LINCOLN, Neb. – Penn State softball dropped the second game of its weekend series against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday afternoon, falling by a 10-2 margin in five innings of play at Bowlin Stadium.
In defeat, the Nittany Lions fell to 27-8 overall and 6-2 in Big Ten Conference competition while the Cornhuskers improved to 23-14 overall and 6-1 in the league. Penn State split the first two contests of its weekend series in the Cornhusker State, with the rubber match set to be contested on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Lincoln. Nebraska improves to 15-7 in the all-time series against the Nittany Lions following the 22nd meeting of the two programs on Saturday.
Four different Nittany Lions found their way onto the box score via hits in the middle game of the series, with senior second baseman Kaitlyn Morrison launching her third home run of the 2024 season in the top of the fourth inning to close the book on a 1-for-2 performance in the box. Junior right fielder Maddie Gordon cranked a double and scored a run in a 1-for-2 outing, while senior center fielder Liana Jones also went 1-for-2 with an RBI double that plated Gordon in the fourth. Freshman left fielder Michela Barbanente rounded things out for PSU with a 1-for-2 showing aided by a chop single.
In the circle, junior right-hander Mady Volpe earned the start and finished the day with 3.1 innings of work, yielding seven hits and five earned runs in the outing. The Lansdale, Pennsylvania, native struck out a pair of batters and yielded a single walk, being saddled with the loss and moving to 7-4 overall this season individually. In relief, sophomore righty Paige Maynard threw 1.1 frames and allowed a mere two hits in her effort out of the bullpen.
Nebraska got the game started in the bottom of the second inning, netting a single unearned run based on a pair of Nittany Lion errors in the frame. The Cornhuskers added onto their early lead in the bottom of the third, with a two-RBI single up the middle culminating in a 3-0 Nebraska lead heading into the fourth. Penn State needed an immediate response and got one on a 1-0 count in the first at-bat of the inning.
Morrison teed off on the Cornhusker's second offering of the inning and crushed a no-doubt solo shot over the wall in left field to get Penn State on the scoreboard. After a PSU popup to second, Gordon went to the plate and crushed a double down the left field line. A liner put two away for the Nittany Lions, but Jones managed a double to left center that brought Gordon in to score and cut Nebraska's lead to one. Despite a quiet home half of the fourth and top of the fifth, Nebraska was able to tack on seven runs in the bottom of the fifth on five hits, closing the game out by a 10-2 tally.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Liana Jones | 1-for-2, RBI, 2B
Kaitlyn Morrison | 1-for-2, R, RBI, HR
Maddie Gordon | 1-for-2, R, 2B
KEY INNINGS
B2 | Peyton Cody popped up to lead off the inning but reached on a fielding error after the ball bounced out of a Nittany Lion glove. After back-to-back outs put two away with one runner on, Katelyn Caneda sent a fly ball to center that popped out of another PSU glove for the second error of the frame, with Cody completing her trip around the bases in the ensuing chaos. NEB 1, PSU 0
B3 | Brooke Andrews drew a walk on five pitches to lead off the inning, and an Ava Bredwell single to right center put runners on first and second. After a sacrifice bunt advanced both runners, the Cornhuskers popped up to put two away. A single up the middle from Cody gave both runners the requisite time to complete their trip around the bases. NEB 3, PSU 0
T4 | On a 1-0 count in the top of the fourth, Morrison teed off on the Cornhusker offering and crushed a no-doubt solo shot over the wall in left field to get Penn State on the scoreboard. After a PSU popup to second, Gordon went to the plate and crushed a double down the left field line. A liner put two away for the Nittany Lions, but Jones managed a double to left center that brought Gordon in to score. NEB 3, PSU 2
B5 | Brooke Andrews led the inning off with a walk, and Bredwell drew a walk to place runners on first and second. Samantha Bland sent a single to left center that allowed Andrews to score and Bredwell to advance. A grounder allowed both remaining runners to advance 60 feet, and a Cody single through the right side moved Bland to third and brought Bredwell home. After a PSU pitching change, Mckinley Malecha came in to pinch run for Cody at first. A single from Bella Bacon to left center and advancement on the throw allowed Malecha to reach third while Bland scored. Caitlynn Neal doubled in the next at-bat to score Bacon and Malecha, and after Caneda flew out, Billie Andrews hit a walk-off two run homer to close things out. NEB 10, PSU 2
UP NEXT
Penn State softball concludes its weekend series with the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Sunday, April 7, with first pitch from Bowlin Stadium slated for 1 p.m. (ET). Streaming will be available to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+, with the live simulcast of the game available on 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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