COLUMBUS, Ohio – Penn State softball prepares for its longest road trip on the Big Ten Conference calendar this week, with the Nittany Lions set for their first stop on a five-game trek in doubleheader action against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Tuesday, April 16. PSU and OSU face off in the first game of the day at 4 p.m. (ET), with the nightcap tabbed for 6:30 p.m. (ET) at Buckeye Field.
GAME INFORMATION
Penn State at Ohio State | Tuesday, April 16 | 4 p.m. ET | B1G+ | Live Stats | Tickets
Penn State at Ohio State | Tuesday, April 16 | 6:30 p.m. ET | B1G+ | Live Stats | Tickets
FOLLOW ALONG
Both of Penn State's B1G midweek doubleheader contests at Ohio State will be streamed live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+, the official streaming service of the Big Ten Conference. For links to view both contests, visit the Penn State softball schedule page at GoPSUsports.com or click the links above. Live stats provided by The Ohio State University and StatBroadcast are available at the Penn State softball schedule webpage and the links above.
QUICK HITS
The Blue & White hit the road for the first time in little more than a week, as the Nittany Lions return to league action following their fourth consecutive Big Ten series victory over the Michigan State Spartans last weekend in Happy Valley. PSU tallied a 10-0, run-rule win in the weekend opener and a 6-3 result to clinch the series on Saturday afternoon. Senior centerfielder Liana Jones is fresh off one of her most dominant collegiate weekends, turning in an eye-popping 2.600 OPS thanks to a 3-for-5 series against MSU that featured two homers in addition to three walks and two hit-by-pitches. The Langhorne, Pennsylvania, native recorded the best series-long OPS by any Nittany Lion in the 2024 campaign, also contributing a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in center. Individually, junior outfielder Maddie Gordon leads the Nittany Lions in batting average with a .352 mark and home runs with eight, while senior catcher Gaby Garcia owns the team lead in RBI with 32. In the circle, freshman pitcher Bridget Nemeth boasts a team-leading 1.20 ERA.
BATTLING THE BUCKEYES
Head Coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly leads Ohio State into its annual midweek meeting with PSU boasting a 21-17 overall record coupled with a 3-9 start to Big Ten Conference competition this year. Ohio State has yet to book a B1G series victory this year, but the Buckeyes have booked a trio of impressive league wins in 2024 highlighted by a stunning 6-0 upset of the defending league champion Northwestern Wildcats on Sunday, March 31. Against common Nittany Lion opponents, Ohio State maintains a 2-1 record with wins over Ohio and Coastal Carolina as well as a loss to Texas State. On an individual basis, Tegan Cortelletti leads the roster with an impressive .432 batting average while slugging stars Jasmyn Burns and Kami Kortokrax pace the team with eight homers apiece. Pitcher Allison Smith leads the staff with a 2.72 ERA.
STORY OF THE SERIES
Penn State prepares to renew its oldest Big Ten Conference series, with the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes ready to square off for the 98th and 99th times Tuesday night in Columbus. Ohio State boasts a 62-35 lead in the all-time series, with the Buckeyes picking up wins in six of the last seven competitions. PSU's most recent set of competitions against Ohio State came at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field on April 11 of last year, with the Buckeyes picking up a 9-5 win before logging a 4-1 victory in the nightcap of the midweek doubleheader in Happy Valley. The last set of contests in Columbus came on April 26, 2022, with both teams picking up 4-2 victories in the nationally televised doubleheader.
SPARTY PARTY
Penn State softball head coach Clarisa Crowell earned her 100th victory at the helm in Happy Valley, and the Nittany Lions booked their fourth-consecutive Big Ten series victory with a 6-3 result against the Michigan State Spartans Saturday, April 13 at Beard Field. For Crowell, the fourth-year Nittany Lion skipper became the fourth head coach in program history to meet the 100-win threshold, joining Sue Rankin, Robin Petrini and Amanda Lehotak in that category. Crowell is just the third head coach in Penn State history to accomplish that feat in four seasons, with Rankin and Petrini leading the Blue & White to quick success in their respective careers. When adding in Penn State's series-clinching win over Nebraksa last week, PSU recorded its first stretch of three multi-home run games following Friday night and Saturday night's results against MSU. The Nittany Lions tallied a 2-1 series record against the visitors from East Lansing, with Penn State taking the weekend opener by a 10-0 tally in five innings followed by a 6-3 win Saturday to take the set.
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.
