UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State softball head coach Clarisa Crowell earned the 300th victory of her collegiate coaching career, freshman pitcher Bridget Nemeth logged her first collegiate one-hitter and the Nittany Lions battled for a 2-1 win over the Indiana Hoosiers to open Big Ten Conference play Friday night from Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field.
The historic night in Happy Valley brought Penn State's overall season record to 21-6 with a 1-0 mark against Big Ten competition, marking the third-straight season in which the Nittany Lions booked a victory in their B1G opener. PSU's impressive season-opening home stand at Nittany Lion Softball Park continued, with the Nittany Lions improving to 6-0 at home this season while extending the nation's sixth-longest home winning streak to 13-consecutive dating to last season. PSU's victory Friday night marked the fourth in the last six meetings against IU, with Penn State boasting 31 wins against the Hoosiers all-time. In defeat, Indiana falls to 22-7 overall and 0-1 in B1G competition.
Amid her 12th season of coaching at the Division I level, Crowell has already racked up a multitude of accomplishments and milestones, highlighted by her 300th victorious decision Friday night in Happy Valley. The fourth-year skipper at Penn State directed back-to-back 30-win seasons for the Nittany Lions in 2022 and 2023, marking the first instance of consecutive 30-win campaigns at PSU since 2005 and 2006. Crowell has secured 91 victories since taking over in Happy Valley in 2020, boasting one of the most successful starts by any head coach in Penn State softball history.
Freshman first baseman and Keystone State native Gianna Poletti came up clutch when it mattered most for the Nittany Lions, going 2-for-2 in the batter's box with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning that ensured the Penn State victory. Poletti booked her second multi-hit game of the 2024 campaign, with the other two-hit effort coming against Hofstra earlier this month. Senior catcher Gaby Garcia emphatically opened the scoring with an astounding solo shot to left center in the bottom of the fourth that gave PSU the momentum. Garcia, a native of Southlake, Texas, cranked her third long ball of her senior season, moving into sole possession of second on the roster in the home run category.
In the circle, Penn State's freshman phenom left jaws dropped after a one-hit outing that featured five strikeouts and 111 total pitches. Nemeth, a native of Glendora, California, booked the second one-hitter by any Nittany Lion this season, joining junior right-hander Mady Volpe's one-hit shutout of Morgan State on February 24 in Lynchburg, Virginia. Nemeth secured her 11th consecutive win and rose to 11-0 overall in one of the most remarkable openings to a pitching career in Big Ten Conference history. She remains the only pitcher in the league this season to boast double digits in the win column without being saddled with a loss.
Defensively, the Blue & White were a practically unstoppable force, with senior centerfielder Liana Jones and freshman left fielder Michela Barbanente making a pair of highlight-reel snags in the outfield to keep Indiana off the board for the majority of the contest. Penn State's defense recorded its ninth error-free outing of the season in addition to its fourth error-free night in the last five games. PSU improves to 8-1 overall in 2024 when playing with a goose egg in the error column.
The Nittany Lions got out to a solid start in the top of the first, with Nemeth booking a strikeout and forcing a pair of grounders to keep IU off the board. Both squads settled in defensively, with each starting pitcher working a pair of no-hit, scoreless frames through the early going. After a one-two-three inning in the circle from Nemeth, freshman shortstop Jiselle Hernandez recorded the first hit of the day with a bloop single to left center and Poletti followed with another knock to left, but the score remained deadlocked after three. Following another one-two-three frame from Nemeth and the PSU defense, Garcia stepped up to the plate with two outs on the board in the bottom of the fourth and dismantled the ball to left center for a solo shot on the seventh pitch of her at-bat.
Leading by a 1-0 margin, PSU kept the Indiana portion of the board clean and tacked on an insurance score in the bottom of the fifth. Barbanente led the inning off with a critical five-pitch walk, and an ideally executed sacrifice bunt from Hernandez moved Barbanente to second. After a wild pitch allowed Barbanente to move 60 feet further, Poletti logged her second hit of the evening with a single up the middle that brought another Nittany Lion run aboard. Despite the Hoosiers adding their only run of the contest in the top of the sixth, the Blue & White closed the game out with a one-two-three inning of work to finalize the milestone 2-1 victory.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Gianna Poletti | 2-for-2, RBI
Gaby Garcia | 1-for-2, R, RBI, HR
Bridget Nemeth | WIN, CG, 7.0 IP, 1H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB, 5K, 111TP
KEY INNINGS
B4 | With two outs on the board and a 2-2 count, Garcia crushed the seventh pitch of her at-bat for a solo shot that broke the deadlock over the wall in left center field. PSU 1, IU 0
B5 | Barbanente led the inning off with a critical five-pitch walk, and an ideally executed sacrifice bunt from Hernandez moved Barbanente to second. After a wild pitch allowed Barbanente to move 60 feet further, Poletti logged her second hit of the outing with a single up the middle that brought another Nittany Lion run aboard. PSU 1, IU 0
T6 | Brooke Benson drew a leadoff walk for the Hoosiers, but a fielder's choice in the following at-bat saw Cora Bassett reach first with Benson put out at second. A grounder from Brianna Copeland moved Bassett to second, and a Taylor Minnick single up the middle brought Bassett in for Indiana's only score. PSU 2, IU 1
UP NEXT
Penn State softball continues its Big Ten Conference-opening series against the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday, March 23, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. (ET) from Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field. The game will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+, with live streaming and live stat links available at the Penn State softball schedule webpage at GoPSUsports.com.
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.
