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March 5, 2017
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Penn State softball team closed the Colorado State Classic with a 14-1 five-inning victory over the Buffalo Bulls Saturday, March 5 at Rams Field.
The Nittany Lions (8-10) scored a season-high 14 runs against the Bulls, including nine runs in the bottom of the second inning and tallied a season-best 14 hits in its final game of the Colorado State Classic. Penn State saw four hitters notch multi-hit games and five drive in multiple runs against Buffalo.
Senior Shelby Miller (Sugar Land, Texas) went 2-for-2 at the plate driving in two runs and scoring twice, while Sam Shanahan (Seattle, Wash.) went 2-for-3 at the dish and brought in two runs for the Nittany Lions. Sophomore Meghan Williams (Bethlehem, Pa.) laced a triple down the right field line with bases loaded to plate three runs, while Tori Dubois (Mt. Vernon, N.H.) notched two hits. Freshman Delaney Elling (Washington, Pa.) launched her second home run of the season and second of the weekend in the bottom of the first inning to bring in two runs and Mollie Sorenson (Stephenson Ranch, Calif.) rounded out the multi-RBI hitters bringing in two for the Blue and White.
Senior Marlaina Laubach (Northampton, Pa.) earned the start in the circle, tossing three innings and striking out four, while freshman Madey Smith (Washington, N.J.) closed out the final two innings of the game and earned her first career victory donning the Blue and White
Penn State woke up its bats early, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning on a Miller sacrifice fly and an Elling home run over the left field fence.
Buffalo came within two in the top of the second inning when a single snuck through the left side of the infield to score a runner from third base for the Bulls. However, the lone run would be all the defense would give up in its decisive victory over the Bulls.
The Nittany Lions capitalized on the second Buffalo mistake of the game when they loaded the bases for Sorenson, who laced a shallow single to left center to bring in two runs and extend the Penn State lead to 5-1 with no outs in the bottom of the second inning. The Blue and White tacked on seven more runs on four hits and three Buffalo errors, including a bases-clearing triple from Williams to take the 12-1 advantage over the Bulls to close out the second inning.
Penn State continued to add to its score in the bottom of the third inning scoring two runs on four hits to hold a 14-1 advantage after three complete innings. Smith entered in the circle in the final two innings and continued to shut down the Buffalo offense, allowing Penn State to earn the 14-1 five-inning victory over Buffalo.
Up Next:
Penn State will travel to Seattle, Washington Wednesday, March 8 for a mid-week doubleheader against the Redhawks. The Nittany Lions will start game one at 7 p.m. and game two is slated to start at 9 p.m.