April 7, 2018
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
April 7, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State softball team kept the No. 17 Michigan Wolverines scoreless through the first six innings of action in front of a sellout crowd of 1410 people before the Wolverines scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take the 3-0 victory Saturday, April 7 at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field.
"I know yesterday we talked a lot about how we would bounce back and I was really proud of how we bounced back," said head coach Amanda Lehotak. "It's kind of what we've done all year. We have such good kids they're fighters, they will never quit for Penn State and I can't say enough about Madison Shaffer right now. I mean, she pitched a great game, full seven innings, well enough to win and I don't know if we have had a pitcher go a full seven like that, at least since I've been here, and I'm really proud of how we played."
Sophomore Kennedy Legg (Keller, Texas) secured the lone Nittany Lion hit of the day when she doubled down the left field line to move Tori Dubois (Mt. Vernon, N.H.) to third base. Freshman Dani Fey (Bangor, Pa.) drew two walks in the contest for the Blue and White.
Junior pitcher Madison Shaffer (New Castle, Pa.) tossed a gem, going all seven innings with four strikeouts and giving up just five hits against the powerful Michigan offense.
Lou Allan led the Michigan offense with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh and Haley Hoogenraad drove in one run for the Wolverines. Meghan Beaubien earned the win, coming on in relief in the final two innings of work
Michigan put runners on the corners in the top of the first inning and Shaffer came up with a huge strikeout on three-straight pitches to close out the inning before a run could cross the plate.
The Nittany Lions continued to work their way out of defensive jams as Shaffer got a ground out back to herself with two outs and runners on second and third to keep the game scoreless through four complete innings.
The Wolverines loaded the bases on a fielder's choice play with one out but again the Penn State defense stepped up getting a ground out followed by a strikeout from Shaffer to end the inning with the game still scoreless in the fifth inning.
Michigan used a home run with a runner on second to light up the scoreboard for the first time in the game and a single through the left side scored the third run of the inning and allowed the Wolverines to take a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh.
With two outs, sophomore Delaney Elling (Washington, Pa.) ripped a ball over the left field wall that was just inches to the left of the foul pole before Michigan secured the out to take the 3-0 victory over the Nittany Lions.
Up Next:
Penn State and Michigan will conclude the three-game series Sunday, April 8 at 1 p.m. at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field.