April 28, 2016
By Mike Gilbert, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Marlaina Laubach and Madison Seifert tossed a pair of gems Wednesday night against St. Francis (Pa.). But was there something tropical that helped them hurl such great games?
Blow up palm trees can be seen all around Beard Field during each home game, and the superstition serves as a reminder to the players to hang tough during the game.
"The palm tree represents our culture here. Palm trees are a type of tree that weather the storm, we call it. So when its stormy out and if it bends over, it always comes back straight up," said Seifert.
Clearly, the plastic, 10 feet long timber brings the mojo to Beard Field. But there is no substitution for sheer dominance in the circle. Laubach worked quickly in throwing a complete game shutout in game one winning 6-0, and was locked in all evening; according to head coach Amanda Lehotak.
"She attacked the zone. Laubach missed two spots all night."
While Laubach works quickly when she's on the rubber, Seifert takes a little more time in between pitches. Not necessarily a bad thing when she only made one mistake pitch all night long en route to another complete game win. Seifert paces around the mound and concentrates in on the catcher's mitt before letting one fly.
"I like to wipe the slate clean. I like to think of each pitch as the next pitch and really dial in. You can't really control the pitch before [or] the pitch next. You just have to think each pitch," said Seifert.
The strategy worked. The Blue & White took game two by a score of 4-2.
Team camaraderie was in full effect Wednesday night as well. The dugout was loud, supportive, and constantly chattering, while the fans were really into both games even as the temperature dropped steadily. The pre-inning huddle at the pitcher's circle puts on display the team buying into each other, and Seifert explained exactly what is said during those mound visits composed of the entire infield.
"If we just scored, we want to shut them down. If we're kind of dead, we're trying to get each other pumped back up and then if it's towards the end of the game, we call it a countdown. It's like the countdown to the end, the end of the game is the most important part. We've got to be the most focused then, so that's what we talk about."
Good situational hitting was the key to putting runs on the board for the Nittany Lions. Sac-flies that turned into RBIs, and grounders to the opposite side of the infield moved runners over that eventually came in to score.
"To me, the last 15 games, we've really tightened that up and we've done a good job. The kids have been staying calm and have not tried to be the hero. To me, they're really having selfless at-bats right now," praised Lehotak.
At this point in the season a year ago, Penn State was 24-24 (6-11), but now they smell the NCAA tournament with a 28-18 record, 13-4 in conference play.
"We should not lose [at home]," Lehotak added. "We should have that attitude."
The squad must carry that mindset into the weekend, where a potential season-deciding series with second-ranked Michigan will go a long way to determining the Lions' NCAA tournament hopes. For now, dominant pitching and selfless at-bats should do the trick moving forward.