MADISON, Wis. – Penn State softball continues its travels in Big Ten Conference competition this weekend, as the Nittany Lions hit the road to face off against the Wisconsin Badgers this Friday through Sunday, April 19 through 21 at the Goodman Softball Complex. All three games of the weekend series will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app on connected devices.
GAME INFORMATION
Penn State at Wisconsin | Friday, April 19 | 4 p.m. ET | B1G+ | Live Stats
Penn State at Wisconsin | Saturday, April 20 | 2 p.m. ET | B1G+ | Live Stats
Penn State at Wisconsin | Sunday, April 21 | 2 p.m. ET | B1G+ | Live Stats
FOLLOW ALONG
All three games in Penn State's B1G weekend road series at Wisconsin 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 all three contests, visit the Penn State softball schedule page at GoPSUsports.com or click the links above. Live stats provided by the University of Wisconsin and StatBroadcast are available at the Penn State softball schedule webpage and the links above.
QUICK HITS
The Nittany Lions continue their grueling five-game road stretch in league play this weekend fresh off a doubleheader loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes earlier this week in Columbus. PSU saw junior Maddie Gordon crank her second collegiate grand slam in Tuesday's 16-8 loss in six innings, and the Nittany Lions called on freshman pitcher Bridget Nemeth to toss a complete game in PSU's 2-1 defeat in the nightcap. Gordon continued her most dominant stretch of the 2024 season in Tuesday night's doubleheader against the Buckeyes, with the Shenandoah, Virginia, native hitting for a .429 average with a trio of runs scored in the midweek challenge. The junior utility player turned in an impressive 1.357 OPS with a walk, two singles and home run. Over the course of the 2024 season, Gordon leads the Blue & White with an impressive .356 batting average as well as a team-high nine home runs on the year. Senior catcher Gaby Garcia paces the squad in runs batted in with 34 so far this year, while freshman pitcher Bridget Nemeth leads the roster with a 1.51 ERA and an 18-3 record.
BRAVING THE BADGERS
Veteran head coaching presence Yvette Healy leads the Wisconsin Badgers into another weekend of B1G work maintaining a 16-24 overall record paired with a 5-9 start to Big Ten play following a midweek split with the Minnesota Golden Gophers on the road in Minneapolis Wednesday night. Wisconsin booked a 3-0 win in the opener but dropped the finale by a 7-3 tally in the twin cities. Wisconsin has faced off against one of the most brutal schedules in the nation, with the Badgers challenging nationally ranked foes such as Oklahoma, Georgia, LSU, Washington, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, Missouri and Utah. The Badgers continue conference action following their first B1G series win of the year at home last week over Ohio State. Individually, Hilary Blomberg leads the team with a .330 average while Emmy Wells paces the squad in homers (11) and RBI (24). In the circle, Gabi Salo stands as the team leader with a 2.88 ERA.
STORY OF THE SERIES
In an ultra-competitive all-time series, Penn State and Wisconsin get set for their 57th, 58th and 59th meetings this weekend in Madison. Penn State manages a narrow 30-26 lead in the set which dates to the Nittany Lions' first Big Ten season in 1996. The most recent meeting of the two teams came in a weekend series on April 29 and 30, 2022, with Wisconsin logging an extra-inning victory in the opener followed by a doubleheader split at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field. This weekend's series will mark the first meeting of the two programs in Madison wince April 3 and 4, 2015, when the Nittany Lions recorded a 2-1 series win over the Badgers at Goodman Diamond.
THINKING 30
With their win over Michigan State on Saturday, April 13, the Nittany Lions booked their third consecutive season with at least 30 victories following Saturday evening's performance, accomplishing three straight 30-win campaigns for the first time since the Blue & White recorded five such seasons from 1999 to 2003. Penn State needs just nine more victories to meet the all-time program record for wins in a single season set by the 2006 squad. PSU published a 39-17 overall record and advanced to both the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. The 2006 edition of the Blue & White battled their way to the Hempstead Regional Final, defeating Hofstra and LIU before dropping their finale to Arizona State. In total 15 different Nittany Lion teams have reached the 30-win mark including the 2024 roster following their milestone win last Saturday.
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.
