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Apr. 29, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After holding the powerful No. 2 University of Michigan to one run through the first six innings, the Wolverines edged out Penn State 4-2 in the seven-inning Big Ten Conference Friday night contest at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field.
Penn State (28-19, 13-5) struggled against Megan Betsa, striking out 16 times with Alyssa VanDerveer (Hillsborough, N.J.) tallying the only two hits for the Nittany Lions. VanDerveer gave PSU the early 1-0 lead with a home run in the bottom of the second inning and singled through the left side in the seventh, while Erin Pond (Lagrange, Ohio) brought in a run on a slow-roller to second base and Lexi Knief (Ramsey, N.J.) scored once after being hit by a pitch.
Junior Marlaina Laubach (Northampton, Pa.) pitched the complete game, giving up nine hits, while Megan Betsa earned the win for the Wolverines pitching the complete game with two hits.
Michigan (39-4, 16-2) notched nine hits on the afternoon, scoring three runs in the top of the seventh inning to earn the two-run victory. Sierra Lawrence went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in the seventh. Kelsey Susalla recorded three hits in four at-bats with one RBI on the day for the Maize and Blue.
The Nittany Lions were the first to light up the scoreboard in the bottom half of the second inning when VanDerveer ripped her 10th home run of the season over the left field wall just right of the foul pole.
The Wolverines answered in the top of the third inning with a single from Lindsay Montemarano and a double off the center field wall from Romero to knot the score at 1-1.
Penn State shut down an early threat in the fourth inning turning a defensive double play, but Michigan juiced the bases on a single, an error and a walk with two outs on the scoreboard. PSU was able to get out of trouble with a ball back to third to close out the inning as the contest remained tied at 1-1 through the first three and a half innings of action.
The Nittany Lions kept the powerful Michigan offense off the scoreboard for the next three innings but a walk and a Lawrence home run over the left field fence gave the Wolverines a 3-1 lead in the top of the seventh inning. Michigan tacked on its third run of the inning when a hit batter came around to score on a Susalla triple down the right field line to extend the UM lead to 4-1 with two outs.
Penn State looked to make a comeback in the bottom of the seventh when Knief reached first when she was hit in the elbow before making her way to second on a wild pitch. The senior moved 60 feet from home when VanDerveer singled through the left side of the infield. With runners on the corner, freshman Tori Dubois (Mt. Vernon, N.H.) drew a huge walk to load the bases with one out. Pond dug into the box and hit a slow roller to second that allowed Knief to score from third base. With two outs, the Nittany Lions were unable to score any further runs falling to the No. 2 Wolverines in seven.
The Blue and White and Michigan will play game two of the series Saturday, Apr. 30 in a 3 p.m. contest at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field. The game is set to be featured of BTN Plus.