Penn State Opens 2022 Season at Northern Lights Southern Nights TournamentPenn State Opens 2022 Season at Northern Lights Southern Nights Tournament
Craig Houtz

Penn State Opens 2022 Season at Northern Lights Southern Nights Tournament

Opens in a new window Weekend 1 Game Notes

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State softball team, under the direction of second-year head coach Clarisa Crowell, is set to open the 2022 campaign at the Northern Lights Southern Nights Tournament hosted by The Spring Games in Leesburg, Fla. Friday through Sunday, Feb. 11-13. The Nittany Lions will face No. 11 Missouri, Eastern Kentucky, UConn, Pittsburgh and Akron.
 
GAME INFORMATION

  • Game 1: Penn State (away) vs. No. 11 Missouri – Friday, Feb. 11; 10 a.m.
  • Game 2: Penn State (away) vs. Eastern Kentucky – Saturday, Feb. 12; 1:30 p.m.
  • Game 3: Penn State (away) vs. UConn – Saturday, Feb. 12; 4 p.m.
  • Game 4: Penn State (home) vs. Pitt – Sunday, Feb. 13; 11:30 a.m.
  • Game 5: Penn State (home) vs. Akron – Sunday, Feb. 13; 2 p.m.
  • All games will be live streamed via FloSoftball which requires a subscription to watch.
  • Live stats will be available for games 2-5 on GoPSUsports.com.
  • Tickets for the weekend can be purchased here.

SERIES HISTORY

  • Having only faced Big Ten opponents in 2021, the Nittany Lions head into their first non-conference tournament since 2020.
  • The Nittany Lions will face Eastern Kentucky, UConn and Akron for the first time in over a decade.
  • Penn State looks to get back in the win column against its first three opponents, trailing in the overall series against Missouri, 1-5, and UConn, 3-8, while looking to break the 1-1 tie in the Eastern Kentucky series.
  • The Nittany Lions aim to continue to control the overall series against both Sunday opponents, leading the all-time series over Pitt, 14-7, and Akron, 20-7. 

SCOUTING THE FIELD

  • Missouri ranks top 15 in all three preseason polls and comes into opening weekend after a 42-17 winning season in 2021 and a trip to NCAA Super Regionals. The Tigers are led by head coach Larissa Anderson who has a 96-49 record with Mizzou going into her fourth season.
  • Eastern Kentucky redshirt senior Sammi Miller hit .400 last season, including five home runs, 24 RBI, and 16 stolen bases. She led the Colonels in batting average, doubles, triples, walks and stolen bases. The Colonels went 35-17 a season ago and were featured in the NCAA Regional in Knoxville.
  • The UConn Huskies come into the 2022 season having made an appearance in their first Big East Softball Championship game since 2001 and finished the year with a 22-20 record. They are led by head coach Laura Valentino who heads into her second season with UConn.
  • Pitt struggled a bit in 2021 finishing under .500 with a 17-29 record. The Panthers did however end the year on a high note, upsetting No. 6/9 Florida State in the first game of the series finale.
  • Akron went 8-46 in 2021 and has a young roster again entering 2022 with 21 underclassmen.

2021 RECAP

  • Penn State struggled to get results in 2021, finishing with a 7-34 record playing only Big Ten Conference games.
  • The Nittany Lions however showed resilience all season, competing in all the games, including 18 contests that were decided by one or two runs.
  • Penn State won three-straight conference games against Rutgers April 9-10 for the first time since 2017. It also marked the first time the Nittany Lions won three consecutive games against the same opponent since 2016.
  • The season did end on a high note as the Nittany Lions took down No. 23 Minnesota, 4-1, in the season finale at Beard Field for the first win over a ranked opponent since 2017.

AGE AND EXPERIENCE

  • Penn State returns 18 players from 2021, including 13 upperclassmen, led by the senior class of Bailey Parshall, Lilia Crouthamel, Shelli Rivard, Kylee Lingenfelter, Claire Swedberg and Ally Kurland
  • Head coach Clarisa Crowell said in her preseason media availability on Feb. 8 that with her and her staff's first season at the helm under their belts that the team now understands the expectations as a program on and off the field and can grow from those tough experiences last season with most the group returning in 2022.

WE'RE PARSHALL TO BAILEY'S STRIKEOUT SUCCESS

  • Lefty ace Bailey Parshall enters the 2022 season just four strikeouts away from hitting 400 in her career.
  • Parshall, now a senior, sits sixth all-time in the Penn State record books for career strikeouts with 396 through three seasons, including two impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The Belle Vernon, Pa., native owns 10 double-digit strikeout efforts, including seven of the top single-game records.
  • Parshall also has seven career saves to stand third all-time in that category.
  • She finished the 2021 season fifth in the Big Ten and 47th nationally with a 4.88 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

  • Penn State softball welcomes four newcomers for the 2022 season, including three freshmen and one transfer.
  • The freshmen include Lydia Coleman (OF; Hoover, Ala.), Maddie Gordon (INF; Shenandoah, Va.), and Lydia Spalding (P; Youngstown, Ohio).
  • The Nittany Lions also added junior catcher Cassie Lindmark (Lyons, Ill.), a talented transfer from the University of Kentucky.

ON DECK
Penn State returns to the Sunshine State, just a little farther south with a trip to Miami for the Panther Invitational hosted by FIU, Feb. 18-20. The Nittany Lions will face Cleveland State, host FIU and Buffalo, with two additional games based on the finish of the first three games.