Feb. 18, 2017
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Feb. 18, 2017
ATLANTA, Ga. - The Penn State softball team swept day two of the Big Ten / ACC Challenge to mark its third win of the tournament and fourth of the 2017 season Saturday, Feb. 18 at Mewborn Field. The Nittany Lions earned an eight inning 1-0 victory over Virginia Tech before taking an 8-3 win over Georgia Tech.
The Blue and White offense came to life in the final game of the day, recording a season-high 10 hits and eight runs. Sophomore Tori Dubois (Mt. Vernon, N.H.) led the Nittany Lions on the day with three hits and four RBI that included a two-hit game and a grand slam against Georgia Tech. Junior Mollie Sorenson (Stevenson Ranch, Calif.) and Rebecca Ziegler (Tucson, Ariz.) also had big days at the plate as Sorenson recorded three hits and Ziegler had two hits, one RBI and touched home once.
Senior Marlaina Laubach (Northampton, Pa.) went the distance in both contests for Penn State, tossing 15 innings with five strikeouts and giving up three runs.
Game One: Penn State 1, Virginia Tech 0 (8 inn.)
The pitchers on both squads kept the offense off balance through the first four innings of play as Penn State tallied one hit and Virginia Tech had two.
The Nittany Lions tried to get a rally going after a big defensive inning in the bottom of the sixth with two singles but the runner was caught trying to take third base to end the inning and keep the game scoreless.
The Blue and White looked to start an offensive rally in the bottom of the seventh inning when Mia Monopoli (San Francisco, Calif.) doubled off the left center field wall and Sam Shanahan (Seattle, Wash.) walked, while a ground out moved the lead runner 60 feet from home with two outs. The Nittany Lions were unable to bring in the run as the game remained tied at 0-0 and headed to extra innings.
Sophomore Toni Polk (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a walk before moving to third on a wild pitch and a ground out to the left side of the field. Virginia Tech chose to intentionally walk the next two batters before a ball to the left side of the field and a slow roller to short allowed the winning run to cross home and give Penn State the 1-0 win over the Hokies.
Game Two: Penn State 8, Georgia Tech 3
The Yellow Jackets wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as Malea Bell ripped a two-run home run over the left field fence to allow them to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
Trailing 2-0 in the fourth inning, Penn State loaded the bases on two walks and a single before the third walk of the inning was issued and brought the Nittany Lions within one of Georgia Tech. With two outs, Dubois dug in and launched a grand slam over the left field to give the Blue and White the 5-2 advantage.
The Nittany Lion offensive strike continued into the fourth inning as freshman Delaney Elling (Washington, Pa.) singled up the middle and a Shanahan single to left put runners in scoring position. Ziegler dug in and roped a long double off the center field wall to score the runner on third. Penn State used a ground out from pinch hitter Amanda Ferlisi (Hamilton, N.J.) to bring in the seventh run of the game before Polk placed a single in the middle of the infield to extend the Penn State lead to 8-2.
Georgia Tech tried to start a rally in the top of the seventh using three-straight hits to bring in one run but the Nittany Lions recorded the final out of the game to secure its third-straight win of the tournament.
Up Next:
Penn State concludes the Big Ten / ACC Challenge Sunday, Feb. 19 against Virginia Tech. Game time is set for 10 a.m.