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Mark Selders

Penn State Visits Purdue in Return to B1G Play

Opens in a new window SB Purdue Series Notes

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State softball team returns to conference play for the next 11 games, starting in West Lafayette, Ind., for a three-game series with Purdue at Bittinger Stadium, April 5-7. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. on Friday, 3 p.m. on Saturday, and noon on Sunday.

FOLLOW ALONG
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SERIES HISTORY

  • Purdue has the slight advantage over Penn State in the all-time series, 24-23-1.
  • However, the two teams have not matched up since the 2014 season when the Boilermakers swept the three-game series.

SCOUTING THE BOILERMAKERS

  • Purdue is 25-13 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten play.
  • The Boilermakers have wins over similar opponents of the Nittany Lions this season in Pitt, Central Michigan, Saint Francis, FIU, Saint Joseph's and FAMU.
  • Jenny Behan leads the Boilermakers at the plate with a .387 batting average and a .706 slugging percentage, including a team-high eight home runs and 31 RBI.
  • In the circle, the Boilermakers hold a team ERA of 3.17 while Sydney Bates reps a team-low 2.36 ERA with a 10-5 overall record.

DINGER CITY TURNED PROGRAM RECORD

  • Penn State has hit 33 home runs in the 2019 season so far, setting a new program record for total home runs in a single season. The previous record was 31 set in 2006.
  • Eight games this season have been multi-home run performances by the Nittany Lions, including a single-game program record six against Saint Francis on April 3.
  • Penn State has had three games this season where multiple home runs in the same inning, including three in the second inning against Saint Francis on April 3.
  • Freshman Melina Livingston's two home runs against Saint Francis in game two of the doubleheader on April 3 marked the first multi-home run game for a Penn State hitter since the 2016 season when Macy Jones did so against Michigan State (4/2/16).
  • Chelsea Bisi leads the team with eight home runs while Toni Polk has seven.
  • Penn State's 33 home runs is fourth-most in the conference behind Wisconsin (39), Illinois (38) and Minnesota (35).

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 three free bases in 49.0 innings pitched.

MAGIC NUMBER 3

  • Penn State is 16-3 this season when scoring three or more runs.

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).

10 RUNS IS A LOT

  • Penn State has scored 10 or more runs in four games this season, the most double-digit scoring games since the 2016 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.

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 (142) 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 27th in the nation in total strikeouts as of April 1.
  • Parshall also has four saves on the season, the most in the conference and fifth 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.

ON DECK
Penn State begins a five-game conference homestand at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field, first welcoming Ohio State for a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 9 starting at 5 p.m. live on Big Ten Network.