-28-1. 430
Amanda Lehotak 2015 23-23 .500
* Pat McTarsney returned to coaching after a one year hiatus in 1973
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.
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.