EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Penn State softball team (16-14, 2-1 Big Ten) shut out Michigan State (11-18, 1-2 Big Ten) in the rubber match, 3-0, to take the conference-opening series, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at Secchia Stadium.
The Nittany Lions won their first conference-opening series since the 2016 season when they swept Rutgers on the road.
Bailey Parshall tallied her sixth victory of the season and her first career complete-game shutout, as well as Penn State's fifth shutout of the season.
The first inning was quiet for both teams as each offense had a base hit and left runners stranded.
Just like in the first two games of the series, the Nittany Lions got on the board first, making it 1-0 Penn State in the top of the second. Michigan native Melina Livingston doubled off the wall in center field with two outs before senior leader Toni Polk placed a sneaky base hit to the first baseman and Livingston used her speed to make it back to home plate.
Penn State added two more runs in the top of the third after Claire Swedberg was walked in the lead-off position and classmate Chelsea Bisi singled to left field to put two runners on with no outs.
Ally Kurland grounded out but advanced the runners to bring Haley Vallejos to the plate with a single out. Vallejos, continuing her hitting streak from the entire series, singled up the middle to score both Swedberg and Bisi and give Penn State the three-run cushion.
Michigan State continued to threaten but the Penn State defense was unstoppable, making incredible catches in the outfield as well as stopping ground balls in the infield to keep the Spartans off the board.
Parshall finished with four strikeouts, bringing her season total to 116. The seven team hits came from seven different Nittany Lions.
Up next, the Nittany Lions will look for revenge against in-state foe Pitt after dropping a game to the Panthers earlier this season, traveling to the Steel City for a midweek match-up on Wednesday, March 27 at 5 p.m. Penn State will then return to Happy Valley and conference play to host the ranked Wisconsin Badgers in a three-game series, March 29-31.
Game Notes:
- First conference-opening series win since 2016 (3-0 at Rutgers, 3/25-27/16)
- First conference series win since the 2017 season
- First shutout against a conference opponent since 2017 when Penn State shutout Rutgers, 7-0, on April 22, 2017
- Fifth shutout of the season, tying the shutout total from the 2017 season
- Penn State is now 14-1 when scoring at least three runs this season.