TAMPA, Fla. – The Penn State Nittany Lions (14-3) used dominant pitching and offense to capture wins over Saint Francis and Marist on day two of the USF Invitational. With the wins, Penn State improves to 4-0 in the tournament.
Kylee Lingenfelter hurled six innings against Marist and kept the Red Foxes to three hits and one run. She added six strikeouts to her line on the night while allowing just one walk.
Offensively, Lydia Coleman and Kaitlyn Morrison paced the Nittany Lions against Saint Francis with 2-for-4 efforts to go along with two RBI and a run scored. In the second game, Michelle Leone dominated for the Nittany Lions hitting 2-2 with two RBIs and a walk.
Game 1- PSU 9, Saint Francis 3
Saint Francis came out strong against freshman pitcher Paige Maynard, working two into scoring position in the top of the second inning. Tessa Thompson homered for the Red Flashes to give them an early 3-0 advantage.
Penn State responded with an eight-run in the bottom half of the frame. Maggie Finnegan and Kaitlyn Morrison singled before Lauren Marcotte was hit by a pitch to bring Kathryn Rex to the plate with no outs and the bases loaded. Rex hit a rocket to third base that the Saint Francis third baseman was unable to handle to score Finnegan. Lilia Crouthamel followed with a double to plate Morrison and Marcotte, tying the game at 3-3. Lydia Coleman singled one batter later to score Crouthamel and Rex and give the Nittany Lions a 5-3 lead. Penn State turned around to load the bases when Lexie Black walked, and Maggie Finnegan hit an infield single up the middle. A wild pitch resulted in Coleman scoring and moved two runners into scoring position. They would score when Kaitlyn Morrison singled to center field. Penn State forced three Saint Francis errors to go along with six hits in the frame.
Both teams stayed quiet until the Nittany Lions were able to break through in the sixth inning and up their lead to 9-3. Maggie Finnegan reached on a Saint Francis error and then stole second base. The throw to second skipped off her ribs and into center field. Finnegan was able to jump up and score as the Red Flashes were unable to corral the ball.
Parshall shut down the Red Flash offense in her five innings of relief, holding Saint Francis to two hits and a walk.
Game 2- PSU 9, Marist 1
Penn State pitcher Kylee Lingenfelter and Marist hurler Calista Phippen traded punches to begin the game before the Nittany Lions broke through with three runs in the top of the third. Lydia Coleman led off the inning with a triple and score when Maggie Finnegan reached based off a fielding error. A two-out rally loaded the bases for the Nittany Lions. Morgan Farrah drove a ball in between the left fielder and the and shortstop to plate two and extend Penn State's lead to 3-0.
In the fourth stanza, Coleman reached on a walk before she stole second and third. Lexie Black took a full count and spun a double to the left field wall to plate Coleman and give the Nittany Lions a 4-0 edge.
In the fifth inning, Michelle Leone and Kaitlyn Morrison each singled to start things off for Penn State. Farrah delivered with an RBI single on the left side. Melody Coombs then scored Jenna Nelson, who pinch ran for Farrah, to give the Nittany Lions a 6-0 lead.
In the top half of the sixth inning, Morrison singled to bring home Emily Maddock, who grabbed a walk in her pinch-hit effort. Michelle Leone followed with a loud sacrifice fly to left-center field, which scored both Morrison and Finnegan and put the Nittany Lions up 9-0.
Marist was able to scratch across a run in the bottom the sixth for the 9-1 final.
Next Up
Penn State closes out the USF Invitational on Sunday with a 9 a.m. first pitch scheduled against Florida Gulf Coast. Penn State then returns to Happy Valley for the Penn State Classic next weekend.