UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Led by an astonishing performance in the batter's box by senior catcher Gaby Garcia, Penn State softball continued its winning ways with a pair of victories over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks and the Cornell Big Red Friday night from Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field. The Nittany Lions defeated Lehigh in walk-off fashion in the lid-lifter by a 4-3 score and followed that with a 10-1 mercy-rule victory against Cornell in the finale.
The Nittany Lions continue one of their most successful starts in program history, improving to 18-6 overall with an unblemished 3-0 tally in this year's Penn State Softball Invitational. PSU extended its overall home winning streak to nine consecutive games, a run which dates to the Nittany Lions' 1-0 result against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on April 14 of last year. The Blue & White climb to 2-0 against Lehigh in the all-time series after sweeping the Mountain Hawks this weekend, while moving to 4-1 against the Big Red overall. PSU avenged a narrow 4-3 setback against Cornell last season with a five-inning mercy-rule result on Friday. Lehigh moved to 8-12 overall on the year following its results in Happy Valley on Friday, while Cornell fell to 2-9 overall.
Garcia helped spearhead an exceptional set of offensive performances for PSU, leading an offense that hit .388 as a unit and booked eight extra-base hits on the day. Individually, the Southlake, Texas, native went 4-for-5 at the dish and hit the first Nittany Lion home run at Beard Field this season in the win over Cornell. Elsewhere in the lineup, senior center fielder Liana Jones turned in a .600 average highlighted by an RBI triple, while senior third baseman Emily Maddock went .500 on the day with a walk and a run scored. In the dominant win over the Big Red, PSU turned in its seventh double-digit hitting performance of the season and second of the weekend with 10 total knocks.
In the circle, Penn State called on freshman right-handed pitcher Bridget Nemeth to book a complete-game victory against Lehigh and followed that performance with another complete-game win from junior Mady Volpe against Cornell. Nemeth booked her third collegiate complete game and rose to 9-0 overall individually, the highest win tally on the Penn State roster. Volpe was virtuosic in her 5.0 innings of work against the Big Red, yielding just two hits and one earned run while striking out six batters against a single walk. Defensively, Penn State booked a pair of dominant fielding performances, booking 36 putouts and 10 assists with zero errors, bringing the Nittany Lions' total number of error-free contests to seven in 2024.
Penn State started the game off on the right foot with an early 1-0 lead through three innings of play, but Lehigh snapped back with a three-run frame in the top of the fourth. The Blue & White battled in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut Lehigh's lead to one, and the Nittany Lion defense came up clutch in the top of the seventh inning to give the offense a chance. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, senior designated player Kaitlyn Morrison pelted the softball to right field and legged out a triple. After a Nittany Lion grounder put two away, junior right fielder Haylie Brunson stepped up to the dish and cranked the first pitch of her at-bat to right center, allowing Morrison time to saunter home and tie the score. After sophomore Lydia Spalding pinch ran for Brunson at second, Gordon drew a walk and both runners advanced an extra base after a wild pitch. With a walk-off opportunity in hand, Garcia delivered an RBI single through the left side to bring Spalding home and close out the 4-3 PSU win.
