EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Penn State softball team (15-14, 1-1 Big Ten) trailed by three runs heading in to the seventh inning, but a six-run frame helped the Nittany Lions top Michigan State (11-17, 1-1 Big Ten), 7-4, in game two of the conference-opening series Saturday afternoon at Secchia Stadium.
Five of the six runs in the top half of the seventh came via multi-run home runs by Toni Polk and Haley Vallejos for the Nittany Lions' fifth multi-home run game this season.
Penn State got on the board first in the opening frame for the early 1-0 lead. Polk singled in the lead-off spot and advance to second before freshmen classmates Claire Swedberg and Chelsea Bisi each had pop-ups to the outfield to bring their senior leader home.
Michigan State threatened with two hits in the bottom of the first but the Penn State defense was able to keep the Spartans off the board for the first two innings.
The Spartans took the lead in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs on four hits to go up 3-1.
Penn State had a few well-hit balls in the next three offensive innings but couldn't get more than two hits to drop.
Michigan State added what they thought was an extra insurance run in the bottom of the sixth but the Nittany Lions did not give up as they approached the plate for the final inning.
It started with a double down the right field line by freshman Anna Deshaies who came in as a pinch hitter for Dani Fey. Classmate Melina Livingston then singled to left field and Fey scored as the runner to cut the deficit to two.
Polk then crushed a two-run home run to center field to tie the game at four with no outs.
Michigan State's pitching staff then walked back-to-back batters to put two runners on for Penn State. Vallejos came to the plate with one out and on the very first pitch hit her first career home run to the scoreboard to put the Nittany Lions back on top with the eventual 7-4 winning score.
Bailey Parshall came in as relief in the bottom of the seventh and struck out two Spartan batters to earn the save while Kylee Lingenfelter picked up her seventh win.
The series will be decided Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch at Secchia Stadium.
Game Notes:
- Penn State is 13-1 when scoring at least three runs this season.
- The Nittany Lions have five multi-home run games this season.
- Penn State hit multiple home runs in the same inning for the second time this season.
- Penn State has two victories this season after trailing heading in to the seventh inning.
- Penn State has the chance to win the opening-conference series for the first time since the 2016 season.