TAMPA, Fla. – Despite maintaining leads in both games of a twin bill at the Fonseca Memorial Tournament at USF, Penn State softball dropped a pair of decisions to the St. John’s Red Storm and USF Bulls in non-conference action from the USF Softball Stadium on Friday. PSU experienced a 4-3 setback against St. John’s, followed by a 12-4, five-inning defeat to host-USF.
Following Friday’s action in South Florida, Penn State’s season record moved to 1-6 overall with three total games remaining at The Fonseca Memorial Tournament. Following their respective victories against the Nittany Lions, St. John’s moved to 2-4-1 overall through the conclusion of Friday’s contests, while USF rose to 6-2 overall after their win. In the all-time series with St. John’s, Penn State suffered its first setback and moved to 1-2 against the Red Storm all-time, while USF added to its all-time lead against the Nittany Lions, improving to 19-8 including a 6-5 mark in the last 11 fixtures.
Sophomore infielder Brooke Klosowicz was once again the highlight of the day for the Nittany Lion offense, turning in an impressive 4-for-6 performance at the dish with a pair of runs scored, a double, a solo home run and a pair of RBI. Klosowicz, a native of Johnsburg, Illinois, now paces the Penn State roster with a six-game hitting streak dating to PSU’s second game of the season against Texas Tech in Clearwater. Junior outfielder Jenna Nelson hit to the tune of a .600 clip on Friday, going 3-for-5 with a run scored, pairing her offensive output with a perfect day in the outfield, amassing four putouts. Freshman catcher Macy Chamberlin finished the day 1-for-2 with a run scored and three walks, while sophomore shortstop Kaylie Walters hit with .333 efficiency in addition to drawing three walks of her own.
In the circle, Penn State called on a pair of right-handers to work through Friday’s opposition, with freshman Abigail Britton and senior Mady Volpe both earning starts. Britton and Volpe both split Friday’s losing decisions, both going 0-1, with the LaVale, Maryland, native Britton throwing 5.2 innings while the Lansdale, Pennsylvania, native Volpe tossed 5.0 frames. Additionally, sophomore Jiselle Hernandez made her collegiate pitching debut in the circle against USF, throwing 0.1 innings to round out the trio of Nittany Lions in action.
Both teams opened Friday’s early-morning contest with a run in each half of the opening frame, but the Nittany Lions were able to surge ahead with a productive two-run inning in the visitor’s half of the fifth. Walters got things started in the fifth with a walk on six offerings, and Lieto attempted to put down a sac bunt to mark her plate appearance. Lieto perfectly executed the sacrifice, but a throwing error by the second baseman attempting to catch Walters off the second base bag allowed the Nittany Lion to complete her trip around the basepath in the ensuing commotion. After a flyout to left put two down for the Blue & White, Klosowicz clobbered her second dinger of the campaign deep over the fence in left to close out the two-run inning. St. John’s utilized a two-run homer later in the inning to tie things up, and an RBI single down the left field line in the bottom of the seventh to record the walk-off 4-3 victory.
In game two, things were quiet until Penn State roared to life in the top of the third, with Nelson starting things off with a single to left field on the first pitch of her at-bat. After a Nittany Lion grounded out to put one away and move Nelson over, Ricks kept the action rolling with her own single to left to leave runners on the right side of the infield. Klosowicz proceeded to double toward the left field fence, bringing both Nittany Lion runners in to score, advancing to third on a throwing error by the USF shortstop. After a strikeout put two away, Brunson delivered a single up the middle to bring Klosowicz around. Penn State added another tally via a Meagan Ricks sacrifice fly, but USF was able to register three runs in the home half followed by a nine-run fifth-inning to come away with a 12-4 run-rule decision in five frames.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (VS. ST. JOHN’S)
Brooke Klosowicz | 2-for-3, R, 2B, HR, RBI, BB
Jenna Nelson | 1-for-3, 1B
Mady Volpe | 4.0 IP, 4H, 3R, 3ER, 3BB, 2K, 68TP
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (VS. USF)
Brooke Klosowicz | STATS
Jenna Nelson | STATS
Abigail Britton | 3.1 IP, 3H, 3R, 3ER, BB, K, 73TP
KEY INNINGS (VS. ST. JOHN’S)
