| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Feb. 19, 2017
ATLANTA, Ga. - The Penn State softball team wrapped up the second annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge with its fourth-straight victory, earning a 7-1 win over Virginia Tech Sunday, Feb. 19. The Nittany Lions swept all four games of the tournament with two wins over both Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech at Mewborn Field.
On the weekend, Penn State (5-4) outscored its opponents 19-6, giving up no more than three runs in any of its four games. The Nittany Lions tied a season-high 10 hits in the win over the Hokies, while sophomore Madison Seifert (Wildwood, Mo.) gave up just three hits to Virginia Tech in the seven inning outing.
Redshirt-sophomore Rebecca Ziegler (Tucson, Ariz.) had a career day at the plate for the Nittany Lions, going 3-for-4 with five RBI. Ziegler notched two doubles to bring in four RBI before launching her first career home run over the right field wall in the top of the six inning. Senior Shelby Miller (Sugar Land, Texas) and redshirt-junior Mia Monopoli (San Francisco, Calif.) drove in the final two runs of the day for the Blue and White on one hit each.
Senior Kristina Brackpool (Valencia, Calif.) and junior Mollie Sorenson (Stevenson Ranch, Calif.) also tallied multi-hit games for the Blue and White, each notching two hits on the day, while Brackpool touched home one time.
Emma Strouth drove in the lone run for Virginia Tech on one hit, while Breanna Davenport scored once. The Hokies used three pitchers in the seven-inning contest with starting hurler Chelsea Whicomb suffering the loss. Whitcomb threw one inning, giving up two earned runs, while Carrie Eberle pitched four innings of relief and Taylor Barnes threw the final two innings of the game.
The Nittany Lions drew two-straight walks in the top of the second inning and moved runners into scoring position on a Sam Shanahan (Seattle, Wash.) sacrifice bunt for Zielger. Ziegler dug in and roped a double on the left field line that rolled into the corner allowing both runs to cross home and give Penn State the early 2-0 lead.
A leadoff walk proved to be detrimental for the Nittany Lions when Strouth tripled down the left field line to score Davenport from second base and bring the Hokies within one of Penn State in the bottom half of the inning.
The Blue and White answered in the top of the third inning scoring three runs on a sacrifice fly and a double from Ziegler to take the 5-1 lead into the bottom of the inning.
Penn State added to its tally in the top of the fourth inning when Toni Polk (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) reached on a fielder's choice and came around to touch home on back-to-back singles from Tori Dubois (Mt. Vernon, N.H.) and Miller to extend the Nittany Lion lead to 6-1.
Ziegler continued to be a force at the plate in the top of the sixth inning when she dug in and ripped her first career home run over the right field wall to give Penn State the 7-1 advantage over Virginia Tech.
The Nittany Lion defense held the lead in the final two innings in the field, taking the tournament sweep with a 7-1 victory.
Up Next:
Penn State will make its way to Conway, South Carolina for the Chanticleer Showdown Saturday, Feb. 25-Sunday, Feb. 26. The Nittany Lions will play four games against four different opponents including Coastal Carolina, Campbell, Cleveland State and Morehead State. The Blue and White will take the field for the first time Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. against host Coastal Carolina.