| PENN STATE at LSU TOURNAMENT | | | 0-0-0 (0-0-0) |
| Friday, Feb. 10 - Sunday, Feb. 12 | Tiger Park Baton Rouge, La. | |
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Feb. 9, 2016
PENN STATE OPENS 2017 AT LSU TOURNAMENT
After a successful 2016 season where it finished fourth in the Big Ten Conference, the Penn State softball team opens the 2017 season at the LSU Tournament in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Feb. 10-12. The Nittany Lions will play five contests against three opponents starting with McNeese State on Friday, Feb. 10 before concluding the first day against host and 2016 NCAA World Series participant LSU. The Blue and White will match up against Oklahoma State on Saturday, Feb. 11 as well as take on the Tigers for the second time in a 5:30 p.m. contest. Penn State will conclude the weekend with a neutral site match against McNeese State Sunday, Feb. 12 at 10 a.m.
TRAVELING NITTANY LIONS
Penn State softball will hit the road for 35 of its 52 games, traveling a whopping 12,765 miles in the 2017 season. The Nittany Lions first travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. for the LSU Tournament before heading to Atlanta, Georgia for its first appearance in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Blue and White close out the month of February in Conway, South Carolina for the Chanticleer Showdown and open the month of March at the Colorado State Classic. Penn State continues its five weeks of travel in Washington with a doubleheader against Seattle and two games in the Husky Classic. Following a short four-game home stint, the Nittany Lions go back on the road to Michigan and Pittsburgh and also make trips out to Michigan State, Nebraska and Maryland in the 2017 campaign.
SCOUTING McNEESE STATE
McNeese State enters the 2017 season fresh off an NCAA Regional appearance and a 43-14 overall record in the 2016 campaign. First year head coach James Landreneau will take the reins this season after spending four years as the assistant coach, while the Cowgirls return All-American Erika Piancastelli to the lineup for her junior season. Piancastelli hit a team-high .428 with 62 hits, including 15 doubles, one triple and 22 home runs and driving in 49 RBI. The junior also stole 11 bases on 14 attempts and was named a 2017 Fastpitch News Preseason All-American.
Despite returning its top hitters in the 2017 season, McNeese State suffered the loss of its top two hurlers in the 2016 campaign. However, the Cowgirls return Rachel Smith and Jolie Trahan who each made 12 appearances in the circle in the 2016 season. Smith posted a 7-2 overall record with four complete games and a 3.02 earned run average, while Trahan was 2-4 on the year with one complete contest and a 4.42 ERA.
No. 4 LSU LOOKING FOR RETURN TO WCWS
LSU comes into the 2017 season as a top five team in both major national polls with the NFCA ranking the Tigers tied for fourth and USA Softball pinning them at No. 5 to start the campaign. Beth Torina's squad posted a 52-18 overall record in the 2016 season with a run to the semifinals of the Women's College World Series for the second consecutive season.
Sahvanna Jaquish returns for her senior season and is poised to lead the Tigers as the returning batting leader after tying her own season record with 76 RBI in the 2016 season while hitting at a .343 clip with 69 hits. Jaquish, along with junior hurler Carley Hoover, have been tabbed on the USA Softball Player of the Year 'Watch List' Candidates in the 2017 season. Hoover posted a 22-8 overall record in the circle for LSU with 225 strikeouts and holding opponents to a .210 batting average.
PEEKING AT OKLAHOMA STATE
The Cowgirls finished the 2016 season with a 32-26 overall record under first year head coach Kenny Gajewski. Despite its winning overall record and return to the postseason, Oklahoma State struggled in Big 12 play, posting a 6-11 conference record. This season, the Cowgirls were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 as it is their highest pick since the inception of the poll in 2000.
Oklahoma State returns All-American Vanessa Shippy, who started all 53 games with a .425 batting average including 76 hits and 31 RBI en route to Big 12 Player of the Year accolades. Furthermore, Shippy stole 21 bases on 24 attempts and also slugged four home runs. Also returning for the Cowgirls is Taylor Lynch, who ranked second on the team with a .391 batting average with 40 RBI.
In the circle, Shea Coats will look to take the reins of the pitching staff as a right-handed senior in the circle. Coats tossed 70 innings in the 2016 season with 19 appearances and nine starts.
