WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Penn State softball team (19-20, 3-6 Big Ten) split the final two games of the conference series at Purdue (27-14, 4-5 Big Ten) Saturday afternoon at Bittinger Stadium. After falling in game one, 9-1, the Nittany Lions rebounded to put together a 13-hit performance to win 7-4 and avoid the series sweep.
Game 1 (5 innings): Penn State 1, Purdue 9
In game one of the doubleheader, Penn State jumped out to an early lead in the first inning but eventually fell to the home team, 9-1, in five innings.
In the top of the opening frame, Claire Swedberg put down a good bunt and beat out a bad throw, eventually advancing to second with one out. Classmate Chelsea Bisi then singled to right field and advanced Swedberg home for Penn State's lone run of the game.
Purdue scored eight of its nine runs in the bottom of the second on five hits and one error.
The game ended after the Boilermakers scored on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth by virtue of the run-rule.
Destiny Weber and Tori Dubois also had hits in the contest but were left on base.
Game 2: Penn State 7, Purdue 4
After struggling in game one of the day, the Nittany Lions picked themselves and rallied in game two with seven runs off 13 hits for the victory in the series finale.
Five Nittany Lions in Toni Polk, Claire Swedberg, Chelsea Bisi, Tori Dubois, and Destiny Weber recorded multi-hit performances, and Bisi and Polk both homered for Penn States' seventh multi-home run game of the season.
Just like in the first two games of the series, Penn State got on the board first. Swedberg and Bisi both singled in the two- and three-hole before Dubois drove in one run with a RBI-single for the early 1-0 advantage.
Purdue countered in the bottom half of the frame with a two-run home run to take the 2-1 lead after one.
The Boilermakers took the two-run lead after two, scoring one run on two hits in the bottom of the second.
Penn State then put up two runs in each of the next three innings to make it 7-3 after five.
It started with a lead-off single by Polk in the top of the third to get on base. Bisi then hit her ninth home run of the season to tie the game at 3-3.
Weber started off the top of the fourth with a double off the center field wall. While Purdue got the next two outs, Polk was not fazed and hit her ninth home run of the season out of the park with a full count to give Penn State the lead.
In the top of the fifth, Ally Kurland and Haley Vallejos started off the inning with back-to-back singles. Christa Wagner pinch ran for Vallejos and her and Kurland moved to scoring position before Weber came to the plate and hit her second-consecutive double off the wall to score both runs and give Penn State the four-run edge.
Purdue threatened with a run off a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh but the Penn State defense took care of business to avoid the series sweep.
Senior Madison Shaffer picked up the win in the circle while freshman Kylee Lingenfelter earned the save.
Purdue won the three-game series, 2-1.
On Deck
Penn State returns to Happy Valley for a five-game home stand, first hosting Ohio State on Tuesday, April 9 for a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. The games are set to broadcast live on Big Ten Network with Mike Monaco and Carol Bruggeman on the call.
