| PENN STATE vs INDIANA | | | | 12-18 (0-3, B1G) | 16-16 (2-1, B1G) |
| Saturday, April 1 - Sunday, April 2 | Nittany Lion Softball Parka nd Beard Field University Park, Pa. | Tickets |
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| GAME DAY LINKS | | Video (Gm 1) | Video (Gm 2) | Video (Gm 3) | Notes: Penn State | Indiana
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March 31, 2017
NITTANY LIONS OPEN HOME SLATE AGAINST INDIANA
After playing its first 30 games on the road, the Penn State softball team opens its 2017 home season Saturday, April 1 with a three-game Big Ten series against the Hoosiers of Indiana University. The Nittany Lions will play a doubleheader Saturday, April 1 starting at 1 p.m. due to inclement weather in the State College area and will conclude the three-game series Sunday, April 2 at 1 p.m.
CATCHING THE GAME FROM HOME
Fans who cannot make it out to Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field for the home opener can catch all the action live on BTN Plus on both Saturday and Sunday with a paid subscription.
PENN STATE IN HOME OPENERS
The Nittany Lions carry a 32-18 overall record on opening day in Happy Valley and a 9-15 record when it starts Big Ten Conference play at home. Last season, Penn State dropped its home opener against Hofstra but came back to take a three-game sweep of Michigan State in its Big Ten home opener. This season will mark the 10th time since Penn State entered the Big Ten in 1991 that it has opened its home slate with conference action.
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE HOOSIERS
Indiana leads the all-time series, 36-29, as Penn State is slowly catching the Hoosiers after taking two games in the 2016 campaign. The Nittany Lions are 10-14 when taking on the Hoosiers at home after dropping all three games to Indiana in the 2015 season. Penn State will be looking for its second-straight series victory over Indiana this weekend at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field, while also hoping for its first home win over the Hoosiers since the 2012 campaign.
COMMON PRESEASON OPPONENTS WITH INDIANA
Penn State and Indiana have just two common opponents in the 2017 season as both teams have taken on top-ranked Washington and Buffalo. Both the Nittany Lions and the Hoosiers fell to Washington when the Huskies were ranked No. 8 nationally, while both teams also picked up five-inning victories over the Bulls of Buffalo earlier this season.
SCOUTING INDIANA
The Hoosiers head to Happy Valley with a 16-16 overall record after most recently dropping their midweek game to Louisville. However, Indiana won its first Big Ten Conference series of the season with two victories over Rutgers. Indiana is led by Rebecca Blitz, who has tallied 33 hits on the season with 10 RBIs and Taylor Uden, who has driven a team-high 25 RBIs on the season. In the circle, Tara Trainer has tossed a team-high 103.1 innings with 119 strikeouts to rank second in the Big Ten Conference and holds an 8-9 overall record.
STRANDED BASE RUNNERS PLAGUES NITTANY LIONS
The Penn State softball team fell 7-1 to in-state opponent Pitt after stranding eight base runners in the contest. The Blue and White scored one run on a Kristina Brackpool single up the left field line but was unable to bring in any further runs in the contest with the Panthers. Brackpool ended the day going 3-for-4 at the plate with one RBI.
MILLER REACHES 100 CAREER RBIs
With her 17 RBIs this season, senior Shelby Miller has eclipsed the 100-career RBIs mark. The senior third baseman has driven in 103 career RBI in her 177 appearances and currently ties for No. 8 in Nittany Lion career RBI laurels with Michelle Turk. Miller needs just one RBI to move into a tie for seventh overall and 34 RBIs in her remaining 25 regular season games donning the Blue and White to tie former teammate Macy Jones for the Penn State career RBI record of 137.
BRACKPOOL MOVES INTO SOLE POSSESSION OF NO. 9 SPOT
Senior Kristina Brackpool moved into the No. 9 all-time spot when she blasted her 18th career home run against Niagara, March 19. Brackpool launched a home run over the outfield wall to give Penn State the early 3-0 lead over the Purple Eagles. The Valencia, Calif. native posted a big weekend at the plate for Penn State, hitting at a .467 clip in four games. The senior first baseman tallied seven hits in 15 at-bats and drove in eight RBIs in Washington, D.C. Brackpool tallied two multi-hit games and two multi-RBI games, bringing in four of Penn State's seven runs against Niagara.
PENN STATE TO STREAM SELECT HOME GAMES
The Penn State softball team will stream 14 home games in the 2017 season. The Nittany Lions will have seven games featured on BTN Plus, which will require a paid subscription to view, while seven games will be on GoPSUnow and be free to the public. Penn State's BTN Plus games include two games in its home-opening series against Indiana (April 1 and April 2), the Ohio State doubleheader (April 12), the mid-week non-conference doubleheader against Bucknell (April 19) and the opening game against Big Ten foe Rutgers (April 21). Fans can stream Penn State's series finale against Rutgers (April 23), its mid-week doubleheader against Saint Francis (April 26) and its three-game series against Minnesota (May 5-7) on GoPSUnow free of charge. Furthermore, the Nittany Lions will be featured on the Big Ten Network twice in the 2017 season with their first game against the Michigan State Spartans set to air on Friday, April 7 at 4 p.m. The Blue and White will also take on the Terrapins of Maryland live on BTN Friday, April 28 at 6 p.m.
ON DECK
Penn State goes back on the road April 7-9 when it travels to Michigan State for a three-game Big Ten Conference series. The Blue and White square off for game one at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 7 and will play game two on Saturday at 1 p.m. Finally, the two teams will close out the series Sunday, April 9 at 1 p.m. Last year, the Nittany Lions came away with the three-game sweep of the Spartans at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field.
