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Feb. 9, 2018
GULF SHORES, Ala. -
The Penn State softball team opened the 2018 campaign with two losses at the Sand Dollar Classic, falling to both No. 11 Alabama and Virginia Tech Friday, Feb. 9.
Five student-athletes made their Penn State debuts as Dani Fey (Bangor, Pa.), Amanda Grieco (Basking Ridge, N.J,), Paige Johnson (Clarksville, Tenn.), and Kennedy Legg (Keller, Texas) all made starts for the Nittany Lions and Erin Murray (Great Falls, Va.) came in as a pinch runner.
Sophomore Destiny Weber (Grafton, Ohio) would drive in the first run of the season for the Blue and White when she placed a ball just behind second base to bring in the runner from second against Virginia Tech. Weber led the Nittany Lions on the day with two hits and one RBI, while Tori Dubois (Mt. Vernon, N.H.) notched two hits with one in each game. Junior Toni Polk (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) had the lone extra base hit of the day for Penn State with a double against Virginia Tech.
Senior Jessica Cummings (Owings, Md.) earned the start in both games of the day, pitching a total of 7.1 innings, suffering the loss in both contests at the Sand Dollar Classic. Junior Madison Shaffer (New Castle, Pa.) came on in relief both game for the Nittany Lions.
Game One: No. 11 Alabama 10, Penn State 0 (5 innings)
Dubois led the Nittany Lions in game one with the lone hit of the game, while securing three putouts in left field. Cummings pitched 2.1 innings in the loss, while Shaffer threw the final two innings for the Blue and White.
Penn State got its offense started in the top of the first inning when Dubois tallied the first hit of the season for the Blue and White with a single to second base before a wild pitch and a walk put runners on first and second with one out. The Nittany Lions were unable to bring in a run after loading the bases, heading into the bottom of the first scoreless.
Alabama had its first offensive strike in the bottom of the third inning when a walk put a runner on first before a slow slap between first and second placed runners on the corners with one out. An error at short scored the first run of the game, however the run would become earned when a triple into right center brought in three more runs for the Crimson Tide to take a 4-0 lead with one out. Alabama tacked on two final runs to take a 6-0 advantage into the fourth inning.
The Crimson Tide added on four more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take the 10-0 advantage and secure the five inning mercy over the Blue and White.
Game Two: Virginia Tech 3, Penn State 1
The Hokies were the first to threaten when they put runners on the corners with two outs. Cummings responded with a quick strikeout to allow Penn State to get out of the inning without a run crossing the plate.
The Blue and White looked to score its first run of the season in the bottom of the second putting runners on second and third with two hit batters and a ground out at the pitcher. The run was unable to score as a pop up in the infield secured the final out of the inning for Virginia Tech.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Delaney Elling (Washington, Pa.) reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to second when Fey was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with one out. With two outs on the board, Weber dug in and laced a single up the middle that would score Elling from second and give Penn State the 1-0 lead.
The Penn State lead did not last long as Virginia Tech scored two runs on singles through the infield to take the 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning. The Hokies used a third-straight single coupled with a Penn State error to bring its third run of the inning across the plate and take the 3-1 lead into the bottom half of the inning. The Nittany Lions juiced the bases in the bottom half of the inning but were unable to bring a run across the plate as they continued to trail 3-1.
The Blue and White could not overcome the small deficit in the final two innings, falling to the Hokies 3-1.
On Deck
Penn State will be back in action for day two of the Sand Dollar Classic Saturday, Feb. 10 with games against No. 14 Ole Miss at 11 a.m. and Georgia Tech at 1 p.m.