April 25, 2015
| 12 | 6 |
| Beard Field | University Park, Pa. | Attn: 639 | |
POST GAME LINKS
| Box Score: (HTML) | (PDF) | Play-by-Play |
Video: Lehotak/Cummings/Knief/VanDerveer
FINAL STATISTICS
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Freshman Alyssa VanDerveer (Hillsborough, N.J.) hit her 13th home run of the season and drove in three runs to lead the Nittany Lions to a 12-6 win over Rutgers in the second game of their final home series. The top five hitters in the Penn State lineup combined for nine hits and 12 RBI on the day. Penn State improved to 26-24 overall and 8-11 in the Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Amanda Lehotak, will go for the sweep as they wrap up their final home series of the season on Sunday as the team plays their Pink Zone game. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Before the game, seniors Meghan Bradley (Santa Monica, Calif.), Marissa Diescher (Livingston Manor, N.Y.) and Alicia Walker (Los Alamitos, Calif.)were honored as part of Senior Day.
Sophomore Shelby Miller (Sugar Land, Texas) drove in four runs, while VanDerveer and junior Lexi Knief (Ramsey, N.J.) knocked in three runs each. Junior Macy Jones (Ashburn, Va.) contributed two RBI.
Knief, Miller, VanDerveer and freshman Mollie Sorensen (Stevenson Ranch, Fla.) each collected two hits. Junior Reina Furuya (Waipahu, Hawaii) scored two runs, while Knief and Sorensen also crossed the plate twice.
The Scarlet Knights got on the board in the first inning, scoring two runs on a single up the middle.
However, the Nittany Lions answered in the bottom of the second, exploding for eight runs. With one out, VanDerveer launched a home run to center field. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases for Knief, who lined a double off the top of the center field wall to drive in Shannon Good (Horseheads, N.Y.) and Erin Pond (Lagrange, Ohio). Following a Sorensen walk, Miller singled up the middle to plate Furuya and Knief. The junior, Jones, then ripped a single through the left side to score Sorenson. VanDerveer got her second and third RBI's of the inning as she lined a double to center to bring in Miller and Jones, giving the Lions an 8-2 advantage.
Rutgers got a run back in the top of the third on a single to center.
The blue and white drove in four more runs in the bottom of third. After a double by Kristina Brackpool (Valencia, Calif.) and a single by Furuya, Knief singled up the middle to score Brackpool. An infield single by Sorenson loaded the bases for Miller, who lined a single to right to plate two more runs. Jones followed Miller with a sacrifice fly to right to plate Sorenson and give the Lions a 12-3 lead.
The Scarlet Knights plated two more runs in the top of the fifth on a home run by Sierra Maddox. Rutgers got another run in the top of the seventh on a home run by Jackie Bates.
Freshman Jessica Cummings (Owings, Md.) pitched five innings, allowing 11 hits, five runs, three earned. She struck out four batters, while walking none. Jones pitched the final two innings, allowing a hit and a run.