MADISON, Wis. – Penn State softball roared to life on the offensive side of the ball, calling on senior center fielder Liana Jones' first career grand slam and freshman pitcher Bridget Nemeth's second complete game of the weekend to take its fifth straight Big Ten series against the Wisconsin Badgers with a 10-2 win Sunday afternoon at the Goodman Softball Complex.
Penn State matched its most wins in a single season under the direction of fourth-year head coach Clarisa Crowell, rising to 32-12 overall following Sunday's result in the capital of America's Dairyland. The Nittany Lions improved to 11-6 against Big Ten Conference competitors, matching the 2023 team's final win total against league challengers in six fewer games. Eleven Big Ten wins is tied for the fifth most in a single season in Penn State program history alongside the 2023 and 2011 rosters. PSU needs just two more victories to crack the top five all-time in Happy Valley for overall wins in a single season.
In the all-time series against the Badgers, Penn State improved to 32-27 overall and picked up its first series victory against Wisconsin since the 2015 roster rattled off a pair of wins in a three-game set in Madison. The result on Sunday also guaranteed Penn State's second victory against Wisconsin in a three-game series since the Big Ten made that schedule format permanent ahead of the 2012 campaign. In defeat, Wisconsin drops to 17-26 overall in the 2024 season and 6-11 against B1G competitors this year.
In the batter's box, Penn State's offense mustered its most hits against a Big Ten opponent in the 2024 season, finishing with 14 total knocks on the day in addition to seven extra-base hits split between four doubles and three home runs. Jones was an instant standout in Sunday's dominant offensive outing, booking a 2-for-3 showing highlighted by her first collegiate grand slam to put the game out of reach for Wisconsin in the top of the sixth. Jones matched her career high in RBI with four, joining a performance against Tarleton during the Longhorn Classic this year.
Junior designated player Haylie Brunson turned in an impressive 2-for-4 line with a solo home run and an RBI double, finishing the day with her eighth multi-hit and multi-RBI performance since joining the Blue & White for the 2024 season. Brunson cranked her sixth dinger of the year, while junior right fielder Maddie Gordon notched her 10th home run of the season with a two-run bomb in the top of the first. Gordon, a native of Shenandoah, Virginia, became the 13th Nittany Lion to hit 10 or more home runs in a single season in program history. She currently is tied for 10th all-time in program history in the category, joining former teammate Lexie Black as well as program icons Macy Jones and Jen Acunto.
In the circle, Nemeth continued to impress in her fourth pitching appearance of the week, with the north paw recording her 11th complete game in 2024 while becoming just the fourth woman in Penn State history to reach 20 wins in a single season. The Glendora, California, native already owns the most wins in a season by a freshman in Penn State history, needing just two wins to match and three to surpass the overall program record. Nemeth boasts a 20-3 individual record following Sunday's result which saw her yield just two earned runs and strike out eight batters with zero walks.
Seeking an immediate response from Saturday's tough road test, the Nittany Lions roared out of the gates and never looked back in Sunday's impressive showing. Senior second baseman Kaitlyn Morrison led the top of the first inning off with a first pitch single up the middle, immediately setting the tone in the rubber match. Jones executed a pristine sacrifice bunt to move Morrison to second moments later. On the seventh pitch of the next at-bat, Gordon clobbered a two-run shot over the fence in left field to put Penn State ahead by a pair of runs. Wisconsin got one run back with a pair of doubles in the home half, but the game stabilized from there. After an uneventful second and third frame, senior catcher Gaby Garcia opened the visitor's half of the fourth inning with a hard-hit opposite field double down the right field line, and sophomore Jenna Nelson came in to pinch run for her at first. A wild pitch afforded Nelson the opportunity to reach third base, and Brunson stepped up to bat moments later. After taking ball one, Brunson lifted the ball to left center, and neither Badger outfielder was able to make a play on the ball resulting in an RBI double that scored Nelson.
Leading by a 3-1 tally, PSU managed the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings without incident, paving the way for the best offensive frame of the weekend for the Nittany Lions. With one away in the top of the sixth, Brunson absolutely crushed the softball over the wall in center on a 1-1 count. Senior third baseman Emily Maddock kept the party going for PSU with a double that got lost in the sun by the Badger shortstop, but Maddock was thrown out at home after freshman shortstop Jiselle Hernandez registered a single and advanced to second on the throw that caught Maddock at the plate. A single to right center by freshman first baseman Gianna Poletti brought Hernandez in, and after a Wisconsin pitching change, freshman left fielder Michela Barbanente kept the frame alive with a single through the left side. Morrison drew a walk to juice the bases, and after Wisconsin re-entered its starter for Jones' at-bat, the Langhorne, Pennsylvania, native crushed her first collegiate grand slam to left field. Both teams tacked on an additional run later in the contest, closing the book on the 10-2 PSU win.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Liana Jones | 2-for-3, R, 4 RBI, GRAND SLAM HR, SAC BUNT
Haylie Brunson | 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR
Bridget Nemeth | WIN, CG, 7.0 IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 8K, 97TP
KEY INNINGS
T1 | Morrison led the top of the first inning off with a first pitch single up the middle, immediately setting the tone in the rubber match. Jones executed a pristine sacrifice bunt to move Morrison to second. On the seventh pitch of the next at-bat, Gordon clobbered a two-run shot over the fence in left field to put Penn State ahead by a pair of runs. PSU 2, WIS 0
B1 | Wisconsin flew out to open the home half, but Ava Kuszak got the Badgers going with a double to left center. A grounder allowed Kuszak to move over to third base, and Emmy Wells drove her in with a double to the right center gap that cut the PSU lead back to one. PSU 2, WIS 1
T4 | Garcia opened the visitor's half of the fourth inning with a hard-hit opposite field double down the right field line, and Nelson came in to pinch run for her at first. A wild pitch allowed Nelson the opportunity to reach third base, and Brunson stepped up to bat moments later. After taking ball one, Brunson lifted the ball to left center, and neither Badger outfielder was able to make a play on the ball resulting in an RBI double that scored Nelson. PSU 3, WIS 1
T6 | With one out on the scoreboard for the Nittany Lions, Brunson absolutely crushed the softball over the wall in center on a 1-1 count. Maddock kept the party going for PSU with a double that got lost in the sun by the Badger shortstop, but Maddock was thrown out at home after Hernandez registered a single and advanced to second on the throw that caught Maddock at the plate. A single to right center by Poletti brought Hernandez in, and after a Wisconsin pitching change, Barbanente kept the frame alive with a single through the left side. Morrison drew a walk to juice the bases, and after Wisconsin re-entered its starter for Jones' at-bat, the Langhorne, Pennsylvania, native crushed her first collegiate grand slam to left field. PSU 9, WIS 1
B6 | With one away, Hilary Blomberg hit a solo shot over the wall in right center to prevent the run-rule defeat. PSU 9, WIS 2
T7 | A pair of groundouts opened the visitor's half of the seventh, but a pinch hit double to center field from Mendoza kept the inning alive for the Blue & White. From there, Hernandez singled down the right field line to plate the 10th and final run for Penn State. PSU 10, WIS 2
UP NEXT
Penn State softball returns home to Happy Valley for its final week of competition at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field, as the Blue & White welcome a pair of opponents for four combined games. PSU returns to work against Saint Francis on Tuesday, April 23 at 6 p.m. (ET), with the Nittany Lions set to celebrate senior weekend in their final B1G home series against the Michigan Wolverines next Friday through Sunday, April 26 through 28. All four games will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app.
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