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March 24, 2017
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - In a defensive battle through the first four innings of the contest, the Penn State softball team suffered a 3-0 loss to the No. 19 Michigan Wolverines in its first Big Ten Conference game Friday, March 24 at Alumni Field.
The Nittany Lions (12-25, 0-1 B1G) put up a battle on the defensive end of the ball as freshman starter Madey Smith (Washington, N.J.) gave up just two hits through four innings of work before allowing three runs to touch home late in the game. Smith suffered the loss in the circle, throwing 5.1 innings with three strikeouts, while Jessica Cummings (Owings, Md.) came in and took care of business with two strikeouts in the bottom of the sixth.
Sophomore Tori Dubois (Mt. Vernon, N.H.) led Penn State at the plate with two hits to center field, while redshirt-junior Mia Monopoli (San Francisco, Calif.) secured the only other hit of the game for the Blue and White with a single to center field.
Faith Canfield paced Michigan at the dish with three hits including two doubles and one RBI and both Lindsay Montemarano and Courtney Richardson drove in one run apiece for the Wolverines. Megan Betsa earned the win in the circle, throwing all seven innings.
The Nittany Lions saw an opportunity in the top of the second inning when Dubois singled into shallow right center field and a Michigan error put runners on first and third with two outs. Penn State was unable to push a run across as Betsa notched her fifth strikeout out the game to end the threat.
A leadoff double from Canfield and a sacrifice bunt put a runner 60-feet from home for the first time in the game for the Wolverines but two big plays from Toni Polk (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) on the defensive end of the ball closed out the inning with the score knotted at 0-0 after four complete.
Michigan broke open the scoreless game in the bottom of the fifth inning on a Richardson solo home run over the center field wall, while two-straight hits for the Wolverines with two outs brought in the second run of the inning and allowed them to take a 2-0 lead through five innings at Alumni Field.
The Wolverines extended their lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning when a leadoff walk crossed home on a ball deep at short with one out.
With one out, Dubois doubled into shallow center field but Betsa and the Michigan defense shut down the final two batters of the game as Penn State fell 3-0 to the No. 19 Wolverines in game one of the series.
Up Next:
Penn State and Michigan will meet for game two of the three-game Big Ten Conference series Saturday, March 25. First pitch from Alumni Field is set for 2 p.m.