TAMPA, Fla. – Penn State softball (15-3) closed out day three of the USF Invitational with an 8-2 win over the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on Saturday morning. The win pushed the Nittany Lions to a perfect 5-0 on the weekend.
Penn State pounced early and quickly put the Eagles in a 6-0 hole after the top half of the first. Melody Coombs led off with a single, and Kaitlyn Morrison followed with a double, putting both payers in scoring position. Michelle Leone singled home Coombs before Lexie Black doubled to plate Morrison. Maggie Finnegan came to the plate and reached on a fielding error by the Eagles' shortstop. Morgan Farrah took an 11-pitch at bat and spun a double to the left field gap to clear the loaded bases and push Penn State's lead to 5-0. She advanced to third base on an errant throw. Farrah scored when Liana Jones hit a sacrifice fly to close Penn State's scoring efforts for the frame.
In the top of the third inning, Farrah singled then was replaced by Jenna Nelson as the pinch runner. Nelson was able to move to third thanks to a Lilia Crouthamel bunt and scored when Melody Coombs launched a sacrifice fly to center field.
In the bottom half of the inning, FGCU was able to move Avery Viancos into scoring position. She scored when Avery Viancos grounded out to Coombs and got FGCU on the board.
The Nittany Lions loaded the bases in the fourth for Liana Jones, who took a pitch in the shin, scoring one and giving the Nittany Lions an 8-1 lead.
Both teams traded scoreless efforts until the bottom of the sixth inning when Sam Leski used a pinch hit double for the Eagles to cut into its deficit and trim Penn State's lead to 8-2.
Bailey Parshall (8-3) tossed four innings of two-hit play. She fanned seven before handing the ball to Vanessa Oatley, who spun the final three innings of two-hit ball. She struck out five.
Penn State opens its home slate this Friday when the Nittany Lions host the Penn State Invitational.