UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State softball team (18-18, 2-4 Big Ten) split the midweek doubleheader with down-the-road rival Saint Francis (15-21), taking game one in extra innings, 8-7, before dropping game two, 17-13, Wednesday evening at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field.
Penn State hit a total 10 home runs between the two games, bringing the season total to a program-record 33. The previous record was 31 set in 2006.
"I am really proud of how we fought back game one," said head coach Amanda Lehotak. "Game two I thought we fought well. However, I think the theme of the night is our lack of defense. We need to find a way to clean that up somehow. Coming back from Wisconsin we had the same issues and it was good to see our offense come back after the Wisconsin series. We are not always going to have pitching like we have had all year and when our pitching has a rough night, Saint Francis is known for their hitting and they continue to be a great hitting team. Our defense has to step up."
Game 1 (8 innings): Penn State 8, Saint Francis 7
Game one of the evening went back and forth, with Penn State coming out on top with a walk-off home run by Toni Polk in the eighth inning.
Saint Francis got on the board first with four runs in the opening frame off one hit and a defensive error.
The Nittany Lions responded with one run off one hit and two Saint Francis errors to cut their deficit to three after one.
The second inning was quiet for both teams before Penn State tied the game in the bottom of the third after back-to-back doubles by Toni Polk and Claire Swedberg before Chelsea Bisi homered to left field for her seventh of the season.
Saint Francis re-took the lead in the top of the fourth with a solo home run before lefty Bailey Parshall struck out three in a row to keep it a one-run game.
Penn State then tied the game in the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run by Delaney Elling, her first of the season.
The Red Flash went back on top with a run off two hits in the top of the sixth for the 6-5 advantage before sophomore Dani Fey's first career home run tied the game for the third time.
The seventh inning was scoreless for both teams to take the game to extra innings.
Saint Francis started off the free softball with a home run to go up 7-6 before Penn State took the game after a single by Melina Livingston to get on base before Polk blasted a two-run bomb to center field for the victory.
Polk finished game one 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBI while Bisi went 2-for-4 with two RBI as well.
Game 2: Penn State 13, Saint Francis 17
Game two of the doubleheader saw 30 combined runs and nine total home runs, with Saint Francis eventually finishing on top for the series split.
The Nittany Lions hit a program record six home runs in game two, including two from freshman Melina Livingston, the first multi-home run game for a Penn State hitter since the 2016 season.
Just like in game one, the Red Flash jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first and added another run in the top of the second before Penn State responded with three home runs by Destiny Weber, Dani Fey and Livingston to tie the game at 4-4 after two.
Saint Francis tacked on nine runs on five hits and some defensive mishaps by the Nittany Lions in the top of the third.
Penn State scored two runs on three hits, including a triple by Delaney Elling in the bottom half of the inning to make it 13-6 after three. The home team pulled within four after four after Livingston reached on an error and Claire Swedberg singled before Bisi hit her second home run of the day for the two-run shot.
The Nittany Lions continued to fight back after Saint Francis scored two more runs in the top of the fifth with back-to-back home runs by Livingston and Polk to keep it a three-run game.
Two runs by Saint Francis in the top of the sixth got the Red Flash to 17 while Penn State was only able to score once in the bottom half of the inning.
Four Nittany Lions recorded multi-RBI games in the tough loss.
On Deck
Penn State hits the road again and returns to Big Ten play, traveling to West Lafayette, Indiana, for a three-game series with Purdue, April 5-7.
Game Notes:
- Penn State hit six home runs in game two, a program high for home runs in a single game.
- Penn State now has 33 home runs on the season, a new program record. The previous record was 31 set in the 2006 season.
- Melina Livingston hit Penn State's first multi-home run game by a hitter since the 2016 season when Macy Jones did so against Michigan State on April 2, 2016.
- Penn State is 16-3 with scoring at least three runs.
- Penn State is 1-1 in extra-inning games this season.
- Chelsea Bisi is up to a 17-game reached base streak, a team season high.