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April 26, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State softball team was stifled by the pitching of the Saint Francis Red Flash in a mid-week non-conference doubleheader at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field Wednesday, April 26. The Blue and White were blanked 2-0 in game one before falling 1-0 in game two in eight innings.
Both games of the doubleheader were a pitcher's duel as senior Marlaina Laubach (Northampton, Pa.) gave up just five hits in game one and sophomore Madison Shaffer (New Castle, Pa.) allowed seven hits in an eight-inning contest in game two. For the Red Flash, Ethel Santai and Ketarah DeVries allowed just one hit each on the night at Beard Field.
Sophomore Tori Dubois (Mt. Vernon, N.H.) earned Penn State's lone hit in game one with a single into center field, while Rebecca Ziegler (Tucson, Ariz.) knocked a single up the middle in game two.
Sierra McKee drove in one RBI on one hit in game one for the Red Flash, while Kassidy Troxell went 2-for-3 at the plate in game one. In the nightcap, Troxell drove in the lone run on a double into deep right field to secure the win for Saint Francis.
Game One: Saint Francis 2, Penn State 0
Saint Francis wasted no time getting on base in game one as they loaded the bases with one out on the scoreboard. The Red Flash brought in two runs on a sacrifice fly to right field and a run-down play to take a 2-0 lead over the Blue and White in the top of the first inning.
The Nittany Lions put runners in scoring position in each of the first three innings but were unable to push any runs across the plate as they continued to trail 2-0 heading into the fourth inning.
The pitcher's duel continued the remaining three innings of the game, as Penn State could not find a way to score and fell 2-0 in game one against the Red Flash.
Game Two: Saint Francis 1, Penn State 0
The duel of the pitchers continued into game two as Penn State put its first runners in scoring position in the bottom of the fourth inning but were unable to bring a run across, as the game remained scoreless through four complete innings.
The Red Flash worked its runner to third base in the top of the fifth inning but Shaffer and the Nittany Lion defense used a ground out to prevent a run from scoring.
Ziegler tallied the first hit of the game for the Blue and White in the bottom of the sixth inning but Saint Francis retired the final outs it needed to keep the game tied at 0-0 heading into the top of the seventh inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, Shelby Miller (Sugar Land, Texas) looked to get something going when she worked the count to 2-2 and drew a walk with two outs but Saint Francis secured the final out of the inning to send the game into extras.
Saint Francis started a two-out rally in the top of the eighth inning with back-to-back doubles into right field to take the 1-0 lead over the Blue and White. Penn State was unable to come back in the bottom of the eighth, falling to the Red Flash in the tail end of the doubleheader.
Up Next:
The Nittany Lions will hit the road for one final time in the 2017 regular season Friday, April 28-Sunday, April 30 when they take on the Terrapins of Maryland.