MADISON, Wis. – Penn State softball dropped the second game of its weekend series against the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday afternoon, falling by a 17-3 margin in five innings at the Goodman Softball Complex.
The defeat saw the Nittany Lions drop to 31-12 overall through this point in the 2024 campaign, moving to 10-6 against Big Ten Conference foes this season. In the all-time series against Wisconsin, the Badgers picked up their 27th win against the Blue & White following the 58th meeting of the two programs. PSU still maintains a slim 31-27 lead against Wisconsin in the all-time set that dates to 1996. Wisconsin climbed to 17-25 overall this season and improved to 6-10 in league competitions.
In the batter's box, Penn State tallied a quintet of hits highlighted by a quartet of extra-base knocks in the contest. Freshman shortstop Jiselle Hernandez led the way for the Nittany Lions, cranking her first collegiate home run in the top of the third inning over the fence in left center. Senior catcher Gaby Garcia continued her impressive run of individual performances, launching her second homer of the series to right field in the top of the fifth. Senior second baseman Kaitlyn Morrison and freshman left fielder Michela Barbanente each recorded doubles in the game, while junior right fielder Maddie Gordon added a single.
In the circle, Penn State called on a trio of student-athletes to toss the four combined innings in the game. Junior righty Mady Volpe booked the start and tossed 2.2 frames, ultimately being credited for the loss as Penn State's pitcher of record, dropping her individual mark to 8-5 this year. Junior south paw Lydia Spalding recorded an inning of work, while sophomore right-hander Paige Maynard added in 0.1 innings of work.
The first inning of the game passed relatively without incident, but the Badgers were able to tally four runs in the home half of the second to take an early lead. Hernandez led the top of the third off with a solo shot to left center, cranking her first collegiate home run. Morrison kept the offense rolling with a double down the right field line, and Jones drew a walk to put runners on first and second. After Gordon popped up to the pitcher, Garcia managed to load the bases after a fielding error by the third baseman. A Brunson walk added PSU's second run of the day, allowing Morrison to trot home. In response to Penn State's two-run third inning, the Badgers were able to tack on a three-run homer in the bottom of the third to take a 7-2 advantage and blew the game open with a 10-run fourth. Garcia belted a solo homer to right in the top of the fifth to close out the scoring in Wisconsin's Saturday victory.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Jiselle Hernandez | 1-for-2, R, RBI, FIRST CAREER HR
Gaby Garcia | 1-for-3, R, RBI, HR
Kaitlyn Morrison | 1-for-3, R, 2B
KEY INNINGS
B2 | With one away, Alivia Bark singled to center field and Ellie Hubbard drew a walk to place runners on first and second. Emily Bojan popped up to the first baseman in the next at-bat, but Fiona Girardot drew a hit-by-pitch to load the bases. An Ava Kuszak double down the left field line brought Hubbard and Bark in, and a Hilary Blomberg single to left field plated Girardot and Kuszak. WIS 4, PSU 0
T3 | Hernandez led the top of the inning off with a solo shot over the fence in left center, cranking her first collegiate home run. Morrison kept the offense rolling with a double down the rightfield line, and Jones drew a walk to put runners on first and second. After Gordon popped up to the pitcher, Garcia managed to load the bases after a fielding error by the third baseman. A Brunson walk added PSU's second run of the day, allowing Morrison to trot home. WIS 4, PSU 2
B3 | Brooke Kuffel was hit by a Nittany Lion pitch and Peyton Bannon singled through the left side to put runners on first and second. A sac bunt moved both runners 60 feet further, but a popup put two away for Wisconsin. Skylar Sirdashney hit a three-run homer to take a 7-2 advantage through three frames. WIS 7, PSU 2
B4 | Kuszak led the inning off with a solo homer, and after a PSU pitching change, Blomberg singled up the middle on the first pitch of her at-bat. Emmy Wells reached on a fielder's choice that saw Blomberg thrown out, but a walk moments later put runners on first and second. A fielding error allowed the Badgers to load the bases, and a double to right from Bark plated a pair of runners. A Hubbard walk loaded the bases once again, and Sirdashney hit her second homer of the day for a grand slam. Girardot and Kuszak singled to put runners on first and second, and Blomberg hit a three-run homer to close out the 10-run frame. WIS 17, PSU 2
T5 | With two outs on the scoreboard, Garcia cranked the third pitch of her at-bat over the fence in right field to mark her second homer of the weekend series. WIS 17, PSU 3
UP NEXT
Penn State softball concludes its weekend series on the road against the Wisconsin Badgers tomorrow, Sunday, April 21 at the Goodman Softball Complex. First pitch in the weekend finale against the Badgers is slated for 2 p.m. (ET), with the game 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 Instagram and X @PennStateSB.
