COLUMBUS, Ohio – Penn State softball battled, but ultimately came up short in a midweek doubleheader against the Ohio State Buckeyes, dropping a 16-8 decision in the opener before a heartbreaking 2-1 loss in the nightcap Tuesday at Buckeye Field.
Tuesday night's results in Columbus saw the Nittany Lions move to 30-11 overall and 9-5 in Big Ten Conference competition in 2024. Ohio State improved to 23-17 and 5-9 in the league this season following their pair of victories on their home field. In the all-time series against the Buckeyes, Ohio State improved to 64-35 against the Blue & White, with OSU taking each of the last four meetings.
A trio of Nittany Lions booked multi-hit outings in the first game of the evening, with junior Maddie Gordon, senior Gaby Garcia and junior Haylie Brunson rounding out the list of multi-hit performers. Gordon stood out in the lid-lifter, launching her second collegiate grand slam in the top of the fifth inning, her first since cranking one against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at home last season. Garcia left the yard with a solo shot in the top of the sixth, rounding out a 2-for-4 showing with a pair of runs scored. In game two, senior Emily Maddock recorded the only multi-hit performance of the game, logging a 2-for-4 showing with a double, while Garcia added to her evening totals with an RBI single in the nightcap.
Freshman pitcher Bridget Nemeth tallied both starts in Tuesday's doubleheader, with the rookie saddled with both losses as the team's pitcher of record. Nemeth tossed a complete game in the finale, surrendering just two earned runs in addition to an eight-strikeout, zero-walk performance. Junior Mady Volpe tossed 2.2 frames in the opener and was effective in relief, allowing just two earned runs with three K's in her only appearance of the night.
Ohio State started the doubleheader off with a six-run bottom of the first inning and ballooned their lead to 11 runs heading into the top of the fifth in game one. Seeking a response, a single from Garcia sparked a remarkable inning of offensive effort from the Nittany Lions culminating in a grand slam from Gordon. Despite a six-run inning from PSU, Ohio State was able to regroup and come away with the 16-8 result in six innings of play. In the top of the first in game two, Gordon led things off with a single to left field on the third pitch of her at-bat, and Maddock placed a perfect bunt single down to land runners on first and second with no outs. After a PSU popup, Garcia sent a sweet single through the right side of the infield to bring Gordon in for the early Nittany Lion lead. Despite six brilliant innings from Nemeth and the Nittany Lion defense, Ohio State was able to tie things up in the sixth and walk the game off with an RBI double in the top of the seventh.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (GAME ONE)
Maddie Gordon | 2-for-3, 2 R, 4 RBI, GRAND SLAM HR, BB
Gaby Garcia | 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, HR
Haylie Brunson | 2-for-3, R, BB
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (GAME TWO)
Emily Maddock | 2-for-4, 2B
Gaby Garcia | 1-for-3, RBI
Bridget Nemeth | 6.2 IP, 10H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 8K, 116TP
KEY INNINGS (GAME ONE)
B1 | After the leadoff batter grounded out, Taylor Heckman drew a walk and Kami Kortokrax followed her with a single up the middle to put runners on first and second. In the next at-bat, Sam Hackenbracht hit a three-run shot over the fence in left field. McKenzie Bump kept things rolling with a single through the left side, and a Jasmyn Burns walk put runners on first and second once again. After a PSU pitching change, a Buckeye struck out to put two away, but Kirsten Eppele recorded the second three-run homer of the frame to left that gave Ohio State a six-run lead. OSU 6, PSU 0
T3 | Gordon led the top of the third off with a single to center, and Maddock followed that up with a single up the middle to put runners on first and second with no outs. Jones entered the box and delivered what appeared to be a sac bunt, but the Buckeye third baseman overthrew the out at first, allowing Gordon to score while Maddock moved to third and Jones stopped at second. OSU 6, PSU 1
B3 | With one out on the board, Bump booked her second hit of the game and left the yard over the fence in right center with a solo shot. OSU 7, PSU 1
B4 | Kortokrax drew a walk with one out on the board, and Hackenbracht reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to third on a PSU throwing error while Kortokrax completed the unearned trip around the bases. Bump doubled to right center moments later to bring Hackenbracht around. Burns singled through the left side in the next at-bat, moving Bump to third, and after a quick strikeout, Eppele tripled to right to tack on two more scores. From there, Kaitlyn Farley singled to left to plate Eppele. OSU 12, PSU 1
T5 | With one away, Garcia sparked a Nittany Lion rally with a single to right field. A flyout put two down for the Blue & White, but a single up the middle from Brunson moved Garcia to second to keep the frame alive. Mendoza came in to pinch hit for PSU and laced an RBI single to left that plated Garcia and advanced Brunson to second. Klosowicz juiced the bases with a walk on seven pitches, and Barbanente zipped a single to left field to plate Brunson. At that point, Gordon entered the box and clobbered the ball over the wall in center for her second collegiate grand slam, closing the book on a six-run fifth inning. OSU 12, PSU 7
B5 | Heckman walked on five pitches, and Kortokrax launched an RBI double to right center for another Ohio State score. OSU 13, PSU 7
T6 | After seeing three pitches, Garcia crushed Ohio State's fourth offering over the wall into the side of a Buckeye Athletics building in left field. OSU 13, PSU 8
B6 | Hannah Church booked a leadoff walk and Hannah Bryan entered to pinch run for her at first. Eppele doubled to left field to place runners on the left side of the infield, and Farley recorded a triple to right center to score Eppele and Bryan. Cortelletti recorded the walk-off hit down the left field line to plate Farley. OSU 16, PSU 8
KEY INNINGS (GAME TWO)
T1 | Gordon led the game off with a single to left field on the third pitch of her at-bat, and Maddock placed a perfect bunt single down to land runners on first and second with no outs. After a PSU popup, Garcia sent a sweet single through the right side of the infield to bring Gordon in for the early Nittany Lion lead. PSU 1, OSU 0
B6 | Kortokrax singled toward the PSU shortstop, but a flyout in the next at-bat put one away for the Buckeyes. Bump sent a single to left moments later, leaving runners on the right side of the infield. After Skylar Limon entered to pinch run for Kortokrax at second, the Buckeyes struck out. A single up the middle from Eppele gave Limon the necessary time to reach home plate to tie the game. PSU 1, OSU 1
B7 | Farley led the inning off with a single to right center and Cortelletti executed a sac bunt to bump Farley to second. Despite a scoring chance in the next at-bat, the Buckeye walkoff was deferred until Kortokrax roped a double to left field that plated the runner to end the game. OSU 1, PSU 1
UP NEXT
Penn State softball continues its grueling five-game Big Ten Conference road trek this weekend, as the Nittany Lions face off against the Wisconsin Badgers in a three-game series this Friday thru Sunday, April 19 through 21. All three contests from the Goodman Softball Complex in Madison, Wisconsin, are set to stream 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.
