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Penn State Returns to Florida for Panther Invitational at FIU

Opens in a new window Weekend 2 Game Notes

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State softball team, under second-year head coach Clarisa Crowell, returns to the sunny state of Florida for the second weekend of 2022 competition at the Panther Invitational, hosted by Florida International in Miami, Feb. 18-20. The Nittany Lions will face Cleveland State, host FIU, and Buffalo, as well as two additional games based on the results of the round-robin tournament.
 
GAME INFORMATION

  • Game 1: Penn State (away) vs. Cleveland State – Friday, Feb. 18; 12:30 p.m.
  • Game 2: Penn State at FIU – Friday, Feb. 18; 5:30 p.m. | Live Stream
  • Game 3: Penn State (home) vs. Buffalo – Saturday, Feb. 19; 10 a.m.
  • Game 4: Penn State vs. TBD – Saturday, Feb. 19; 3 p.m. OR 5:30 p.m.
  • Game 5: Penn State vs. TBD – Sunday, Feb. 20; 10 a.m. OR 12:30 p.m.
  • Live stats for all games available on fiusports.com. 

SERIES HISTORY

  • Having only faced Big Ten opponents in 2021, the Nittany Lions continue non-conference tournament play at the start of the new campaign.
  • The Nittany Lions will face Cleveland State, FIU and Buffalo, all familiar opponents in recent years as Penn State has come out on top against all three teams in the last matchups.
  • Penn State is undefeated all-time against Cleveland State (1-0) and Buffalo (4-0), while narrowly trailing in the all-time series against FIU, 2-3. 

SCOUTING THE FIELD

  • Cleveland State starts 2022 off with a 4-1 record after opening weekend, picking up two wins each over Incarnate Word and Prairie View. Freshman Melissa Holzopfel led all Vikings with a .556 batting average on 10 hits, two RBI and seven runs scored. She also picked up two wins in the circle with a 3.20 ERA and 24 strikeouts.
  • FIU struggled during the first weekend, winning the season opener against UNC Greensboro before losing four straight for a 1-4 record. Four Panthers are tied for a team-high four hits, while junior Madison Lewis paces the team with three RBI on a .308 batting average. In the circle, senior Kendahl Dunford has pitched a majority of the innings at 18.2 and holds a 4.87 ERA.
  • Buffalo heads into the Panther Invitational having not yet played a game in 2022. In 2021 the Bulls went 18-35.

LAST TIME OUT

  • Penn State started 2022 off on a winning note, going 3-2 opening weekend at the Northern Lights Southern Nights Tournament in Leesburg, Fla. The Nittany Lions beat Eastern Kentucky, Akron and in-state foe Pittsburgh, while narrowly falling to No. 11 Missouri and Uconn in one-run games.
  • The Nittany Lions were competitive in the first game against a ranked Mizzou squad, taking the Tigers to extra innings. Senior pitcher Bailey Parshall threw 10 strikeouts to reach and surpass the 400 career strikeouts mark.
  • Senior pitcher Kylee Lingenfelter led Penn State to its first victory of the year in a 4-0 shutout of Eastern Kentucky. Junior transfer Cassie Lindmark had a two-RBI single to seal the game offensively.
  • Lingenfelter picked up her second-straight win in the circle Sunday morning against Akron as the Nittany Lions would score three unanswered runs for a comeback 3-2 victory.
  • Parshall followed up her Friday double-digit strikeout performance with another 12 K's against in-state rival Pitt to shutout the Panthers, 1-0. 

WE'RE PARSHALL TO BAILEY'S STRIKEOUT SUCCESS

  • Lefty ace Bailey Parshall entered opening weekend just four strikeouts away from hitting 400 in her career and hit the mark on the first four batters she faced. Parshall finished the weekend with 29 strikeouts in 20.2 innings as the count to 500 is on.
  • After the first weekend of play, Parshall sits fourth in the Big Ten and 83rd nationally with a 0.68 ERA, and is seventh in the league with a 7.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Her 29 strikeouts were second most in the conference to Michigan's Alex Storako and is top-10 (eighth) in the nation.
  • The Belle Vernon, Pa., native owns 12 double-digit strikeout efforts after two more in Florida, including eight of the top single-game records.

ARE YOU NEW HERE?

  • Junior transfer Cassie Lindmark had a solid first weekend as a Nittany Lion after transferring from Kentucky in the summer.
  • Lindmark led Penn State in nearly every offensive category with a .417 batting average, five hits, four RBI, .500 slugging percentage, and .563 on-base percentage with four free bases.
  • The Lyons, Ill., native had a multi-RBI game against EKU and a multi-hit game against Akron to pace Penn State to victory in both contests.
  • Lindmark was also effective defensively, catching for Parshall against UConn and Pitt. She had 12 putouts in the rivalry game.

SPEED ON THE BASE PATHS

  • Penn State was extremely successful on the base paths in opening weekend, going 8-for-9 in stolen bases.
  • Senior Claire Swedberg was perfect, going 4-for-4 in stolen bases in the leadoff position, including two against Pitt.

ON DECK
Penn State travels to the Atlanta, Ga. area for the I-75 Challenge, Feb. 25-27. The Nittany Lions will play doubleheaders at both Georgia Tech (Friday) and Kennesaw State (Saturday), with a single game at Georgia State on Sunday.