CLEARWATER, Fla. – Sophomore pitcher Bailey Parshall continues to dominate in the circle for Penn State softball, leading the Nittany Lions (11-14) past Western Michigan, 3-0, Sunday morning at the Eddie C. Moore Complex.
Freshman Kathryn Rex and junior Dani Fey both went 2-for-3 at the plate while Rex also drove in two of Penn State's three runs.
Penn State started the scoring off in the opening frame, taking a 2-0 lead after one. Redshirt junior Kennedy Legg hit a lead-off single and freshman Kaitlyn Morrison advanced her with a sacrifice bunt. Freshman Maggie Finnegan then singled to the right side to put runners on the corners for Penn State with one out before sophomore Melania Livingston drove in Legg with a sacrifice fly for the first run.
Rex then singled up the middle to score Finnegan to give the Nittany Lions a two-run edge.
The Broncos threatened in the bottom of the second with a stand-up double and a single in the first two at-bats to put runners on the corners with no outs. The Penn State defense took care of business, however, taking down the next three batters in order to keep Western Michigan off the board.
Penn State would tack on another run in the top of the third with a lead-off single from Morrison and a double to deep right field from Rex for her second RBI of the game.
While the Nittany Lion offense was stalled in the second half of the game, the defense, led by Parshall in the circle, did work to only allow three total baserunners on for the Broncos.
Parshall struck out 12 in the outing and didn't give up any walks while only allowing three hits. She's now totaled at least 10 strikeouts in her last three appearances.
On Deck
The Nittany Lions stay in Clearwater for their spring break trip and will play a midweek game at South Florida on Wednesday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m.
