Jacksonville, Fla. – In her collegiate debut, freshman pitcher Paige Maynard (Shady Spring, W. Va.) tossed the 15th no-hitter in Penn State history and senior Baiiley Parshall (Belle Vernon, Pa.) struck out 11 for her second shutout in as many days as the Nittany Lions as the Nittany Lions improve to 4-0, marking the program's best start since 1974 (7-0). Saturday saw Penn State post a 3-0 win over Bethune-Cookman, and a 4-0 victory over Jacksonville.
Game 1: Penn State 3, Bethune Cookman 0
The Nittany Lions began the morning game by manufacturing two walks from leadoff batter Liana Jones (Langhorne, Pa.), who saw 11 pitches, and Maggie Finnegan (McHenry, Ill.).
Penn State couldn't scratch anyone across the plate in the top half of the first, but freshman Maynard, making her first collegiate debut, fanned the first batter of the inning and kept Bethune-Cookman's bats silent.
Jones continued a dominant weekend at the plate starting the third inning with a single. Kathryn Rex (Toledo, Ohio) was hit by a pitch for the second time putting runners on second and first for Kaitlyn Morrison (South Park, Pa.).
Morrison hit one in the direction of the Bethune-Cookman second baseman who wasn't able to make the play, allowing Jones to come around and score.
In the bottom half of the inning, Maynard continued to dominate in the circle adding her second and third strikeouts of the day and holding Bethune-Cookman to no hits.
In the top of the fifth inning, Lexie Black (Omaha, Neb.) belted a two-run home run to deep centerfield to extend the Nittany Lions lead to a 3-0 advantage.
In the bottom half of the inning, Maynard kept on rolling with support from her defense. She allowed no hits and struck out three through five innings of play for the Nittany Lions in the circle.
The sixth inning came and went with no team making any noise and Maynard was able to keep the no hitter intact the final two frames.
Maynard finished the complete game no-hitter with four strikeouts and no walks as Penn State downed Bethune-Cookman 3-0.
Game 2: Penn State 4, Jacksonville 0
Penn State came out again applying pressure with another Jones walk and then a Cassie Lindmark (Lyons, Ill.) single. The Nittany Lions loaded the bases with no outs but were unable to push anyone across the plate due to a 5-3 double play.
The Dolphins looked to respond when center fielder Madison Bratek doubled to deep right-center. Parshall walked the next batter but then settled in and retired the next two working the Nittany Lions out of a jam.
Jones led off the third inning with a deep double but was stranded on second to end the inning. Parshall held strong on the other end, striking out another batter giving her five strikeouts in three innings.
The Nittany Lions finally broke through in the fifth when Lilia Crouthamel (Allentown, Pa.) started things with a single. Jones followed with another hit and then Finnegan doubled to left centerfield to bring both Crouthamel and Jones home to give the Nittany Lions a 2-0 advantage.
Black registered her third RBI of the day hitting a sacrifice fly to center field (IN WHAT INNING?).
In the next inning, Melody Coombs (Mechanicsville, Md.) singled to begin the inning and then stole second base. Michelle Leone (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) walked and Crouthamel hit a sacrifice fly to center and Coombs scored, extending the Penn State lead to four.
Parshall was able to close the game for the Nittany Lions in the seventh to secure a 4-0 victory. She finished the game with 11 strikeouts ,which is tied for third all-time in Nittany Lions history.
Next Up
The Nittany Lions face Memphis to round out the JU/UNF Invitational Sunday, February 19 at 10 a.m.