April 21, 2017
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April 21, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Sophomore Tori Dubois (Mt. Vernon, N.H.) blasted a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning that would give the Penn State softball team its second walk-off win of the week in an 11-9 victory over the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers in a Big Ten Conference game Friday, April 21.
The Nittany Lions tallied 10-or-more hits for the 11th time this season when they tied a season-high 15 against the Scarlet Knights. For the first time in the 2017 season, every player in the Penn State lineup tallied at least one hit against Rutgers with five players tallying 2-or-more hits in the contest, three bringing in 2-or-more runs and three players hitting a home run. Moreover, Penn State notched its third game in the 2017 season in which it won in a walk-off and the second time in this week as it defeated Bucknell 6-5 in eight innings Wednesday, April 19.
Redshirt-sophomore Rebecca Ziegler (Tucson, Ariz.) led Penn State at the plate with three RBIs, including a two-run home run and a triple, while Dubois went 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and scored twice. Freshman Delaney Elling (Washington, Pa.) also brought in two runs for the Nittany Lions on her fourth home run of the season.
Senior Krsitina Brackpool (Valencia, Calif.) moved into sole possession of the No. 9 spot in career home runs in Penn State laurels after blasting a solo shot in the top of the second inning for the Blue and White and senior Shelby Miller (Sugar Land, Texas) ranks fourth all-time with 112 career RBIs after driving one in on two hits.
Sophomore Madison Seifert (Wildwood, Mo.) earned the victory in the circle, throwing the final 3.2 innings in relief, while Marlaina Laubach (Northampton, Pa.) got the start in the circle and Madison Shaffer (New Castle, Pa.) threw 2.1 innings in relief.
Rebecca Hall paced Rutgers with six RBIs on two hits, while Taryn Atlee went 2-for-5 at the plate and scored three runs. Aubrie Levine suffered the loss in the circle, pitching 2.0 innings in relief.
The Scarlet Knights capitalized on two errors in the top of the first inning to bring in two unearned runs and take an early lead over the Blue and White. Rutgers continued to press in the top of the second inning, loading the bases for Hall, who ripped a triple into right field to clear the bases and allow RU to take a 5-0 lead.
Brackpool started to close the gap in the bottom of the second inning when she launched her fourth home run of the season. Gianna Arrizurieta (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) followed it up with an infield single and touched home on a shallow Christa Wagner (Plainville, Mass.) single to the opposite field. With a hitter's count, Ziegler ripped the second home run of the inning for the Nittany Lions over the center field wall to bring Penn State within one, 5-4, after two complete innings.
A hit batter and a Miller single put runners on first and second in the bottom of the third inning for Elling. The freshman laced a single into left field, bringing in two runs and allowing Penn State to score six unanswered runs and take the 6-5 lead over the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers took its second lead of the game, scoring multiple runs for the third time when it brought in four runs in the top of the fifth on two hits and one Penn State error to take a 9-6 lead over the Blue and White.
Zielger stepped in with a runner on first base and drove in her third RBI of the game when she tripled into left center field in the bottom of the sixth inning. Sophomore Toni Polk (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) completed the lineup for Penn State hitters when she singled up the middle to score Ziegler from third base. For the second time in the contest, the Nittany Lions came from behind to tie the game at 9-9 heading into the seventh inning.
For the second time in the week, Penn State was forced into extra innings. The Blue and White retired the Scarlet Knights in order in the top of the eighth inning before Polk singled through the infield to put a runner on first with one out in the bottom half of the inning. Dubois stepped in and worked the count to 2-2 before ripping a home run over the center field wall to propel Penn State to an 11-9 victory.
Up Next:
Penn State and Rutgers will continue its three-game series Saturday, April 22 with a 5 p.m. contest at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field.