UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Powered by a second-inning grand slam from senior catcher Gaby Garcia and another excellent relief outing from freshman pitcher Bridget Nemeth, Penn State softball turned in its ninth consecutive victory with a 10-2, six-inning result over the Bucknell Bison Tuesday night at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field.
The Nittany Lions booked their longest win streak of the 2024 campaign following the home result, picking up their ninth straight victory in Happy Valley. PSU's previous season-long win streak of eight games came at the start of the season, with Penn State picking up multiple critical victories including results against nationally ranked opponents in FAU, Kansas and Arkansas. Penn State climbs to 24-6 overall on the season with a 3-0 Big Ten record, while Bucknell drops to 12-16 overall while maintaining a 3-0 tally in the Patriot League. In the all-time series, Penn State picked up its 35th win overall and its fourth-straight victory against the Bison.
The Blue & White continue to dominate all comers at Beard Field, registering their 16th consecutive home victory, marking the fourth-longest active home winning streak in Division I softball. Penn State moved ahead of Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday to secure the stand-alone fourth-place spot, with the Nittany Lions trailing Northwestern, Boston University and Tennessee. Penn State's 2024 roster also owns the Nittany Lion Softball Park facility record for a home-opening win streak, logging nine in a row since the start of the Penn State Softball Invitational on March 14.
In the batter's box, PSU racked up 15 hits overall and recorded an astonishing team batting average of .469 on the night. The Blue & White booked their 11th double-digit hitting performance of 2024 and third outing of 15-plus hits, with the most recent 15-hit performance coming against Binghamton on March 17. Penn State plated 10 runs on the night, marking the sixth double-digit scoring performance by the Nittany Lions this season and the first 10-plus-run scoring outing since the 15-5 win over Binghamton.
Senior third baseman Emily Maddock was a blazing 3-for-3 in the batter's box in addition to a walk drawn, scoring a trio of runs in the process. The Kempton, Pennsylvania, native logged the sixth performance with three runs scored by a Nittany Lion this season, joining Kaitlyn Morrison's most recent three-run showing against Indiana on March 23. Garcia made her presence known at the plate, going 2-for-3 overall including the first PSU grand slam since then-sophomore Maddie Gordon cranked one in an 8-3 result against Rutgers on April 16, 2023. Garcia finished the night with five RBI, marking the third performance by a Penn Stater featuring five or more RBI in a single game this season. In total, eight Nittany Lions mustered hits on the night, with senior center fielder Liana Jones, freshman first baseman Gianna Poletti and sophomore right fielder Jenna Nelson joining the multi-hit party with Maddock and Garcia.
In the circle, sophomore right-hander Paige Maynard recorded yet another impressive start for the Blue & White, tossing a pair of innings with two hits and one strikeout with zeroes in the run, earned run and walk columns. Junior righty Mady Volpe tossed 2.1 frames and racked up five emphatic strikeouts in her effective relief outing out of the bullpen. Finally, freshman right-hander Bridget Nemeth entered in the top of the fifth and tossed the remainder of the game, earning the victory as PSU's most effective reliever with one hit, two strikeouts, no walks and zero earned runs over the final 1.2 innings. Nemeth climbed to 14-0 overall following Tuesday's decision, cementing her spot as the winningest pitcher in the Big Ten on the same day she picked up D1Softball National Freshman of the Week and B1G Freshman of the Week accolades.
Penn State got going at the plate early, with the Nittany Lions managing to load the bases and plate their first run of the evening thanks to a wild pitch that brought Maddock in for the 1-0 lead. After a solid inning from Maynard in the top of the second, Penn State managed to place runners on first and second with two outs in the home half. From there, Maddock booked one of the grittiest at-bats of her senior season, drawing an exceptional 12-pitch walk to juice the bases. Facing a 2-2 count and the eighth pitch of her own at-bat, Garcia sent Penn State's first grand slam of 2024 into the heart of the scoreboard in left field. Although Bucknell managed to cut into PSU's lead with a two-run fifth inning, the Nittany Lions scored four more runs in the home half and utilized an RBI single from Gordon to walk the 10-2 result off in six innings.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Gaby Garcia | 2-for-3, 2 R, 5 RBI, 2B, GRAND SLAM HR, BB
Emily Maddock | 3-for-3, 3 R, BB
Bridget Nemeth | WIN, 1.2 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 2K, 29TP
KEY INNINGS
B1 | With one out on the scoreboard, Maddock zipped a single toward the first baseman on a 1-0 count. Garcia drew a walk in the next plate appearance, advancing Maddock to second. After a liner put two away, Brunson walked to load the bases, and a wild pitch allowed all three baserunners to advance, with Maddock scoring in the process. PSU 1, BUCK 0
B2 | Poletti started things off with a single up the middle, but a quick foul out put one away for PSU. Barbanente drew a walk, advancing Poletti to second, but a fielder's choice allowed Gordon to reach and saw Poletti put out at third while Barbanente moved to second. Maddock booked one of the grittiest at-bats of her senior season, drawing an exceptional 12-pitch walk to juice the bases with two outs. Facing a 2-2 count and the eighth pitch of her own at-bat, Garcia sent Penn State's first grand slam of 2024 into the heart of the scoreboard in left field. PSU 5, BUCK 0
T5 | Sarah Zimmerman singled up the middle to open the inning, but a flyout to center put one away. Elena Horn singled toward the third baseman, advancing Zimmerman to second, and a Zoie Smith single to left center brought Zimmerman in for the score. After a PSU pitching change, Brooke Popella singled up the middle to plate Horn. PSU 5, BUCK 2
B5 | Poletti kicked the inning off with a double down the left field line, but a quick pop-up put the first out on the board for Bucknell's defense. From there, Barbanente legged out an RBI double sent up the middle, plating Poletti, and promptly stole third base moments later. A Gordon sac fly to left brought Barbanente in, and a Maddock single toward the second baseman kept the inning alive. Garcia doubled to left in the next at-bat and advanced to third on the throw while Maddock sprinted home, and Jones sent an RBI single toward the shortstop that plated Garcia. PSU 9, BUCK 2
B6 | Senior Amanda Mack pinch hit for Poletti to lead off the inning and sent a bloop single to right, with Poletti re-entering the game to run for Mack at first. A Nelson single through the right side moved Poletti to second, and a fielding error by the Bucknell second baseman saw Barbanente load the bases. From there, Gordon took the second pitch of her at-bat to center field for the game-winning, walk-off RBI that scored Poletti. PSU 10, BUCK 2
UP NEXT
Penn State softball returns to Big Ten Conference play this weekend, Friday through Sunday, March 29 through 31, as the Nittany Lions play host to the Maryland Terrapins for a weekend series at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field. All three contests will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app.
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.