NITTANY LIONS COMING OFF HUGE 2016 SEASON
Lehotak led Penn State to its most successful season since the 2011 campaign with a 30-24 overall record and a fourth-place 14-9 record in the Big Ten Conference, breaking three offensive records in the process. The 2016 Nittany Lions posted a record-breaking .314 batting average with 468 hits that included 75 doubles. The Blue and White got off to its best start in conference action in the history of the program with an 11-3 record before winning a program-best five conference series and sweeping three B1G series in 2016. Penn State carried an 11-game win streak at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field, sweeping two conference series at home. The Blue and White secured 14 wins in 2016, which ranks second in program history and earned 10 wins for just the eighth time in program history. Furthermore, the Nittany Lions reached its 10 conference victories in fewer games than any other team as it took just 13 conference contests. The Nittany Lion offense had 23 games with 10-or-more hits and scored 10-or-more runs on nine occasions. After the conclusion of conference play, the Blue and White paced the conference with 457 hits, while ranking third with a .317 batting average and a .969 fielding percentage.
PSU TO PLAY 17 HOME CONTESTS IN 2017
The Nittany Lions will play 17 of its 52 scheduled games in the friendly confines of the Nittany Lions Softball Park and Beard Field. Last season, Penn State played 20 regular season games at Beard Field, posting an 14-9 overall record. The Blue and White also hosted the Big Ten Softball Tournament for the first time in school history where it picked up a win over Nebraska and fell in the semifinals to Michigan. Penn State has posted a 54-51-1 overall record at Beard Field in its six year existence which is good for a .514 winning percentage.
CONFERENCE TOUR
Penn State will see a slew of representatives from several different conferences this season, taking on teams from 16 different leagues in 2017. The Nittany Lions will take on teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (Georgia Tech, Pitt, Virginia Tech), Big Sky Conference (Idaho State), Big South Conference (Campbell), Big 12 (Oklahoma State), Horizon League (Cleveland State), Mid-American Conference (Buffalo), Mountain West Conference (Colorado State), Northeast Conference (Robert Morris, Saint Francis), Ohio Valley Conference (Morehead State), Pac 12 (Washington), Patriot League (Bucknell), Southeastern Conference (LSU), Southland Conference (McNeese State), Summit League (South Dakota), Sun Belt Conference (Coastal Carolina) and Western Athletic Conference (Seattle).
LEHOTAK BRINGS IN FIVE FRESHMAN FOR 2017
Head coach Amanda Lehotak brings in five fresh faces for the 2017 season. The 2017 freshman class includes: Delaney Elling, Amanda Ferlisi, Madey Smith, Christa Wagner and Destiny Weber. The class consists of two catchers, two pitchers and one outfielder.
ABRAMS JOINS COACHING STAFF IN 2017
Jennifer Abrams comes to Happy Valley after assisting the Seton Hall Pirates for three seasons and will serve as the Penn State's hitting coach as well as work with catchers, make travel arrangements and manage camps.
Serving as the Seton Hall hitting coach for three seasons, Abrams improved eight hitting categories for the Pirates including helping the 2015 Big East Rookie of the Year to finish 20th nationally with 20 home runs in 2015. Most notably, Abrams increased the team's home runs from 27 in 2014 to 60 in 2015, while increasing slugging percentage from .378 to .459 and RBI from 140 to 231. Abrams coached four First Team All-Big East honorees, two Second Team All-Big East honorees and one Big East Rookie of the Year in her three seasons as the hitting coach at Seton Hall. Furthermore, Abrams helped with the outfielders, devising individualized skill workouts.
13 NITTANY LIONS EARNS ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN HONORS IN 2016
The Penn State softball team had 13 student-athletes receive spring Academic All-Big Ten accolades following the 2016 winter semester. The honorees include: Gianna Arrizurieta, Jessica Cummings, Reina Furuya, Shannon Good, Macy Jones, Lexi Knief, Marlaina Laubach, Shelby Miller, Erin Pond, Sam Shanahan, Mollie Sorenson, Maegan Tupinio and Christy Von Pusch. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, student-athletes must be letterwinners who are in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
ON DECK
The Nittany Lions travel to Atlanta, Ga. for their first appearance in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, Feb. 17-19. Penn State will go up against host Georgia Tech two times and also take on Virginia Tech twice.
