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April 25, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State softball team felt twice in its final nonconference game of the 2018 season as Bucknell defeated the Blue and White twice Wednesday, April 25 at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field.
The Nittany Lions took the Bison to 10 innings in game one after scoring two runs in the sixth to knot the score at 5-5. Neither team was able to get on the scoreboard until the 10th inning when Bucknell scored two runs and earned the 7-6 lead over the Blue and White.
"I was really proud of our fight in the first game," said head coach Amanda Lehotak." I feel like it could have gone either way. Again, we continue to be fighters but we just couldn't get the big hit. In game two, we just have to find a way to pitch better."
The Blue and White were led by freshman Haley Vallejos (Chandler, Ariz.), who had three hits in game on and drove in one RBI, while Tori Dubois (New Castle, Pa.) drove in two runs on one hit in game one against the Bison. Sophomore Christa Wagner (Plainville, Mass.) also tallied two hits for the Blue and White on the day and drove in one run.
Senior Jessica Cummings (Owings, Md.) took the loss in game one and sophomore Madey Smith (Washington, Pa.) suffered the setback in game two.
Game One: Bucknell 7, Penn State 6 (10 innings)
Two-straight singles and a one-out single up the middle loaded the bases for the Nittany Lions and a Dubois single through the left side of the infield plated two runs to all Penn State to take the 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against the Bison. Bucknell responded in the top half of the third inning as it used three-straight singles to knot the score at 2-2 at Beard Field.
The Bison took the 3-2 advantage when a single into shallow center field scored the runner on second and allowed them to take a 3-2 advantage before a Penn State pitching change recorded the final out of the inning. The Blue and White juiced the bases in the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs but an infield groundout closed out the inning before the tying run could touch home.
Bucknell used a two-run home run in the top of the fifth inning to extend its lead to 5-2 over Penn State. The Nittany Lions capitalized on a Bison error in the bottom of the fifth inning when a sacrifice fly to right field brought the Blue and White within two.
Amanda Grieco (Basking Ridge, N.J.) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Gianna Arrizurieta (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) hit a clutch triple down the right field line to score Grieco from first and bring Penn State within one. The Blue and White rallied to tie the game at 5-5 when a ground out to second scored Arrizurieta from third to close out the bottom of the sixth inning. The defense on both ends of the ball kept the game scoreless in the seventh as the contest headed into extra innings.
Neither team could score in the eighth or ninth but the Bison put two runners on and a one-out double into center field plated two to give them a 7-5 advantage in the top of the 10th inning. Penn State battled in the bottom of the tenth inning, putting runners on first and third with one out for Wagner. Wagner placed a perfect slap over the top of the third baseman's head to plate Dani Fey (Bangor, Pa.) and bring the Blue and White within one. Bucknell used a strikeout to end the game before Penn State could push the tying run across the plate.
Game Two: Bucknell 13, Penn State 1 (5 innings)
The Bison loaded the bases in the top of the first and plated four runs on back-to-back doubles before Penn State made a pitching change with no outs and a runner on second. Senior Ashton Mensinger (Nescopeck, Pa.) entered in the circle to get three-straight outs and close out the inning for the Blue and White defense.
Bucknell used four hits and one Penn State error to tack on four runs and extend its lead to 8-0 in the top of the third inning. The Nittany Lions added one run in the bottom of the third when Grieco crossed home on a fielder's choice ball in the infield.
The Bison added three runs, two of which were unearned, in the top of the fourth inning to extend their lead to 11-1 before tacking on two final runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 13-1 victory.
Up Next
Penn State concludes its 2018 home slate Friday, April 27-Sunday, April 29 when Illinois comes to Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field for a three-game Big Ten Conference series. Game one of the series is slated to be featured on the Big Ten Network and will be played at 8 p.m., while game two is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 28. The Nittany Lions will honor their three seniors Sunday, April 29 prior to the noon game against the Fighting Illini.