COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Trailing by a run, Penn State softball called on senior first baseman Lexie Black and sophomore right fielder Maddie Gordon to book a pair of RBI in the top of the sixth inning, granting the Nittany Lions a 2-1 win in addition to a series victory over the Maryland Terrapins on Sunday at Maryland Softball Stadium.
In one of the most competitive series of the 2023 season, Penn State came away with a pair of one-run games on the weekend in addition to a narrow one-run defeat on Saturday. The Blue & White climbed to 26-14 following Sunday's weekend finale, rising to 7-10 in Big Ten Conference competition in the process. In defeat, Maryland fell to 31-15 overall and moved into a deadlock with PSU, dropping to 7-10 in league action. In the all-time series between the Terrapins and Nittany Lions, Penn State extended its lead to 20-14 overall.
The Blue & White have found consistent success in the past two weeks, winning six of their last seven games dating to a weekend sweep of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on April 14-16. Penn State has won five of its past six league games and will look to carry that momentum forward into next weekend's stretch against Illinois. With all three of the team's contests against Maryland being decided by one run, PSU's record in one-run games improved to 7-4 in the 2023 campaign.
On a day where offense was hard to come by, the Nittany Lions came up with crucial knocks in the big moments to deliver their second straight Big Ten series win. Black led the way in the box, going 2-for-2 with a pair of singles and a walk, driving in the game-tying run in the top of the sixth with a single through the right side. Senior catcher Cassie Lindmark went 1-for-2 overall with a single and a walk, while Gordon went 0-for-2 but delivered a sacrifice fly that brought Lindmark around for the go-ahead score.
For the third consecutive game in the weekend series, Penn State called on the dominant pitching tandem of fifth-year stars Bailey Parshall and Kylee Lingenfelter. The Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, native Parshall logged her first start of the series, tossing 4.0 innings and 60 total pitches, yielding four hits and one earned run with a walk and four strikeouts. Lingenfelter came into the game to start the fifth inning, throwing 58 pitches in her 3.0 shutout innings of effort. The Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, native faced 13 batters, allowing one hit and three walks while fanning four.
After Maryland starter Courtney Wyche sat the Nittany Lions down in order to start the game, Parshall entered the circle in the bottom of the second inning looking to hold the Terrapins at bay early on. After a pair of Maryland batters recorded base hits, Penn State's defense took a free out on a UMD sac bunt and Parshall caught a pair of batters swinging to work out of the jam. The next one-and-a-half innings passed without incident, but Maryland was able to tally the opening score in the bottom of the third. With a pair of outs on the board, Amelia Lech stepped into the batter's box and sent a solo home run over the wall in left to give Maryland a 1-0 edge.
Parshall led the Nittany Lions to a one-two-three inning in the fourth, and Lingenfelter came into the circle in relief to start the next inning. After both defenses held strong in the fifth, Penn State mustered a gritty performance in the sixth to pull ahead. Junior third baseman Emily Maddock booked a leadoff walk to start the inning and junior Liana Jones came in to pinch run for her at first. On the first pitch of Lindmark's at-bat, Jones successfully stole second base.
On the seventh pitch of her plate appearance, Lindmark cranked a single to advance Jones and put Nittany Lion runners on the corners. After a litany of Maryland defensive adjustments, Lexie Black knocked an RBI single through the right side to plate Jones and move Lindmark to third. Moments later, Gordon belted a sacrifice fly to left that plated Lindmark and gave the Nittany Lions the lead. Despite a raucous seventh-inning rally by the Terrapins, PSU managed to hold on for the 2-1 win.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Lexie Black | 2-for-2, 2 H, RBI, BB
Cassie Lindmark | 1-for-2, 1 H, BB
Maddie Gordon | 0-for-2, SF, RBI
Kylee Lingenfelter | 3.0 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 3BB, 4K, 58 TP, WIN
KEY INNINGS
B3 | With a pair of outs on the board, Amelia Lech stepped into the batter's box and sent a solo home run over the wall to give Maryland an early lead. UMD 1, PSU 0.
T6 | Emily Maddock booked a leadoff walk to start the inning and Liana Jones came in to pinch run for her at first. On the first pitch of Cassie Lindmark's at-bat, Jones successfully stole second base. On the seventh pitch of her plate appearance, Lindmark cranked a single to advance Jones and put Nittany Lion runners on the corners. After a litany of Maryland defensive adjustments, Lexie Black knocked an RBI single through the right side to plate Jones and move Lindmark to third. After a PSU groundout, Maddie Gordon belted a sacrifice fly to left that plated Lindmark and gave the Nittany Lions the lead. PSU 2, UMD 1.
UP NEXT
Penn State softball returns home for the final time in the 2023 campaign, as the Nittany Lions play host to the Illinois Fighting Illini in a three-game series on Beard Field at Nittany Lion Softball Park. The Blue & White open the series on Friday, April 28, with a 5 p.m. first pitch on B1G+.
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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.