T1 | Lieto drew a four-pitch walk on the first four pitches of Friday’s action, and after a quick Nittany Lion flyout in the next at-bat, Lieto proceeded to steal second base. Another Penn State fly ball put two away, but a miscue from the Red Storm shortstop attempting to cover a ball in play by Brunson resulted in an error that saw Brunson trot to second while Lieto completed her journey around the basepath for the unearned tally. PSU 1, SJU 0
B1 | Jess Bianco opened the offensive effort for SJU with a bunt single to lead off the bottom of the first, and after a pair of popups put two away for the Red Storm, Anese Thompson drew a walk on 11 pitches to keep the inning alive. A wild pitch moments later saw both baserunners advance 60 feet further, and a single to left from Cassidy Stouffer brought the tying run home to deadlock the score through one inning of play. PSU 1, SJU 1
T5 | Walters got things started in the fifth with a walk on six offerings, and Lieto attempted to put down a sac bunt to mark her plate appearance. Lieto perfectly executed the sacrifice, but a throwing error by the second baseman attempting to catch Walters off the second base bag allowed the Nittany Lion to complete her trip around the basepath in the ensuing commotion. After a flyout to left put two down for the Blue & White, Klosowicz clobbered her second dinger of the campaign deep over the fence in left to close out the two-run inning. PSU 3, SJU 1
B5 | Natalie Casto drew a walk on four pitches to lead off the inning, and Melanie Santos hit her first home run of the 2025 campaign over the fence in left to deadlock the game. PSU 3, SJU 3
B7 | Bianco led the bottom of the seventh off with a single toward the PSU pitcher, and moved to second base after Madison Konopka did the same. A fielder’s choice saw London Jarrard reach first while Konopka was called out at second and Bianco trotted to third, but a single down the left field line by Thompson brought the game-winning run across for the Red Storm. SJU 4, PSU 3
KEY INNINGS (VS. USF)
T3 | Penn State soared in the visiting half of the third inning, with Nelson starting things off with a single to left field on the first pitch of her at-bat. After a Nittany Lion grounded out to put one away and move Nelson over, Ricks kept the action rolling with her own single to left to leave runners on the right side of the infield. Klosowicz proceeded to double toward the left field fence, bringing both Nittany Lion runners in to score, advancing to third on a throwing error by the USF shortstop. After a strikeout put two away, Brunson delivered a single up the middle to bring Klosowicz around. PSU 3, USF 0
T4 | Chamberlin cranked the first pitch of her at-bat to right-center to open the fourth inning, and with one away, Nelson singled through the right side to move Chamberlin over to third. Nelson proceeded to steal second, and a single from Walters that beat USF’s throw to first kept the frame alive. With the bases juiced, Ricks delivered a sacrifice fly to left center that put another run on the board. PSU 4, USF 0
B4 | Alex Wilkes led the bottom of the fourth off with a single to right, and with one away, Alanah Rivera hit a two-run shot over the fence in left field. Camille Ortiz-Martinez made it back-to-back homers in her at-bat, launching a solo shot to right center that brought the Bulls within one. PSU 4, USF 3
B5 | USF booked a walk and benefitted from an error on the ensuing fielder’s choice to place a pair of runners on the left side of the infield. A fielding error by PSU allowed the Bulls to load the bases, and despite putting an out on the scoreboard with an infield fly, Ortiz-Martinez delivered an RBI and reached base via a fielding error to plate the USF leadoff hitter. The Bulls then called on Jamia Nelson to deliver a grand slam homer to put USF in firm control of the game. A hit-by-pitch and wild pitch saw DaNia Brooks reach second base, and another walk placed runners on the right side. USF loaded the bases once more with a bunt single, and Alexa Galligani singled through the left side to plate another run. Wilkes delivered a sac fly to tack on one more, and a single followed by another wild pitch allowed to more runners to cross home and conclude Friday’s action. USF 12, PSU 4
UP NEXT
Penn State continues its weekend in sunny South Florida tomorrow, Saturday, February 15, as the Nittany Lions enter day two of The Fonseca Memorial Tournament at USF. The Nittany Lions get ready for a 9 a.m. (ET) meeting with the Loyola Chicago Ramblers at the USF Softball Stadium and will resume action later in the day in the team’s tournament semifinal against either USF, St. John’s or Loyola Chicago, with start time to be determined. Fans are encouraged to follow along with the Penn State softball social media channels for the most up-to-date information.
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