April 18, 2017
| PENN STATE vs. BUCKNELL | | | | 16-25 (4-10, B1G) | 23-10 (6-3 Patriot) |
| Wednesday, April 19 | 5 p.m. | Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field University Park, Pa. | Tickets | Promotions |
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April 18, 2017
PENN STATE RETURNS TO BEARD FIELD
The Penn State softball team returns to Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field for a seven-game homestead starting with a mid-week non-conference contest against the Bison of Bucknell. The Nittany Lion and the Bison will play a doubleheader Wednesday, April 19 starting a 5 p.m. with game two to start approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of game two.
CATCHING THE GAME FROM HOME
Fans who cannot make the trip to Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field can catch all the action live on BTN Plus with a paid subscription.
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE BISON
Penn State leads the all-time series with Bucknell, carrying an eight-game winning streak against the Bison into the mid-week non-conference contest. The Nittany Lions lead the series 28-5 and have only lost to Bucknell on two occasions in Happy Valley. Furthermore, the Blue and White are 19-2 overall against the Bison at home and have not lost a home game to Bucknell since the 2007 campaign. Finally, head coach Amanda Lehotak is 6-0 all-time when coaching against the Bison having taken two games in each of the last three seasons.
SCOUTING BUCKNELL
The Bison come to Happy Valley with a 23-10 overall record, most recently taking two games from Robert Morris. As a team, Bucknell is hitting .296 behind Lauren Hadley's .389 batting average. Hadley is one-of-six Bison hitting .300-or-better on the season and leads the team with 42 hits and 11 stolen bases while crossing home on 27 occasions. Right with Hadley in hitting this season are Anna Gimmestad and Meghan Kovac, who are hitting at a .366 and .365 clip, respectively. Gimmestad paces the team with 11 doubles on the season and has scored a team-best 29 times, while Kovacs has been steady at the plate with 38 hits. Overall, seven student-athletes have driven in 10-or-more runs for the Bison in 33 games.
In the circle, Bucknell has relied heavily on the arms of Raeanna Geffert and Lara Bean who have combined to throw in all 33 games. Geffert leads the duo with a 1.83 ERA in 126.1 innings and 12 complete games, while Bean has thrown 68.1 innings. Also seeing limited time for the Bison is Lauren Licktenwalner, who has made 14 appearances and started six games in 2017.
DUBOIS HAS BIG SHOWING IN NEBRASKA
Although the Nittany Lions suffered setbacks at Nebraska, sophomore Tori Dubois had a good weekend at the plate for the Blue and White. The starting left fielder went 5-for-10 at the dish for a .500 batting average while driving in five RBIs and scoring three times for the Nittany Lions. Dubois drove in four of her five runs in game three against the Cornhuskers with a single through the right side in the fifth inning and a three-run home run over the left field fence in the top of the seventh inning. The Mt. Vernon, New Hampshire native also notched the elusive inside the park home run in game two against Nebraska when she hit a ball into right center field that forced a collision and allowed her to make a trip around the bases.
PITCHING DUO LOOKS STRONG AT NEBRASKA
The pitching duo of Marlaina Laubach and Madison Seifert had a solid showing for the Nittany Lions against the Cornhuskers. Laubach pitched a total of 11.2 innings on the weekend including one complete game, sporting a 1.80 ERA for the weekend, while walking just three. Seifert tossed seven innings on the weekend and did not give up a single earned run in her loss in game two.
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
The Nittany Lions remain home Friday, April 21-Sunday, April 23 when they take on Rutgers in a three-game conference series.
