May 7, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - At the end of the regular season, the slate is wiped clean as conference foes battle head-to-head for the tournament crown. After losing three close games to the Terrapins this season, the retaliation of Penn State knocking Maryland out of the conference tournament would be sweet.
Ninth-seeded Nittany Lions (28-27) will take on eighth-seeded Maryland (27-26) in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday. Evenly matched, both teams own a 9-14 record in conference play. First meeting in 1999, Penn State owns a 9-5 record all-time against the Terrapins.
Nittany Lion Bats on Fire
Penn State will need to stay dominant at the plate in order to fold Maryland at the mound. The team's aggressiveness has produced 434 hits this season. Forty-five of those were homeruns with six grand slams. Leading the team, Alyssa VanDerveer tallies 13 homeruns while Macy Jones follows with 10.
With a team-best .408 batting average and 71 hits, Second Team All-Big Ten honoree Lexi Knief has made her mark on Penn State's offense this season. Fellow honoree Macy Jones claims a .348 batting average for the second place spot for Penn State.
On the defensive side of the game, Marlaina Laubach, Jones, and Jessica Cummings are the backbone of Penn State's offense. Pitching 136.2 innings, Laubaugh leads the team with 12 wins and 84 strikeouts. Jones trails with 7 wins and 36 strikeouts. Cummings tallies 76 strikeouts with 19 games started pitching 114.2 innings.
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