Despite a solo home run for the Big Red in the top of the first inning, Penn State wasted little time in asserting its dominance in the nightcap. The Blue & White cranked out six runs in the home half of the opening inning, highlighted by Garcia's three-run blast to right center that entered the books as PSU's first dinger at home in 2024. The Nittany Lions added two more runs in the bottom of the second but continued to hunt for the eight-run lead required to invoke the mercy rule. After Maddock drew a leadoff walk and was thrown out on a fielder's choice that allowed Brunson to take her place at first, Gordon roped an RBI double to right center and advanced to third on Cornell's throw home. Brunson was able to put the Nittany Lions ahead by the necessary eight runs, beating the catcher's attempted tag at the plate. With two outs on the board, sophomore catcher Madison Seidel stepped up to bat for the first time in her collegiate career and slapped an RBI single through the right side of the infield to bring Gordon in.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (VS. LEHIGH)
Gaby Garcia | 2-for-3, WALK-OFF RBI SINGLE, RBI, 2B, BB
Kaitlyn Morrison | 2-for-3, R, RBI, 2B, 3B, BB, SB
Bridget Nemeth | WIN, CG, 7.0 IP, 8H, 3R, 3ER, 1BB, 4K, 101TP
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (VS. CORNELL)
Gaby Garcia | 2-for-2, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR
Maddie Gordon | 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 2B
Mady Volpe | WIN, CG, 5.0 IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 6K, 77TP
KEY INNINGS (VS. LEHIGH)
B3 | Barbanente led the inning off with a sweet single up the middle, and Morrison drove the softball opposite-field in the next at-bat for an RBI double to get the scoring going. PSU 1, LEH 0
T4 | Josie Charles led off the inning with a bunt single toward third base, but the Mountain Hawks lined out in the next plate appearance. Brooke Cannon logged a bunt single toward the pitcher's circle, and Rory Dudley booked an RBI single to the shortstop that brought Charles in. Julia Mrochko registered a bloop single to right that loaded the bases. In the next at-bat, Sydney Parlett singled up the middle and advanced to second on the throw, moving Mrochko to second while plating Dudley and Cannon. LEH 3, PSU 1
B6 | With one away, Garcia drew a gritty walk in a nine-pitch at-bat, and Nelson came in to pinch run for her at first. In the next plate appearance, Jones blasted a high-arching triple to left that gave Nelson ample time to trot around the bases. LEH 3, PSU 2
B7 | With one out on the board, Morrison pelted the softball to right field and legged out a triple. After a Nittany Lion grounder put two away, the Blue & White were down to their final out against Lehigh. Brunson stepped up to the dish and cranked the first pitch of her at-bat to right center, allowing Morrison time to saunter home and tie the score. After Spalding pinch ran for Brunson at second, Gordon drew a walk and both runners advanced an extra base after a wild pitch. With a walk-off opportunity in hand, Garcia delivered an RBI single through the left side to bring Spalding home. PSU 4, LEH 3
KEY INNINGS (VS. CORNELL)
T1 | Emma Antich sent a solo home run over the wall in left center. COR 1, PSU 0
B1 | Morrison led the inning off with a walk, and a Maddock single through the left side put runners on first and second. Brunson executed a sac bunt to advance the runners but was able to reach first thanks to a throwing error by Cornell's catcher. Maddock was able to advance to third while Morrison scored on the erroneous play. A double down the left field line from Gordon brought Maddock in, and a Garcia homer to right center added three more runs for PSU. With the bases clear, Jones laid down a sneaky bunt single and advanced to second after a Nittany Lion grounder. She then proceeded to steal third and complete her journey around the bases thanks to an RBI grounder from Poletti. PSU 6, COR 1
B2 | Maddock led off the bottom of the second with a bunt single but was called out after Brunson reached on a fielder's choice to the pitcher. A flyout put two away with a runner on first, but the Nittany Lions remained resilient at the plate as Garcia sent a single through the left side, advancing to second on Cornell's throw to third base in a failed attempt to stop Brunson. Jones then sent a single to left center, plating Brunson and Garcia to put PSU up by seven. PSU 8, COR 1
B4 | After Maddock drew a leadoff walk and was thrown out on a fielder's choice that allowed Brunson to take her place at first, Gordon roped an RBI double to right center and advanced to third on Cornell's throw home. Brunson was able to put the Nittany Lions ahead by the necessary eight runs, beating the catcher's tag at the plate. With two outs on the board, Seidel stepped up to bat for the first time in her collegiate career and slapped an RBI single through the right side of the infield to bring Gordon in. PSU 10, COR 1
UP NEXT
Penn State softball continues its home-opening tournament with day three action from Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field on Saturday, March 16. The Nittany Lions will play in a single game beginning at 4 p.m. (ET) against the Canisius Golden Griffins, with the game set to stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app. Live stat links are available at the Penn State softball schedule webpage at GoPSUsports.com
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