UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State softball gets set to wrap up its six-game homestand this week, as the Nittany Lions play host to the in-state challenger Bucknell Bison on Tuesday, April 18. First pitch on Beard Field at Nittany Lion Softball Park is slated for 6 p.m. (ET).
GAME INFORMATION
Bucknell at Penn State | Tuesday, April 18 | 6 p.m. ET | B1G+ | 93.3 FM | Live Stats | Tickets
TUESDAY'S PROMOTIONS
Join Penn State softball Tuesday night for the team's final Taco Tuesday of the 2023 season. Visit the concession stands throughout PSU's midweek contest against Bucknell and purchase a walking taco.
QUICK HITS
Penn State remains in University Park for the final leg of a six-game homestand, as the Nittany Lions return to action following a sweep of Rutgers last weekend. PSU improved to 23-13 overall with a 5-9 record in Big Ten play. PSU's defense came up clutch in last weekend's series with Rutgers, playing a trio of error-free games across all three contests. Penn State ranks inside the top three in the Big Ten in Earned Run Average (3rd, 2.39), shutouts (3rd, 9) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3rd, 3.45). PSU also ranks 15th nationally in doubles per game (1.60).
Junior third baseman Emily Maddock continued her dominant stretch in B1G play, leading the team in Big Ten batting average with a .489 mark against league foes. Senior left fielder Maggie Finnegan and sophomore designated player Maddie Gordon had landmark performances against Rutgers. Finnegan went 6-for-8 in the box, while Gordon hit the first PSU grand slam of the year during the weekend finale on Sunday.
PARSHALL RECORD WATCH
Fifth-year left-handed pitcher Bailey Parshall is one strikeout away from tying, and two strikeouts away from setting the Penn State career record in the category. Missy Beseres, a 2006 graduate of the program, currently holds the record with 745. Parshall enters Tuesday's game with 744. Parshall has also tied the program record for career shutouts with 20, matching the current record maintained by Jackie Hill. Her next complete-game shutout will secure the individual program record. The Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, native is also one save away from matching the program record of nine.
SCARLET KNIGHT SLAM
The Blue & White booked their first sweep of the Big Ten season on April 14-16, as the Nittany Lions notched a trio of wins against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. PSU notched a sweep against a Big Ten opponent for the first time since downing Purdue in a three-game stretch last season in University Park. Maggie Finnegan dominated in the batter's box, going 6-for-8 on the weekend with her first homer of the year in the weekend finale. Maddie Gordon also booked a standout performance, blasting her first two career home runs in addition to Penn State's first grand slam of 2023 in Sunday's 8-3 win. Defensively, PSU played a trio of error-free games while fifth-year pitchers Bailey Parshall and Kylee Lingenfelter each recorded complete-game shutouts in Friday's doubleheader.
SCOUTING THE BISON
Head coach Sarah Caffey leads Bucknell into Tuesday's midweek matchup maintaining a 10-25 overall record coupled with a 2-10 mark in Patriot League play. The Bison are winless in their last five games and hold a 1-9 record in their last 10, with the lone victory coming against Army in the first half of a doubleheader on Saturday, April 8. Bucknell is led in the batter's box by junior Zoie Smith, who holds a .362 average overall coupled with a team-leading 38 hits and 55 total bases. In the circle, sophomore Madison Roukey leads the way with a 2.48 ERA and a 4-5 record individually.
SERIES HISTORY
In Penn State's longest-running all-time series against a current Division I opponent, the Nittany Lions maintain a 32-8 record against the Bison. The Blue & White have won each of the last two meetings dating to the last PSU loss on April 24, 2019. The most recent meeting of the two programs saw Penn State put up a 5-1 win on March 29 of last year. The Nittany Lions first met Bucknell on April 25, 1966, with PSU recording an astounding 24-2 win in the all-time series opener. Penn State booked a 10-game win streak from 2008 to 2018, sweeping five doubleheaders with four at home and one on the road in Lewisburg.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State softball. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion softball team on Facebook at /pennstatesoftball as well as Twitter and Instagram @PennStateSB.
