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April 15, 2017
LINCOLN, Neb. - Holding a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Penn State softball team dropped a 5-4 Big Ten Conference contest to the Cornhuskers of Nebraska Saturday, April 15 at Bowlin Stadium.
The Nittany Lions (16-24-, 4-9 B1G) committed three errors in the bottom half of the seventh inning that allowed Nebraska (18-22, 8-5 B1G) to score five unearned runs and take the series victory.
Penn State recorded 10-or-more hits for the ninth time in the 2017 campaign as it tallied 10 hits on the day against the Cornhuskers. Their 10 hits also marks the second time in the week that the Nittany Lions have recorded 10-or-more hits as they had a season-high 15 hits against Ohio State Wednesday, April 12.
Senior Kristina Brackpool (Valencia, Calif.) paced Penn State, going 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBI, while Tori Dubois (Mt. Vernon, N.H.) had one hit and Toni Polk (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) tallied two hits and scored twice. Sophomore Madison Seifert (Wildwood, Mo.) threw six innings and giving up four unearned runs, while Marlaina Laubach (Northampton, Pa.) came on in relief to record one out and give up one unearned run in the loss.
Tristen Edwards went 3-for-4 at the plate with one RBI and one run for the Cornhuskers and Taylor Otte tallied two hits and one run in the Nebraska win. In the circle, Cassie McClure went five innings and relief pitcher Sydney McLeod earned the victory after throwing two innings in relief.
The Cornhuskers tried to open up scoring in both the first and second inning with back-to-back two out hits but Seifert was able to record both outs with a strikeout and forcing a ground out to short to close out the innings.
For the second-straight game, Penn State took the first lead when Dubois hit the elusive inside the park home run. Dubois knocked the ball to right center field as two outfielders collided on the hit allowing the ball to roll to the fence and the Mt. Vernon, New Hampshire native to make her way around the bases to give the Nittany Lions the 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning.
The Blue and White used a single up the middle from Polk and a hit batter to put runners on base with two outs for Brackpool with two outs. Brackpool stepped in a took the first pitch ball before ripping a double off the left center field wall to score two and extend the Penn State lead to 3-0 in the top of the fifth inning.
Two singles in the five-six hole put runners on first and second for the Nittany Lions before a two-out infield error proved costly for Nebraska as the Blue and White tacked on its fourth run of the game in the top of the seventh inning.
With a 4-0 lead, Penn State struggled in the bottom of the seventh as Nebraska loaded the bases with no outs before an error, a walk and a single brought in three runs that would allow the Cornhuskers to come within one with no outs. Nebraska capitalized on the third error of the inning from the Blue and White to take a 5-4 victory in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Up Next:
Penn State and Nebraska conclude the three-game Big Ten Conference series Sunday, April 16 at 1 p.m. ET.