UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Highlighted by senior second baseman Kaitlyn Morrison's first career grand slam, as well as a two-run bomb to right center from senior center fielder Liana Jones, the Penn State softball team rattled off a dominant 10-0 victory in five innings against the Michigan State Spartans to open PSU's Blue-White Weekend series Friday afternoon at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field.
Penn State's dominant start to the 2024 campaign surged ahead after Friday night's run-rule victory against the Spartans, with the Blue & White rising to 29-8 overall and 8-2 in Big Ten Conference play. The Nittany Lions matched the best start to a Big Ten regular season since 2016, when PSU rattled off a pair of series sweeps against Rutgers and Michigan State before falling in doubleheader action to Ohio State on the road. The win saw the Nittany Lions climb to 42-31 against Michigan State in the all-time series that dates to 1992, including the fifth victory for PSU in the last six meetings. In defeat, Michigan State drops to 14-24 overall and 1-10 in B1G action.
As a team, the Nittany Lions crushed the softball in the series opener, turning in a .429 team batting average with nine hits overall, with four knocks going for extra bases. PSU was an astonishing 8-for-15 with runners on base, hitting at a .533 mark with the opportunity to advance runners. The Nittany Lions turned in a pair of homers in a single game for the seventh time this season and second Big Ten Conference game in a row, with PSU cranking a pair of long balls in last weekend's finale at Nebraska. Penn State's multi-homer performance marked the fourth time the Blue & White have left the yard on multiple occasions against a Big Ten opponent, with PSU cranking two-or-more home runs in a game against every B1G challenger faced in 2024.
Individually, the South Park, Pennsylvania, native Morrison turned in a 1-for-3 stat line with a run scored and four RBI courtesy of her first collegiate grand slam to make it a 10-run Nittany Lion advantage in the bottom of the third frame. Morrison tallied her fifth dinger of the year in Friday's series opener, joining Gaby Garcia and Haylie Brunson with the second-most homers in the 2024 season at PSU. Jones registered a 2-for-2 performance at the dish with a run scored and trio of RBI in the game. The Langhorne, Pennsylvania, native left the yard for the fourth time in her senior campaign and improved her season-best hitting streak to six consecutive games. Elsewhere in the lineup, junior right fielder Maddie Gordon continued her impressive offensive stretch with a 2-for-3 effort with a double and run scored, while junior designated player Haylie Brunson mustered a pair of runs on the day thanks to a pair of four-pitch walks to bolster her offensive numbers.
On the defensive end, Penn State utilized a pair of pitchers to ease their way to a mercy-rule victory on Friday, with freshman Bridget Nemeth earning the start and victory thanks to 4.0 innings of shutout work at the rubber. Nemeth, a native of Glendora, California, yielded a mere two hits and two walks while striking out a quartet of Spartans. The freshman phenom set the tone early with a trio of K's in the top of the first and added her fourth strikeout of the outing in the top of the second to keep Michigan State's offense on their back foot. The winning decision brought Nemeth's individual record to 18-1 overall this year, which remains the best individual record in the Big Ten Conference to date. In relief, junior southpaw Lydia Spalding saw her first appearance of B1G play, closing things out with a scoreless top of the fifth to wrap up PSU's fifth shutout of the season.
With one out on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first, Brunson drew a walk on four pitches and Gordon followed immediately thereafter with a double down the left field line that moved Brunson to third. A single from senior catcher Gaby Garcia allowed Gordon and Brunson the requisite time to complete their journeys around the basepath, and a throwing error afforded Garcia the opportunity to reach third. In the next at-bat, Jones singled to right center to bring Garcia around and promptly stole second base at the next opportunity. Senior third baseman Emily Maddock and Nemeth drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. After freshman shortstop Jiselle Hernandez reached first on a fielder's choice that saw Jones thrown out at home, freshman first baseman Gianna Poletti drew an RBI walk to close out the four-run frame.
PSU's defense continued to roll through the top of the second, shutting MSU down yet again in the visitor's half. After the teams changed sides, Brunson drew yet another four-pitch walk in her second at-bat of the day, and Jones homered to right center with two outs to add two more runs to the Penn State tally. After handling things in the circle in the top of the third, Nemeth started the bottom of the inning off with a hit-by-pitch, and Hernandez singled toward the third baseman to place runners on the right side of the infield, and Poletti registered a single in her next at-bat to load the bases for the Nittany Lions. After taking a ball and fouling off two more pitches, Morrison pelted the first grand slam of her collegiate softball career over the fence in left to close out PSU's dominant 10-run offensive output. Nemeth and Spalding handled things the rest of the way on the defensive end, and Penn State concluded its 10-0 series-opening win.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Kaitlyn Morrison | 1-for-3, R, 4 RBI, GRAND SLAM HR
Liana Jones | 2-for-2, R, 3 RBI, HR, HBP, SB
Bridget Nemeth | WIN, 4.0 IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 4K, 58TP
KEY INNINGS
B1 | With one out on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first, Brunson drew a walk on four pitches and Gordon followed immediately thereafter with a double down the left field line that moved Brunson to third. A single from Garcia allowed Gordon and Brunson the requisite time to complete their journeys around the basepath, and a throwing error afforded Garcia the opportunity to reach third. In the next at-bat, Jones singled to right center to bring Garcia around and promptly stole second base at the next opportunity. Maddock and Nemeth drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. After Hernandez reached first on a fielder's choice that saw Jones thrown out at home, Poletti drew an RBI walk to close out the four-run frame. PSU 4, MSU 0
B2 | Brunson drew yet another four-pitch walk in her second at-bat of the day, and after a pair of quick Nittany Lion pop outs, Jones homered to right center to add two more runs to the Penn State tally. PSU 6, MSU 0
B3 | Nemeth started the inning off with a hit-by-pitch, and Hernandez singled toward the third baseman to place runners on the right side of the infield. Poletti registered a single in her next at-bat to load the bases for the Nittany Lions once again. After taking a ball and fouling off two more pitches, Morrison pelted the first grand slam of her collegiate softball career over the fence in left field to close out PSU's dominant 10-run offensive output. PSU 10, MSU 0
UP NEXT
Penn State softball continues its B1G Blue-White Weekend series against the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday, April 13, with the second game of the set at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field. Fans are encouraged to attend Penn State football's annual Blue-White game beginning at 2 p.m. (ET), and make their way to Nittany Lion Softball Park for PSU's 4:30 p.m. (ET) start against Michigan State. PSU's second game of the series will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app, with live stat links available at the Penn State softball schedule webpage.
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.
