UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State softball team stays on the road for a midweek rematch with in-state foe Pitt in the Steel City on Wednesday, March 27. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Vartabedian Field and will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.
SERIES HISTORY
- Penn State has the all-time series advantage over in-state foe Pitt, 15-8.
- Earlier this season, the Panthers took down the Nittany Lions, 2-0, in the Knights Classic in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 24.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
- Pitt is 4-25 overall and 1-8 in ACC conference play.
- Katlyn Pavlick leads the Panthers with a .303 batting average and has a team-high five home runs on the season.
- Abby Edwards is 2-6 and has made 18 appearances in the circle and holds a 5.61 ERA.
- In the February matchup, Alexee Haynes had two RBI for the Panthers' two runs while Brittany Knight picked up the complete-game shutout in the circle.
RUBBER MATCH TURNED CONFERENCE-OPENING SERIES WIN
- Penn State won its first conference-opening series since the 2016 season after taking the series from Michigan State, 2-1, in East Lansing, March 22-24.
- After a heartbreaking walk-off loss on Friday, the Nittany Lions rallied to score six runs in the seventh inning on Saturday to even the series.
- Penn State then shut out Michigan State, 3-0, in the Sunday rubber match to win its first conference series since the 2017 season (last - 4/28-29/17 at Maryland).
DINGER CITY
- Penn State has hit 20 home runs through the first 30 games, including five multi-home run games.
- The 20 home runs surpasses the 2018 season total of 19.
- Against Robert Morris on March 20, the Nittany Lions hit three home runs in a single game for the first time since the 2017 season when they did against Rutgers at home on April 21, 2017.
- Those three home runs also all came in the same inning for the first time since the 2016 season when Penn State last did so against Maryland on April 15, 2016.
- Against Michigan State on March 23, both home runs in the game also came in the same inning.
- Freshmen classmates Ally Kurland and Chelsea Bisi along with senior leader Toni Polk lead the team with four dingers each.
NO WALK ZONE
- Junior transfer pitcher Hannah Shields leads the nation in walks allowed per seven innings.
- The State College area native has given up just two free bases in 35.1 innings pitched.
MAGIC NUMBER 3
- Penn State is 14-1 this season when scoring three or more runs.
10 RUNS IS A LOT
- Penn State has scored 10 or more runs in three games this season, the most double-digit scoring games since the 2017 season.
- The Nittany Lions' 10 runs in the third inning against Robert Morris on March 20 is the most in a single inning in the Amanda Lehotak era.
FRESHMEN DUO COMBINES FOR SHUTOUTS
- The Penn State pitching staff has shut out three opponents in 2019 via the work in the circle by freshmen Kylee Lingenfelter and Bailey Parshall.
- Lingenfelter and Parshall combined to shut out Duke, 6-0, in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Feb. 15, Florida A&M, 2-0, in the Madeira Beach Invitational on March 3, and Saint Joseph's, 6-0, in the USF Tournament Series on March 9.
- Parshall also picked up her first career complete-game shutout against Michigan State on March 23. It marked the first shutout against a conference opponent since the 2017 season when Penn State shutout Rutgers, 7-0 (4/22/17).
- Junior transfer Hannah Shields also owns a complete shutout this season against Robert Morris on March 20.
- The five shutouts this season is the most since the 2017 season, when the team also had five that year.
WE'RE PARSHALL TO BAILEY'S STRIKEOUT SUCCESS
- Freshman left-handed pitcher Bailey Parshall has made an immediate impact in the circle for Penn State.
- The Belle Vernon, Pa., native leads the team in total strikeouts (116) and has three games with 10+ strikeouts.
- Parshall struck out 15 Detroit Mercy batters on March 2 to tie the program record for most strikeouts in a single game.
- Parshall is fourth in the conference and 28th in the nation in total strikeouts as of March 26.
- Parshall also has four saves on the season, the most in the conference and tied for third-most in the nation.
SENIOR CLASS AWARD
- Senior Tori Dubois has been named one of 30 candidates for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate softball.
- To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
ROAD WARRIORS
- Penn State played 25-straight road games to start the season before finally getting to play a home game.
- Of the 55 scheduled regular season games, the Nittany Lions will play 38 of them away from Happy Valley.
ON DECK
Penn State returns to Happy Valley for conference play, hosting the No. 25 Wisconsin Badgers March 29-31 at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field.