KENNESAW, Ga. – The Penn State softball team used powerful hitting and took advantage of its opponent's mistakes to pick up two big wins Saturday afternoon over Kennesaw State at Bailey Park. The Nittany Lions won game one, 5-2, before sweeping the doubleheader with a 10-2 run-rule victory in game two.
Game 1: Penn State 5, Kennesaw State 2
Penn State scored five unanswered runs in game one to top Kennesaw State, 5-2, and get back in the win column.
Kennesaw State took an initial lead off the jump with a lead-off single and a home run over the center field fence to make it 2-0 in the opening inning.
But the Nittany Lions came right back to tie the game in the top of the second on a two-RBI single by junior Maggie Finnegan. Senior Lilia Crouthamel started the frame with a single to center field before junior Lexie Black drew a full-count walk to put two runners on with no outs. Sophomore Liana Jones then did her job to advance both runners with a sacrifice bunt while classmate Mel Coombs drew another full-count walk to load the bases. Finnegan came up to bat home Crouthamel and Black to put Penn State on the scoreboard.
Penn State carried this momentum to put together a three-up, three-down defense frame before tacking on more runs in the top of the third with a three-run bomb by Black to give the visitors a 5-2 advantage. Sophomore Lauren Marcotte and junior Michelle Leone each had hits to get on base before rounding the bases on Black's second home run of the year.
The score would remain as is for the final four innings as each team would have two hits and a handful of base runners, but the defenses stayed strong for no runs to come across.
Senior pitcher Bailey Parshall earned her fourth win of the season in the complete game and finished with five strikeouts.
Game 2: Penn State 10, Kennesaw State 2 (5 innings)
In game two, the Nittany Lions used nine more hits and took advantage of five errors by the Kennesaw State defense to score 10 runs for a 10-2 five-inning win.
Junior Cassie Lindmark started the Penn State offense off with a lead-off single to begin game two and advanced to second on the throw. She then got to third on a passed ball and went home on a muffed run-down attempt by the third baseman to give the Nittany Lions an early 1-0 lead.
Similarly to the first game, the Owls tied the game in the bottom half of the opening inning on two hits to make it 1-1.
The second inning would be uneventful as the Penn State defense did a good job to strand runners on the corners after two hits to keep it a tie game.
The third inning is where things got interesting for the Nittany Lions as they were able to take advantage of several Kennesaw State errors and bat through the lineup to tack six runs on the board.
Freshman Lydia Coleman started the frame off with a lead-off full-count walk and advanced to third on an attempted sacrifice bunt by Finnegan that turned into her getting to second on the first error by the Owls. Lindmark then batted both outfielders home to put Penn State on top again.
Back-to-back errors by the Owls' second baseman got senior Ally Kurland and Marcotte on base and scored another run. Leone then hit her second two-RBI single of the day to score another two before she scored herself on the fourth error of the frame.
In the top of the fifth, Black put a hammer down with her second three-run home run of the day, this time to dead center to make it 10-1. Nine different Nittany Lions would score during those two big offensive frames for a well-balanced attack on that side of the ball.
Not one, but ✌️ three-run dingers for @lexblack__ today 🥶#WeAre pic.twitter.com/4ddVXXVh1S
— Penn State Softball (@PennStateSB) February 27, 2022
The Owls added a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth to make it 10-2, but the Nittany Lions' eight-run lead after five full innings would give them the run-rule win, their second of the season.
Senior pitcher Kylee Lingenfelter started the game in the circle and pitched 2.0 innings before freshman pitcher Lydia Spalding came in in relief and went the next 3.0 innings for the win, the first of her young collegiate career.
ON DECK
Penn State concludes play in the I-75 Challenge Sunday with a single game at Georgia State with first pitch set for noon.
GAME NOTES
- Junior Michelle Leone recorded her fourth and fifth multi-hit games of the season with two hits in each game. Senior Ally Kurland had her third with two hits in game one.
- Junior Lexie Black registered her first and second multi-RBI games of the season earning three on the three-run home run in each game. Classmate Maggie Finnegan also had her first multi-RBI game of the year in game one.
- Junior Cassie Lindmark continues to be an offensive threat three weekends in as a Nittany Lion as she recorded her fifth multi-hit and third multi-RBI game in game two.
- Freshman pitcher Lydia Spalding picked up her first collegiate win in the circle in game two.
- Penn State matched a season best with 10 total runs, also done against FIU in a run-rule victory last weekend (2/20/22).