CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Penn State softball team (9-13) split day one at the Clearwater Spring Break Invitational, shutting out Yale, 2-0, before falling to Bowling Green, 4-0, Friday afternoon at the Eddie C. Moore Complex.
Game 1: Penn State 2, Yale 0
After a six-inning defensive duel, Penn State broke through with a two-RBI single by junior Dani Fey in the top of the seventh inning to secure the runs needed for the shutout victory.
Sophomore pitcher Bailey Parshall struck out a season-high 14 in the contest, just one strikeout away from tying her own single-game program record.
The Nittany Lions attacked offensively from the get-go with a lead-off single by freshman Kaitlyn Morrison and a drawn walk by redshirt junior Kennedy Legg but both were stranded to end the opening frame.
The next several frames featured three up, three down innings for both teams. Yale got its first hits of the game with two singles in the bottom of the third but neither runner was plated to keep the game scoreless.
The Bulldogs got at least one runner on in the fourth through sixth inning and the Nittany Lions got one on in the sixth but neither team could convert.
Finally, the cylinders clicked for Penn State in the top of the seventh as freshman Maggie Finnegan started things off with a double down the right field line with one out. Sophomore Ally Kurland then walked before senior Destiny Weber singled to load the bases for the Nittany Lions.
Yale was able to get a second out but junior Dani Fey challenged the Bulldogs' pitcher to a full count before getting one on the barrel and up the middle to drive in two runs, her second multi-hit game of the season.
Parshall and the defense took care of business in the final frame for their fourth shutout of the season.
Game 2: Penn State 0, Bowling Green 4
Penn State struggled offensively in game two of the day, falling to Bowling Green, 4-0.
Legg and Finnegan started the Nittany Lions off with a double and a single, respectively, in the bottom of the first after the defense saw the Falcons in order, but neither could be plated.
Bowling Green then got on the board first in the top of the second with one run on two hits and an error to take a 1-0 lead.
Penn State tried to answer in the bottom half of the frame by getting runners on via a walk and an error but both were stranded.
The Falcons added to their lead in the top of the fifth with two runs on three hits, and once again the Nittany Lions attempted to answer on offense with freshman Leanne Matthews reaching on a fielder's choice and Fey laying down a great bunt before Legg singled but Matthews was thrown out at home to end the inning.
Bowling Green tacked on another run in the top of the sixth to get to the final scoreline.
On Deck
The Nittany Lions continue play in the Clearwater Spring Break Invitational Saturday morning with contests against Seton Hall and Robert Morris at 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., respectively.
