UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State softball enters the final two weeks of the regular season and continues Big Ten Conference competition on April 28-30, as the Nittany Lions welcome the Illinois Fighting Illini for a three-game stretch. PSU will celebrate its seven graduating seniors in addition to three fifth-years throughout the weekend.
Penn State will celebrate its senior class immediately prior to Saturday's game. Senior day ceremonies were initially scheduled to precede Sunday's weekend finale but were moved in the best interest of senior student-athletes and their families.
GAME INFORMATION
Illinois at Penn State | Friday, April 28 | 5 p.m. ET | B1G+ | 93.3 FM | Live Stats | Tickets
Illinois at Penn State | Saturday, April 29 | 2 p.m. ET | B1G+ | 93.3 FM | Live Stats | Tickets
Illinois at Penn State | Sunday, April 30 | 1 p.m. ET | B1G+ | 93.3 FM | Live Stats | Tickets
QUICK HITS
Penn State heads into the home stretch of Big Ten Conference play coming off an impressive series win last week on the road against the Maryland Terrapins. Senior first baseman Lexie Black secured the first Big Ten Player of the Week accolade of her career on April 24, garnering PSU's first POTW award of the season and fourth B1G weekly honor overall. Black hit .500 last week and totaled a trio of homers in addition to seven RBI.
Senior left fielder Maggie Finnegan has seen continued success in the batter's box, as the McHenry, Illinois, native is hitting at a .579 clip in the last seven games. PSU's pitching staff has seen a resurgence in the last seven contests as well, allowing just seven earned runs in that span with a combined ERA of 1.04 since sweeping Rutgers. Penn State ranks inside the top-30 nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (16th, 3.43), doubles per game (27th, 1.52), shutouts (27th, 11) and ERA (30th, 2.22). The Nittany Lions rank second in the B1G in ERA.
ENGINES REVVIN' IN THE LAST SEVEN
In the team's last seven games, the Nittany Lions have amassed a striking 6-1 overall record, one of the most dominant stretches in the Big Ten Conference in that span. PSU has recorded a pair of series victories in the past two weeks, aided by a home sweep of Rutgers before downing Maryland in two-of-three games a week ago. Since the series opener against Rutgers on April 14, Penn State has five batters hitting .300 or better, including Maggie Finnegan (.579), Emily Maddock (.421), Lexie Black (.375), Cassie Lindmark (.333) and Maddie Gordon (.300). Fifth-year pitchers Bailey Parshall and Kylee Lingenfelter own a combined ERA of 1.04 in the past two weeks.
LIVIN' LIKE LEXIE
Senior first baseman Lexie Black garnered the first Big Ten Player of the Week accolade of her collegiate career on April 24, landing PSU's fourth weekly B1G award of 2023. The Omaha, Nebraska, native led the Nittany Lions to three wins in four contests highlighted by a series victory on the road at Maryland. She finished the week hitting .500 with a 5-for-10 mark at the plate, sending a trio of homers over the wall in addition to seven RBI. Black took 14 total bases across four games played, finishing with an astronomical slugging percentage of 1.400.
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING ILLINI
Head coach Tyra Perry leads Illinois into its penultimate weekend series of the 2023 season maintaining a 28-21 overall record with a 6-11 mark against Big Ten Conference challengers. The Fighting Illini have cultivated success in the past two weeks, building a 4-1 record in their last five games stemming from a weekend sweep of Michigan State at home in addition to a midweek win over the DePaul Blue Demons. On an offensive basis, Illinois is led in batting average (.357), OPS (1.078), hits (55) home runs (12) and RBI (47) by senior outfielder Kelly Ryono. In the circle, Sydney Sickels ranks second on the roster in ERA (3.10) and leads the team in wins (13-9).
SERIES HISTORY
Entering the 46th all-time meeting of the two programs on Friday evening, Illinois maintains a 28-17 lead over Penn State dating to their first matchup in the 2001 campaign. In the last 10 meetings, Illinois has run up a 7-3 record against the Blue & White starting with a win in the 2017 Big Ten Tournament. PSU is fresh off a series victory over the Fighting Illini during the 2022 season, with the Nittany Lions snagging two-of-three games in Champaign a year ago. In the last series in University Park, Penn State dropped the first two meetings before stealing the weekend finale in 2018.
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.
