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April 14, 2017
LINCOLN, Neb. - The Penn State softball team was the first to score but a walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth by Nebraska secured the Big Ten Conference game one victory for the Cornhuskers Friday, April 14.
The Nittany Lions (16-23, 4-8 B1G) totaled five hits on the day with sophomore Tori Dubois (Mt. Vernon, N.H.) going 2-for-3 at the plate with one double. Junior Gianna Arrizurieta (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) brought in the Blue and White's lone run of the day on a suicide squeeze with Kristina Brackpool (Valencia, Calif.), who singled earlier in the inning, on third base. Senior Marlaina Laubach (Northampton, Pa.) went the distance in the circle, giving up just six hits and striking out one.
Austen Urness went 4-for-4 at the plate for the Cornhuskers (17-22, 8-5 B1G), lacing the walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to secure the victory, while MJ Knighten brought in the first run of the game for Nebraska. Kaylan Jablonski earned the win in the circle, pitching all eight innings with five strikeouts.
Penn State generated its first offensive strike in the top of the fourth inning with back-to-back one-out singles but a hard hit groundout right to third base turned into a double play before the Nittany Lions could bring in a run.
Nebraska put two runners on base with a single through the infield and an error before a diving catch from Dubois saved a run from scoring to keep the game scoreless in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Brackpool led off the top of the fifth inning with a single to left field, stole second and advanced to third on an infield ball before sliding into home on a perfectly executed suicide squeeze from Arrizurieta to put Penn State up 1-0 over the Cornhuskers.
A single and the third Nittany Lion error of the game proved costly in the bottom half of the fifth inning as Nebraska knotted the score at 1-1 with a sacrifice fly to left field with only one out recorded.
In the bottom of the eighth inning with one out, Urness ripped a solo home run over the left center field wall to secure the walk-off victory for the Cornhuskers in game one of the series.
Up Next:
The Nittany Lions will look to even the series Saturday, April 15 when it takes on Nebraska at 4 p.m. ET.