| PENN STATE vs No. 25 OHIO STATE | | | | 15-21 (3-6, B1G) | 23-9 (7-2, B1G) |
| Wednesday, April 12 | 5 p.m. | Nittany Lion Softball Park and Bear Field University Park, Pa. | Tickets | Promotions |
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| GAME DAY LINKS | | BTN Plus (Gm. 1) | BTN Plus (Gm. 2) | Notes: Penn State | Ohio State
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April 11, 2017
PENN STATE TAKES ON OHIO STATE IN HAPPY VALLEY
Following a weekend road series, the Penn State softball team will return to Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field Wednesday, April 12 for a doubleheader against the No. 25 Ohio State Buckeyes. Game one of the two-game series is slated for 5 p.m. with game two to start approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of game one.
CATCHING THE GAME FROM HOME
Fans who cannot make the trip to Beard Field can catch all the action Wednesday, April 12 live on BTN Plus with a paid subscription.
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE BUCKEYES
Penn State trails the all-time series 53-31 with Ohio State having lost its last two meeting on the road. The Nittany Lions also trail the Buckeyes when playing them at home, 19-14. However, Penn State swept Ohio State in the 2015 home meeting between the two squads.
Head coach Amanda Lehotak will be looking for her third win over the Buckeyes and to remain undefeated in Happy Valley as the team won both its contests at home in her second year at the helm of the program.
SCOUTING NO. 25 OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes tie for third overall in Big Ten Conference play with a 23-9 overall record and a 7-2 B1G record after taking one win from Michigan this past weekend. With its shutout over the Wolverines, Ohio State has now blanked nine teams in the 2017 campaign.
As a team, the Buckeyes are hitting .307 with six players hitting .300 or better on the season while also leading the Big Ten Conference in home runs with 42. Furthermore, OSU ranks third nationally with 1.31 round-trippers per game in the 2017 campaign. The team is led by Lilli Piper, who ranks third in the Big Ten with a .425 batting average and fifth with a .792 slugging percentage. Piper has also knocked out 10 home runs on the season and Alex Bayne leads the Buckeyes with 11 round-trippers this season.
In the circle, the Buckeyes rank third overall in B1G action with a 2.24 ERA with its entire pitching staff holding ERAs under 2.50. Shelby Hursh has seen the most action with 17 appearances, 12 starts and six complete games to total 76.1 innings of work. Lena Springer has also seen a considerable amount of time in the circle with 62.2 innings of work this season.
SUCCESS AT HOME
The Nittany Lions hope to continue its recent success at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field in their doubleheader against Ohio State. Penn State is 2-1 overall at home this season, picking up the conference series victory over Indiana, April 1-2. The Blue and White posted a 14-9 overall record at home in the 2016 campaign which included two conference sweeps.
PUTTING THE PRESSURE ON THE HITTERS
The Nittany Lion hitters seem to like all the pressure of having runner on base when they dig in at the dish. As a team, Penn State may be hitting under .300 overall, but if there are runners on base, the Nittany Lions will most likely drive them in. This season, the Blue and White is hitting .382 with bases loaded and .287 with runners on base. Senior Shelby Miller has gotten up just two times with bases juiced and has successfully come away with a hit both times, while senior Sam Shanahan is 2-for-3 with the bases loaded.
OFFENSE NOT ENOUGH AGAINST MSU
Despite outhitting Michigan State 9-7 in its final game of the series, the Nittany Lions were unable to come away with the victory in the rubber match, falling 6-4. Penn State earned the 7-3 victory in game one of the series with Shelby Miller driving in three runs on a home run. Sophomore Tori Dubois led the Blue and White at the plate in the doubleheader with five hits, three RBIs and scoring three times.
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
Head coach Amanda Lehotak will make her return to her home state of Nebraska April 14-16 when the Nittany Lions take on the Cornhuskers in a three-game series. Penn State and Nebraska meet up at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday, April 14 and will play game two at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 15. Finally, the two teams will play an Easter Sunday contest at 1 p.m.
