MINNEAPOLIS – Aided by a dominant afternoon in the batter's box from junior designated player Emily Maddock and a complete-game shutout from fifth-year pitcher Bailey Parshall in the weekend finale, Penn State softball split a Sunday doubleheader with the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.
Following Sunday afternoon's performances, the Nittany Lions climbed to 20-8 overall with a 2-4 start to Big Ten Conference competition. PSU's 2023 squad became the fastest team to 20 wins since the 2008 Nittany Lions logged an identical 20-8 start to the season. The Blue & White also secured their first instance of back-to-back seasons with 20 or more wins since the 2015, 2016 and 2017 teams recorded 20-plus victories in three consecutive years. Minnesota moved to 21-14 overall and owns an identical B1G ledger to Penn State with a 2-4 start in the league.
In the box, Maddock once again led the way for Penn State, going 4-for-6 overall with four singles and a run batted in. Maddock's dominance against Big Ten pitchers improved against the Golden Gophers, with the Kempton, Pennsylvania, native going 12-for-20 since conference play began last week against Iowa. Her 0.600 batting average during B1G action leads all Nittany Lion bats through the first six league games. Additionally, Maddock has recorded at least one hit in each of the past seven games, the longest hitting streak by any Nittany Lion in 2023. Junior catcher Cassie Lindmark came up with a pair of crucial hits on Sunday, going 2-for-5 overall with a run and pair of RBI.
Parshall continued her stretch of successful outings in the circle on Sunday afternoon, securing her 10th complete game and fifth shutout of the season in the weekend finale. The Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, native tossed 87 pitches and struck out five batters with no walks allowed, also scattering just three hits in Sunday's finale. Parshall tallied the win for Penn State, bringing her overall record to 13-6 in 2023. In game one, fifth-year right-hander Kylee Lingenfelter saw 4.2 innings of work, yielding seven hits and three runs while fanning two. Oatley pitched 1.1 no-hit innings in relief, striking out two batters with no walks allowed on 23 total pitches.
The first leg of Sunday's doubleheader saw Minnesota secure the weekend series with a 3-1 performance, aided by a pair of crucial at-bats from first baseman Kayla Chavez. Chavez belted a triple into right centerfield, and after a pair of quick Golden Gopher outs, Taylor Krapf logged an infield single that brought Chavez home for the opening score in the bottom of the first. In the bottom of the fifth, Delanie Cox doubled to right center, and Amani Bradley moved Cox to third via sacrifice bunt. The ensuing at-bat saw Chavez launch a homer deep to left center that put Minnesota ahead by three. PSU scratched one across in the top of the sixth, but the Golden Gophers held on for the 3-1 win.
Seeking to end a four-game slide, the Penn State bats returned with a vengeance in the weekend finale. Although the Nittany Lions ended with just two runs, the PSU offense recorded eight total hits in the second game of the doubleheader, applying relentless pressure to the Golden Gopher pitching staff and defense. The top of the first inning set the tone for the game, as Lindmark drew a walk on four straight balls in the first at-bat of the contest. Maddock tallied her first of three hits in the game via a single to left field that moved Lindmark to second. Senior third baseman Kaitlyn Morrison grounded out to second, but managed to advance both Lindmark and Maddock forward a base. Lexie Black singled to the pitcher, ultimately plating Lindmark for the 1-0 Nittany Lion lead.
After allowing a Golden Gopher hit in their first at-bat, the next three Minnesota batters sat back down in order, allowing PSU to return to the batter's box with a 1-0 advantage in the top of the second. Senior leftfielder Maggie Finnegan singled to open the frame and advanced to second on a Lydia Coleman grounder. Following another quick groundout, Lindmark recorded a two-out RBI single up the middle that brought Finnegan home and put the Nittany Lions ahead by two. Parshall punched out four more batters the rest of the way, and a double play turned by junior second baseman Melody Coombs in the bottom of the seventh put a bow on PSU's domineering 2-0 performance.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (GAME ONE)
Emily Maddock | 1-for-2, RBI, HBP
Cassie Lindmark | 1-for-2, 2B
Vanessa Oatley | 1.1 IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 2K, 23T,
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (GAME TWO)
Emily Maddock | 3-for-4, 3 1B
Cassie Lindmark | 1-for-3, 1R, RBI
Lexie Black | 1-for-4, RBI
Bailey Parshall | 7.0 IP, 3H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 5K, 87TP
KEY INNINGS (GAME ONE)
B1 | Kayla Chavez belted a triple into right centerfield, and after a pair of quick Golden Gopher outs, Taylor Krapf logged an infield single that brought Chavez home for the opening score. MINN 1, PSU 0
B5 | Delanie Cox doubled to right center, and Amani Bradley moved Cox to third via sacrifice bunt. In the ensuing at-bat, Chavez launched a home run deep to left center that put Minnesota ahead by three. MINN 3, PSU 0
T6 | Cassie Lindmark doubled to left center on an 0-2 count and Maddie Gordon came in to pinch run for her at second. Melody Coombs popped out to second to put PSU's second out on the board, but Emily Maddock mustered a first-pitch single that brought Gordon home. MINN 3, PSU 1
KEY INNINGS (GAME TWO)
T1 | Lindmark drew a walk on four straight balls in the first at-bat of the game, and Maddock tallied her first hit of the contest via a single to left field that moved Lindmark to second. Kaitlyn Morrison grounded out to the second baseman, but managed to advance both Lindmark and Maddock forward a base. Lexie Black singled to the pitcher, ultimately plating Lindmark. PSU 1, MINN 0
T2 | Maggie Finnegan singled to open the frame and advanced to second on a Lydia Coleman grounder. Following another quick groundout, Lindmark recorded a two-outs RBI single up the middle that brought Finnegan home and put the Nittany Lions ahead by two. PSU 2, MINN 0
UP NEXT
Penn State softball continues Big Ten Conference competition next week, as the Nittany Lions remain on the road to face the Northwestern Wildcats in a three-game stretch beginning Friday, April 7 and concluding on Sunday, April 9. First pitch in Friday's lid-lifter on Sharon J. Drysdale Field is scheduled for 5 p.m. (ET) with streaming via B1G+.
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