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Feb. 27, 2016
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Penn State softball team tallied a perfect outing on day one of the Citrus Classic, earning wins over Yale and Fordham at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex Friday, Feb. 27.
The Nittany Lions defeated Yale 6-2 before notching an 11-1 five-inning victory over Fordham to close out day one.
Sophomore Alyssa VanDerveer (Hillsborough, N.J.) led Penn State on the day, going 5-for-8 with seven RBI, while Shelby Miller (Sugar Land, Texas) was 4-for-7 with four RBI on the afternoon. Also tallying a multi-RBI day for the NIttany Lions was Lexi Knief (Ramsey, N.J.), who drove in three runs in two games.
As a team, Penn State tallied 26 hits on the afternoon and gave up just 10 hits to its opponents
Freshman Madison Shaffer (Elwood City, Pa.) notched her first collegiate win, going 6.1 innings against Yale, while junior Marlaina Laubach (Northampton, Pa.) gave up just one hit in five innings against Fordham to earn her second win of 2016.
Game One: Penn State 6 Yale 2
Shaffer earned her first collegiate win, going 6.1 innings with two strikeouts and giving up seven hits, while Christy Von Pusch (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) tossed 0.2 innings of relief.
Furuya led the Blue and White, going 3-for-3 at the plate with one RBI and two runs, while Miller went 2-for-4 with three RBI and one run for the Nittany Lions. Pond also recorded a multi-hit game for Penn State, going 2-for-4 at the dish with one RBI and one run.
After a quick first inning at bat, Penn State softball came alive in the top of the second inning, scoring three runs on four hits. Polk led off with a hard single to first base before Erin Pond (Lagrange, Ohio) ripped a double down the left field line to bring in an RBI. Knief battled during her at-bat before hitting a sacrifice fly to center field, plating Pond and giving Penn State the early 2-0 lead.
The Nittany Lions tacked on one final in the top of the second inning when Furuya doubled to left center and came around to score on a shallow Miller single to left field.
The Blue and White extended its lead to 5-0 in the top of the fourth inning using a two-out single from Furuya followed by a Miller round-tripper over the right center field wall.
The Nittany Lions added one final security run in the top of the sixth inning when Macy Jones (Ashburn, Va.) led off the inning with a single to left field and advanced to second on a passed ball. Jones moved up 60 feet when Pond notched her second hit of the game with a single through the left side of the field.
With one out and runners on first and third, Furuya dug in and laced a single through the middle of the field, allowing Jones to cross home and give Penn State 6-0 lead over the Bulldogs.
Yale strung together some hits in the bottom of the seventh, with four-straight to bring in two runs, and force Head Coach Amanda Lehotak to make a pitching change with one out. Von Pusch came on in relief and recorded the final two outs, including a strikeout to end the game.
Game Two: Penn State 11 Fordham 1 (5 inn.)
Laubach pitched a five-inning one hitter against the Rams to notch her second victory of the season, striking out two and allowing one run to cross the plate.
VanDerveer was stellar at the plate for the Blue and White, going 4-for-4 at the dish with seven RBI and scoring once. The sophomore catcher helped the Nittany Lions score at least one in each of the five innings on the day, while Jones scored three times for Penn State. Knief also had a multi-RBI game for the Blue and White with two, while Pond and Jones tallied three hits apiece.
Penn State struck early against the Rams with a Miller leadoff double to left center before a VanDerveer singles to shallow right center brought Miller around to score. After loading the bases, Knief ripped a ball up the middle, plating Sorenson to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
The Nittany Lions tacked on three runs on four hits in the top of the third inning; including a shallow single to right field from VanDerveer to bring in two RBI and give Penn State the 5-0 lead.
The Blue and White continued to build on its lead in the bottom of the third inning, using a hit batter and a sacrifice bunt to move runners into scoring position for Miller. Miller stepped into the box and drove a sacrifice fly to left field, extending the Penn State lead to 6-0.
The Rams tried to close the six-run gap in the top of the fourth inning using a leadoff walk and a double off the center field wall to light up the scoreboard for what would prove to be the only time in the contest.
Penn State answered the Rams one run with two of its own in the bottom half of the inning, using a double off the left field wall from VanDerveer and a sacrifice fly from Knief to take an 8-1 advantage over Fordham.
After a scoreless top half of the fifth inning for the Rams, Penn State put runners on second and third before VanDerveer launched a three-run homer over the right field fence to secure the 11-1 five-inning mercy rule victory for the Nittany Lions.
The Blue and White will conclude the Citrus Classic Sunday, Feb. 28 when it takes on No. 23 Notre Dame and North Florida. First pitch against the Fighting Irish is slated for 10 a.m.