Softball Starts Spring Break at Pirate-Spartan ClassicSoftball Starts Spring Break at Pirate-Spartan Classic

Softball Starts Spring Break at Pirate-Spartan Classic

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Penn State softball (7-3) continues its road slate to start the 2023 season as it travels to Hampton, Va. for the Pirate-Spartan Classic, hosted by Hampton and Norfolk State. The Nittany Lions are slated to face George Washington, Hampton, Norfolk State and Delaware.  

SERIES HISTORY 

  • Penn State and George Washington have matched up four times previously. The Nittany Lions hold a 3-1 record against Colonials. 

  • Penn State will face Hampton and Norfolk State for the first time this weekend.  

  • Penn State and Delaware have played three separate times, with the Nittany Lions holding a 2-1 series advantage. The Blue Hens got the best of the Nittany Lions last time, beating them 6-4 on March 11, 2022. 

SCOUTING THE FIELD 

  • The Colonials are coming off a 2-3 showing at the Cavalier Classic. A 16-1 loss to Virginia capped off what was an otherwise positive weekend for George Washington, as they played several tight contests.  

  • Hampton will enter the Pirate-Spartan Classic at 7-4 on the year after going 3-1 this past weekend at the Battle at the Bay Tournament.  

  • Norfolk State is also 7-4, coming into the weekend after winning three of their four matchups last weekend in the NSU-Hampton Classic. Senior Gabby Vaughn is the Spartans' leading hitter batting .345 with a 1.080 OPS. 

  • The Blue Hens are 5-8 after dropping seven of their last eight games.  

HOT START 

  • The Nittany Lions began the season 7-0, matching their best start in program history with the 1974 team. 

  • Penn State shut out five of its first six teams that they faced.  

  • The five shutouts were consecutive, which is a school record for most consecutive shutouts.  

SWINGING HOT BATS 

  • Senior Lexie Black leads the Nittany Lions in several different categories including batting average (.433), hits (13), doubles (5) and RBIs (12).  

  • Three Penn State players have hit three home runs in ten games for the Nittany Lions: Black, Liana Jones and Kaitlyn Morrison. Morrison hit three home runs at the Queen City Classic last weekend which led the charge for the Nittany Lions on offense.  

  • The Nittany Lions have only struck out 32 times compared to the 77 times that their opponents have been fanned.  

  • Penn State has outhit its opponents 75 to 34 in the early season.  

  • Maggie Finnegan (.459 on-base percentage) has nine hits and a team-leading eight walks while Jones (.447) has 10 hits and six walks.  

BASE ROBBERS 

  • Penn State is 18-for-20 during the early season when attempting to steal bases.  

  • Junior Melody Coombs leads the team with seven steals on eight attempts. Both Jones and Finnegan have three aside.  

  • The Nittany Lions have out swiped their opponents on the base paths, 18-7. 

NEXT UP 

  • The Nittany Lions will have a quick turnaround after the Pirate-Spartan Classic as they will travel to Tampa, Fla. for the USF Tournament where they will face Florida Golf Coast twice, St. Francis, USF and Marist. 


--PENN STATE--