TAMPA, Fla. – Sparked by a dominant day of offensive production that saw PSU hit .382 across both halves of a twin-bill and aided by an impressive day of pitching in the circle, the Penn State softball team rolled to a pair of victories on day two of The Fonseca Memorial Tournament at USF on Saturday from the USF Softball Stadium. The Nittany Lions booked a 12-2, five-inning thrashing of Loyola Chicago before turning in a 4-0 shutout of St. John’s in the finale to reach the tournament’s championship game on Sunday.
The Nittany Lions impressed in all facets of the game across both meetings with the Ramblers and Red Storm, improving to 3-6 overall on the young season following its first 2-0 day of the 2025 campaign. Penn State will advance to challenge the winner of Saturday’s second semifinal between Loyola Chicago and USF, in a time to be determined. Following the second-ever meeting between the Nittany Lions and Ramblers, Penn State improved to 2-0 overall in a series that dates to the 2013 campaign. Against St. John’s, the Blue & White picked up the program’s third win in the fourth all-time meeting, avenging a narrow 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Red Storm on Friday morning in the first game of this weekend’s tournament. St. John’s dropped to 2-7-1 overall following conclusion of the day’s action, while Loyola Chicago dropped to 2-6 after their loss to PSU.
Every Nittany Lion who heard their name called in the starting lineup booked at least two hits apiece on what was a banner day for the Penn State batting order. Freshmen Natalie Lieto and Macy Chamberlin both finished the day with .500 marks in the batting average category, with the Masuk, Connecticut, native Lieto going 3-for-6 with a run and RBI, while the Wauseon, Ohio, native Chamberlin put up a 2-for-4 line with two runs and a trio of walks for a PSU-leading .714 on-base percentage.
Junior center fielder Jenna Nelson led the Nittany Lions in terms of runs scored with three, while the duo of senior right fielder Haylie Brunson and sophomore second baseman Michela Barbanente both secured their first home runs of the 2025 season in the first and second games of the day, respectively. Overall, Penn State tallied 21 hits and amassed 16 runs scored against their Saturday opponents, turning in a .382 batting average with an even more impressive .444 on-base percentage. Additionally, junior pinch hitter Jordyn Jochims celebrated a personal milestone of her own, connecting on her first collegiate hit with a single against Loyola Chicago.
In the circle, the Nittany Lions struck gold with a quartet of pitchers appearing across both games, holding opposing offenses to a meager .159 opponent batting average while yielding just two scores on the day to the Ramblers. Penn State started the day with 2.0 no-hit, shutout innings from senior lefty Lydia Spalding, and called on senior right-hander Mady Volpe to enter in relief for 2.0 frames of one-run ball. With Spalding failing to reach the minimum, the Lansdale, Pennsylvania, native Volpe was able to book her first victory of her senior season to improve to 1-1 overall in 2025. Junior Jillyan Jochims entered to close out Saturday’s opener against the Ramblers, with the left-hander able to close out the remaining 1.0.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Abigail Britton stole the show in the Nittany Lions’ second win of the day, as the rookie from LaVale, Maryland, spun the first complete-game shutout at Penn State since Volpe closed out the Morgan State Bears in non-conference action on February 24 of last year. Penn State’s first-year pitcher had a career day in the circle, tossing a career-high 7.0 innings in addition to 111 pitches overall. Across her complete-game effort, Britton scattered a trio of Red Storm hits and kept the scoreboard clean in the process, allowing one walk while sitting down a quartet of St. John’s batters by way of the strikeout.
The Blue & White started the morning off strong with a dominant run-rule performance against the Ramblers. In the bottom of the second, Brunson stepped up to the dish and demolished the first home run of her senior campaign over the fence in right field, launching her dinger on a 1-2 count. Gordon kept things rolling with a walk on eight pitches, and Walters moved her 60 feet further with a single toward the Rambler pitcher. Penn State executed a double steal moments later to place runners on the left side of the infield, and a sacrifice fly to right by Barbanente brought Gordon in to score. Loyola Chicago replied with a run in the top of the third inning, but Penn State showed little interest in allowing the Ramblers to ramble on, as the Blue & White bat through the order en route to an eye-popping 10-run inning in the home half of the third to surge ahead by a 12-1 differential. Loyola Chicago added another score in the top of the fifth, but the Nittany Lion defense buckled down behind Jochims and came away with the impressive 12-2 victory via the run rule.
