LINCOLN, Neb. – Highlighted by a pair of hits at the plate, including the eventual game-winning home run in the top of the sixth from junior right fielder Maddie Gordon, Penn State softball booked a gritty, 2-1 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the series opener Friday night from Bowlin Stadium.
The Nittany Lions improved to 27-7 overall and 6-1 in Big Ten Conference play, moving into a tie for the league lead with Michigan and Northwestern through the first seven games of league action. PSU's rise to 27-7 overall saw the Blue & White extend their league-leading winning percentage to .794 this year, clearing the next-closest Big Ten opponent in Northwestern by .80 percentage points. In the all-time series with the Cornhuskers, Penn State rose to 7-14 all-time and picked up its second straight win in Lincoln. In defeat, Nebraska fell to 22-14 overall and 5-1 in B1G play.
In the circle, freshman pitcher Bridget Nemeth tossed her seventh complete game of her rookie season and picked up her second consecutive victory, rising to 16-1 overall this year. Nemeth, a native of Glendora, California, continues to lead all Big Ten Conference pitchers in overall victories this year and moved into sole possession of 10th place all-time at Penn State for wins in a single season. Nemeth yielded just two hits on the evening and surrendered a single unearned run in the dominant showing, walking one batter against four emphatic strikeouts.
At the plate, the Nittany Lions tallied a quintet of hits, with Gordon's long-gone shot over the wall in left serving as the team's only extra-base hit of the outing. Gordon, a native of Shenandoah, Virginia, turned in her 10th multi-RBI showing of the 2024 season, booking the most multi-RBI outings by any Nittany Lion this year. Gordon recorded her seventh homer of the season in PSU's crucial 2-1 victory on Friday, cementing herself atop the Penn State leaderboard for dingers in 2024.
Elsewhere in the Nittany Lion lineup, three additional student-athletes recorded hits in Friday's win over the Cornhuskers. Senior center fielder Liana Jones, senior third baseman Emily Maddock and freshman first baseman Gianna Poletti each mustered 1-for-3 showings with singles scattered throughout the game. Batting second in Friday's lineup, senior catcher Gaby Garcia was able to muster a walk in the top of the sixth inning to get Penn State's offense rolling, eventually completing her trip around the base path thanks to Gordon's two-run shot. Garcia, a native of Southlake, Texas, extended her team-leading reached base streak to 11 consecutive games thanks to her walk and run scored.
PSU went down in order in the top of the first inning, bringing Nebraska's regularly high-octane offense up to bat to start the contest. A fielding error and passed ball in the home half allowed a single unearned score in the first, with Nebraska leading the contest by one for the majority of the contest. Nemeth was dominant in the bottom of the second, recording a trio of strikeouts including a pair of swinging K's to keep the Nittany Lions locked in on both sides of the ball. Penn State saw its first base runner reach in the third, with freshman shortstop Jiselle Hernandez drawing a walk, but the Nittany Lions failed to plate the tying run through three frames.
Nemeth needed just six pitches to work the Blue & White out of the bottom of the third, forcing a grounder and pair of popups to record her second consecutive one-two-three inning. Gordon got the offense rolling with the team's first hit of the day in the top of the fourth, but neither squad was able to capitalize on scoring chances in the next two innings. With one out on the board in the top of the sixth, Garcia drew a walk on five pitches to place a Nittany Lion runner on the basepath. Gordon took the first pitch of the next at-bat for a ball and timed her swing perfectly on the ensuing pitch, cranking a two-run homer over the fence in left field to give Penn State the lead for good. Back-to-back one-two-three innings from Nemeth and the defense closed things out, with the Nittany Lions taking home a 2-1 victory in the series opener.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Maddie Gordon | 2-for-3, R, 2 RBI, HR
Gaby Garcia | 0-for-2, R, BB
Bridget Nemeth | WIN, 7.0 IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER, 1BB, 4K, 83TP
KEY INNINGS
B1 | Billie Andrews led the bottom of the first off and reached first on a fielding error by PSU's second baseman. In the next at-bat, Brooke Andrews doubled just inside fair territory at the wall along the left field line, putting runners on second and third. After a marvelous lineout caught by Poletti, the Andrews sisters were each able to advance 60 feet on a passed ball, with Billie booking the first run of the contest. NEB 1, PSU 0
T6 | With one out on the board, Garcia drew a walk on five pitches to place a Nittany Lion runner on the basepath. Gordon took the first pitch of the next at-bat for a ball and timed her swing perfectly on the next pitch, cranking a two-run homer over the fence in left field to give Penn State the lead for good. PSU 2, NEB 1
UP NEXT
Penn State softball continues its weekend stay in the state of Nebraska, as the Nittany Lions face off in game two of the series against the Cornhuskers on Saturday, April 6. PSU and Nebraska take the field beginning at 2 p.m. (ET), with streaming available to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app. Live stats provided by the University of Nebraska and StatBroadcast are available at the link on the Penn State softball schedule page at GoPSUsports.com.
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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.
