MIAMI, Fla. – The Penn State softball team won twice Friday in the Panther Invitational, defeating Cleveland State, 4-2, and FIU, 7-0, highlighted by senior pitcher Bailey Parshall's perfect game in the circle against the hosts.
The Nittany Lions shine on both sides of the ball to start the second weekend of the season, totaling 22 hits between both games, scoring 11 runs on 10 RBI, with 18 strikeouts between the pitchers and good defense to contribute to the perfect game.
Game 1: Penn State 4, Cleveland State 2
After briefly trailing by a score of 2-1 after four innings, Penn State rallied to score two runs in the top of the fifth to regain the lead and not look back for the 4-2 win over Cleveland State in game one.
Senior Ally Kurland started up the bats for the Nittany Lions in the top of the first with a single before getting out at second on a fielder's choice from junior Cassie Lindmark. Classmate Michelle Leone then drew a walk to put two runners on with two outs and senior Lilia Crouthamel batted Lindmark home to put Penn State up early, 1-0.
Cleveland State battled right back to tie the game at 1-1 after the first full inning with two hits and an error.
After scoreless second and third frames, the Vikings took their first lead of the day in the bottom of the fourth with two free bases and a single to make it 2-1.
But the Nittany Lions took no time in taking the lead back, tacking on two runs in the top of the fifth. Sophomore Mel Coombs led off with a walk and stole second before advancing to third on a groundout. She then scored on a RBI-single up the middle by Kurland to tie the game.
Leone's second hit of the day then scored freshman Maddie Gordon as a pinch runner to give Penn State the 3-2 lead.
Three strikeouts by starting senior pitcher Kylee Lingenfelter in the fifth and sixth innings kept the Vikings from tying the game again, as did another insurance run in the top of the seventh when Kurland and Leone recorded their third hits of the day to make it 4-2.
Lingenfelter finished with seven strikeouts to tie her career high for the second time this season and moved to a season record of 3-1 in the circle with a 1.29 ERA.
Game 2: Penn State 7, FIU 0
Game two was truly a well-rounded game on both sides of the ball as the defense had no errors and the offensive totaled a season-high 12 hits, but all was outshined by Parshall's perfect game in the circle as Penn State would go on to beat host FIU, 7-0 in the tournament nightcap.
Parshall pitched Penn State's first perfect game since Missy Beseres in 2005 (3/30/05 vs. Saint Francis), retiring all 21 batters faced, allowing no hits, no base runners, and recording 11 strikeouts.
The first two innings were quiet with no score on the board before Penn State tacked on a run in the top of the third with a solo shot by Kurland.
The Nittany Lions started to run away with the game in the fourth, scoring three runs on three hits and an error. Junior Lexie Black doubled to the left field fence with one out and senior Shelli Rivard came in to pinch run. Sophomore Lauren Marcotte then doubled herself to score Rivard and advanced to third on the throw home.
Sophomore Liana Jones then laid down one of the best bunts ever to score Marcotte before advancing to second on a muffed fielding attempt by the pitcher. Jones also stole third and scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0 Penn State.
In the top of the sixth, Black and Marcotte teamed up again to add a run for the Nittany Lions with a lead-off double by Black and a single up the middle from Marcotte for the 5-0 score.
In the seventh, Lindmark doubled with one out before sophomore Amanda Mack and Black both drew walks to load the bases. Marcotte's third hit of the game would score both Gordon and classmate Lydia Coleman for the eventual 7-0 winning scoreline.
Parshall closed out her perfection with a swinging strikeout on the final batter.
𝓟𝓔𝓡𝓕𝓔𝓒𝓣𝓘𝓞𝓝 🙌#WeAre | @baileyparshall pic.twitter.com/IOu0GoCXxE
— Penn State Softball (@PennStateSB) February 19, 2022
ON DECK
Penn State continues play in the Panther Invitational with two more games on Saturday. The Nittany Lions will first face Buffalo at 10 a.m. to conclude round-robin play before seeding begins. The two-seed will play the three-seed at 3 p.m. and the one-seed faces the four-seed at 5:30 p.m.
GAME NOTES
- Senior pitcher Bailey Parshall threw Penn State's first perfect game since 2005 and only the fifth all-time.
- Parshall had 11 strikeouts against FIU for her third double-digit strikeout performance in four games this season. It's the 13th of her career.
- Senior Ally Kurland and junior Michelle Leone both recorded three hits against Cleveland State, the first three-hit game for a Nittany Lion this season. Kurland's three hits marked a single-game best for the senior, while Leone tied her career best.
- Leone also had two RBI against Cleveland State for her first career multi-RBI game.
- Sophomore Lauren Marcotte had three hits and four RBI against FIU for career bests in both categories.
- Junior Cassie Lindmark was the fourth Nittany Lion to have three hits in a game on Friday with three against FIU for a single-game best.
- Senior pitcher Kylee Lingenfelter tied her career high for the second time this season with seven strikeouts. She also had seven K's against Akron opening weekend (2/13/22).
- Penn State recorded its third shutout of the season in seven games. It marks the earliest the Nittany Lions have had three shutouts to start a season since registering three in 10 games in 2011.