LYNCHBURG, Va. – Penn State softball continues its season-opening travels at the Liberty Softball Classic, with the Nittany Lions set to face off in five combined contests against Saint Francis, host-Liberty, Morgan State and Penn beginning Friday, February 23 and concluding Sunday, February 25 at Kamphuis Field and Liberty Softball Stadium.
GAME INFORMATION
RV Penn State vs. Saint Francis | Friday, February 23 | 10 a.m. ET | Live Stats
RV Penn State at Liberty | Friday, February 23 | 2:30 p.m. ET | Live Stats
RV Penn State vs. Morgan State (DH) | Saturday, February 24 | 4:30 p.m. ET | Live Stats
RV Penn State vs. Morgan State (DH) | Saturday, February 24 | 7 p.m. ET | Live Stats
RV Penn State vs. Penn | Sunday, February 25 | 10 a.m. ET | Live Stats
FOLLOW ALONG
All games at the Liberty Softball Classic will be played at Kamphuis Field and Liberty Softball Stadium on the campus of Liberty University. Admission to all Liberty softball games is free to the public, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis. Streaming for the weekend tournament will be unavailable, but fans are encouraged to follow along on the Nittany Lions' social media channels for the most up-to-date information during each Penn State contest. Live stats provided by StatBroadcast and Liberty University are available at the links above.
QUICK HITS
The Blue & White are off to a 7-0 start for the second year in a row, matching the best start in program history set by the 1974 and 2023 squads. PSU already boasts a nationally-ranked victory against then-No. 16 Arkansas and will look to set the program record for season-opening wins in the weekend opener against Saint Francis. Freshman pitcher Bridget Nemeth leads the Big Ten Conference in victories and saves in the circle while ranking fourth in the league in ERA with a 0.74 mark. The Blue & White rank third in the B1G and 29th nationally in team ERA with a 1.60 tally. Senior catcher Gaby Garcia leads the squad with a .467 average and eight RBI, while senior third baseman Emily Maddock is fresh off a .714 weekend in the box that featured a bases-clearing triple for her first multi-RBI game of the year. Maddock ranks second at PSU and 23rd in the Big Ten with a .409 season average at the dish.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
Led by first-year head coach Beth Krysiak, Keystone State rival Saint Francis arrives in Lynchburg following an impressive 9-1 start and an unbeaten 5-0 week of work last week at the Wofford Invitational against Rhode Island, Wofford and Northern Kentucky. The Red Flash are led at the plate by Savannah Nash's .344 average coupled with Rachel Marsden's team-leading 0.75 ERA in the circle. Tournament host Liberty enters the weekend with a 2-7 record against one of the toughest schedules in the nation early on this year. The Flames own victories against St. John's and PSU's common-opponent Coastal Carolina. Liberty is led by Rachel Roupe's .500 average and two home runs, as well as Elena Escobar's 1.12 ERA in the circle.
Morgan State arrives in Lynchburg following a 6-0 start during its opening week of home competition against Division II foes. The Bears had a weekend tournament at UMBC canceled due to weather last weekend, delaying their season debut against DI teams to this weekend at Liberty. Morgan State is hitting .417 as a squad through opening week, boasting a 0.21 team ERA as well. The Nittany Lions will close their weekend in Virginia with another Keystone clash, as the Penn Quakers arrive in Lynchburg for their first action of the 2024 season. The Ivy League squad returns following an 8-37 campaign that included a 4-17 mark against conference challengers. Dana Anderson leads all Quaker returners in batting average (.301) and home runs (three).
STORY OF THE SERIES
One of the most consistently contested non-conference series in the PSU record book, the Nittany Lions boast a commanding 37-9 lead over Saint Francis since the first meeting in 1990. All nine SFU wins have come since 2009, but PSU has never lost to Saint Francis in the Clarisa Crowell era, leading 2-0 in that span. PSU and Liberty meet for the ninth time since 1983 on Friday afternoon, with the Nittany Lions boasting a 7-1 lead in the series. PSU booked a 2-1 extra-inning win over the Flames in the most recent contest in Clearwater, Florida, on March 15, 2008. Penn State and Morgan State get set for the first all-time meeting of the two programs with a doubleheader on Saturday. The Nittany Lions face off against a MEAC squad for just the second time ever after an 8-1 result over Norfolk State last year. Despite being within three hours' driving distance, Penn State and Penn will compete against one another in softball for just the second time ever. The Quakers booked a 2-1 upset of the Blue & White in Clearwater, Florida, in the only prior meeting back in 2019.
SUN-SHINING
Through two weekends of competition in the Sunshine State of Florida, the Nittany Lions have climbed to a 7-0 start. PSU's opening to the 2024 campaign matched the best start to a season in PSU program history, joining the 2023 and 1974 rosters as the only three teams in Happy Valley to book 7-0 openings on the diamond. Penn State's signature win of the season to date came against then-No. 16 Arkansas by a 3-2 margin in eight innings of play. The result marked PSU's first win against a ranked opponent since recording a 3-2 victory against then-No. 22 Michigan on April 10, 2022, in Ann Arbor. The Nittany Lions are 2-0 against power five conference opponents through the first seven games of the season, with the other win coming against Kansas.
GABY G, GABY GONE
Stephen F. Austin transfer catcher Gaby Garcia has been an offensive revelation for the Nittany Lions through the early going of the 2024 campaign. Garcia leads the Big Ten conference in doubles (four), doubles per game (0.57) and hit by pitches per game (0.57) while pacing the Nittany Lion roster and ranking sixth in the B1G with a .467 batting average. The Southlake, Texas, native Garcia also leads the Nittany Lions in runs batted in with eight ribbies so far this year while tying Liana Jones and Haylie Brunson for the team lead in homers with one.
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 Instagram and X @PennStateSB.
