WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Penn State softball gears up for its final weekend of the 2023 season on the road, as the Nittany Lions face off against the Purdue Boilermakers in a three-game series at Bittinger Stadium beginning on Friday, May 5, and concluding on Sunday, May 7.
GAME INFORMATION
Penn State at Purdue | Friday, May 5 | 5 p.m. ET | B1G+ | Live Stats | FREE ADMISSION
Penn State at Purdue | Saturday, May 6 | 2 p.m. ET | B1G+ | Live Stats | FREE ADMISSION
Penn State at Purdue | Sunday, May 7 | 1 p.m. ET | B1G+ | Live Stats | FREE ADMISSION
QUICK HITS
Penn State prepares to close out its 2023 regular season on the road, as the Blue & White return to action following a doubleheader sweep of Illinois last weekend in University Park. In their last nine games, the Nittany Lions have built an 8-1 overall record including a 7-1 mark against Big Ten Challengers. The Blue & White have won three straight series in league play heading into the season finale. In PSU's doubleheader sweep of Illinois, four different Nittany Lions hit .500 or better, with junior third baseman Emily Maddock leading the way, batting .714 (5-for-7) overall.
Maddock paces the squad with a .475 average, ranking second in the Big Ten in the category. Kaitlyn Morrison (.341), Lexie Black (.339), Cassie Lindmark (.317) and Michelle Leone (.300) round out the five PSU batters hitting above .300 this year. Penn State ranks inside the top four in the Big Ten in earned run average (1st, 2.20), shutouts (2nd, 11), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3rd, 3.37), stolen bases per game (4th, 1.21) and overall win percentage (4th, .667).
THINKING THIRTY
Entering the final weekend of the 2023 campaign, Penn State sits with an overall record of 28-14, good enough for the fourth-best overall winning percentage among all 14 Big Ten Conference institutions. PSU sits two wins away from the 30-win threshold and looks to reach that mark in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2005 and 2006. In its 58-year history, Penn State has finished with 30-or-more wins on just 13 occasions. The 2005 team published a 36-23 mark with a 10-9 ledger against Big Ten foes, landing the team in both the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. The 2006 squad finished 39-17, recording the most wins in program history en route to both a B1G and NCAA Tournament appearance.
LIONS SHINE IN THE LAST NINE
In the team's last nine games, the Nittany Lions have rattled off a dominant 8-1 overall record with an equally impressive 7-1 mark against Big Ten challengers in that stretch. The Blue & White are in the midst of a three-game win streak and opened this nine-game stretch with five straight wins over Rutgers, Bucknell and Maryland.
Since the series opener against Rutgers on April 14, Penn State has seven batters hitting .280-or-better, including Emily Maddock (.500), Michelle Leone (.500), Maggie Finnegan (.481), Lexie Black (.400), Cassie Lindmark (.333), Kaitlyn Morrison (.308) and Maddie Gordon (.280). PSU has hit 11 home runs in the past nine games, highlighted by four from Black and three from Gordon. In the circle, Bailey Parshall and Kylee Lingenfelter have posted a combined ERA of 1.19, striking out 52 batters against just 17 walks.
SCOUTING THE BOILERMAKERS
Seven-year head coaching veteran Boo De Oliveira leads Purdue into its final series of the 2023 campaign maintaining a 22-28 overall record with a 5-15 mark against Big Ten Conference competition. The Boilermakers are fresh off a series loss to Michigan State on the road in East Lansing last week but managed to snag the final game from the Spartans. Purdue owns one win in its six B1G series to date, downing Rutgers earlier this year. Tyrina Jones and Alex Echazarreta serve as the team's one-two punch in the box, with both batting above .315 this season while combining for 17 home runs. Mo Wimpee leads the team in ERA at 2.91, while Echazarreta and Madi Elish own eight wins in the circle apiece.
SERIES HISTORY
Penn State and Purdue get set for the 60th all-time meeting of the two programs on Friday evening in West Lafayette, with the Nittany Lions maintaining a slim 31-28 edge in a series that dates to the 1995 campaign. The Nittany Lions and Boilermakers squared off in a three-game series a year ago in University Park, with PSU booking a dominant series sweep while outscoring its opponent by a 26-5 tally. The last meeting of the two teams in West Lafayette in 2019 saw Purdue snag a 2-1 series victory at home, with Penn State coming away victorious by a 7-4 score in the series finale.
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.
