UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State softball freshman pitcher Bridget Nemeth landed Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week accolades, her fourth weekly distinction from the league office in the 2024 campaign, as announced by the conference in a release Monday afternoon.
Nemeth turned in an exemplary weekend of outings for the Nittany Lions, booking a pair of complete-game victories en route to PSU's third straight B1G series win over Nebraska on the road. The freshman phenom tossed 17.0 innings combined, including a complete seven-inning game in Friday's series opener and a 10-inning CG in the series clincher Sunday. Nemeth logged a 2-0 individual record last weekend, improving her league-leading record to 17-1 overall. Nemeth scattered 12 hits and yielded a mere five earned runs for a weekend ERA of 2.06, all the while logging 18 total strikeouts with a meager three walks. Her opponent batting average of .188 led all Nittany Lion pitchers last weekend.
In the series finale against the Cornhuskers, Nemeth tossed a career-high 14 strikeouts in the circle and helped lead the Blue & White to their best start to B1G play since 2016. At the plate on Sunday, Nemeth stepped into the most high-pressure situation she had faced to date and recorded her first hit, home run, RBI and run scored all in one swing with an emphatic two-run shot to center that forced extras and led PSU to the eventual 6-5 victory. Nemeth ranks first in the Big Ten Conference with 17 overall victories this season and has picked up a win or save in 20 of her 22 collegiate appearances. She leads all Big Ten pitchers with a 1.17 ERA and ranks 17th in the statistic among all Division I student-athletes.
Thanks to Nemeth's dominant weekend of performances in the circle, Penn State recorded its first series win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers since the program joined the Big Ten Conference in the 2012-13 academic year. Her work in the circle this year, along with a myriad of astonishing performances by her teammates has culminated in a 28-8 overall record for the Blue & White in addition to a 7-2 start to league play, marking the best start to a conference season in Happy Valley since 2016.
Nemeth's recognition as the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week marks her third Freshman of the Week accolade in addition to her fourth Big Ten Weekly honor of the 2024 season overall, matching the career record for weekly awards set by Bailey Parshall last year after landing her fourth Pitcher of the Week distinction on March 6. Nemeth already owns the Penn State single-season record for Big Ten weekly awards, surpassing Parshall's single-season record of two earlier this season. Nemeth lands the seventh Big Ten Freshman of the Week distinction in Penn State program history and remains just the fifth woman to earn those awards all-time in Happy Valley.
The Blue & White continue Big Ten Conference competition this Friday through Sunday, April 12 through 14, as the Nittany Lions host their Blue-White Weekend series against the Michigan State Spartans at Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field. All three games of the weekend slate will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app, with live stats provided by the Pennsylvania State University and StatBroadcast available at the Nittany Lion Softball schedule webpage.
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 Twitter and Instagram @PennStateSB.