The second game of the day pitted the Red Storm and Nittany Lions against one another for the second time in as many days, with Penn State searching to avenge Friday’s loss against SJU. All was quiet until the top of the third, when Nelson led things off with a single through the left side of the infield, advancing to second on a Nittany Lion groundout moments later. Another left-side single for the Blue & White, coming from Lieto, helped propel Nelson to third to place runners on the corners. Nelson promptly stole second base, and a grounder by Klosowicz to the second baseman resulted in an RBI that brought Nelson in to score. With two outs on the board in the fourth, Barbanente battled her way into a hitter’s count and clobbered her first home run of the 2025 campaign over the fence in left center to double the Nittany Lion advantage. A pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh helped supplement Britton’s dominant afternoon in the pitcher’s circle, as the Blue & White were able to come away with their first shutout of the season in a 4-0 finish.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (VS. LOYOLA CHICAGO)
Haylie Brunson | 2-for-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B, HR
Maddie Gordon | 1-for-2, 2 R, RBI, 2B, BB, SB
Lydia Spalding | 2.0 IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 28TP
Mady Volpe | 2.0 IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 3K, 49TP, WIN
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (VS. ST. JOHN’S)
Jenna Nelson | 2-for-3, 2R, 2 1B
Michela Barbanente | 1-for-3, R, RBI, HR
Abigail Britton | 7.0 IP, 3H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 4K, 111TP, CG, SHO, WIN
KEY INNINGS (VS. LOYOLA CHICAGO)
B2 | Brunson stepped up to the dish and demolished the first home run of her senior campaign over the fence in right field, launching her dinger on a 1-2 count. Gordon kept things rolling with a walk on eight pitches, and Walters moved her 60 feet further with a single toward the Rambler pitcher. Penn State executed a double steal moments later to place runners on the left side of the infield, and a sacrifice fly to right by Barbanente brought Gordon in to score. PSU 2, LOY 0
T3 | With one out on the board, Haley Wallace drew a walk to book a baserunner for the Ramblers. Loyola’s second strikeout of the inning put two down, but a double to left center by Nat Lesnicki brought Wallace around to cut the Nittany Lion lead in half. PSU 2, LOY 1
B3 | Penn State geared up for a massive third inning on the offensive end, with Lieto getting things started with a hit-by-pitch. A single through the left side by Klosowicz bumped Lieto to second, and a five-pitch walk by Chamberlin juiced the bases for the Blue & White. Brunson got the scoring started with a two-RBI double down the right field line on the first pitch of her at-bat to score Lieto and Klosowicz, and Gordon mustered a double of her own to right that saw Chamberlin score and Brunson reach third. PSU kept things going with a bunt single by Walters following a pitching change, and a single up the middle by Barbanente plated Brunson and Gordon while Walters moved to second. Loyola Chicago was able to get the lead runner out with a fielder’s choice in the next at-bat, but Ricks kept the scoring coming with a double to left center that Barbanente around. A single to center by Lieto in her second plate appearance of the frame brought Nelson across, while a fielding error in center by the Ramblers allowed Ricks to venture home. Lieto proceeded to steal second, Klosowicz walked and Chamberlin earned an infield hit to load the bases once more, and despite another fielder’s choice that put two away with a force-out at home, Gordon was able to create enough chaos with a ball in play in the infield to force a Rambler error that plated Klosowicz and Chamberlin. PSU 12, LOY 1
T5 | After a slew of defensive changes by the Nittany Lions, Bella Crimaldi worked a piece of two-out hitting to left field for a single and advanced to second on a PSU fielding error in the outfield. A triple to right field by Ali Pawlowicz brought Crimaldi home for the final run of Saturday morning’s contest. PSU 12, LOY 2
KEY INNINGS (VS. ST. JOHN’S)
T3 | Nelson led the top half of the third off with a single through the left side of the infield, advancing to second on a Nittany Lion groundout moments later. Another left-side single for the Blue & White, coming from Lieto, helped propel Nelson to third to place runners on the corners. Nelson promptly stole second base, and a grounder by Klosowicz to the second baseman resulted in an RBI that brought Nelson in to score. PSU 1, SJU 0
T4 | With a pair of outs on the scoreboard, Barbanente battled her way into a hitter’s count and clobbered her first home run of the 2025 campaign over the fence in left center to double the Nittany Lion advantage. PSU 2, SJU 0
T7 | Nelson led the visitor’s half of the seventh inning off seeking insurance runs to bolster Britton’s impressive day of work. The Nittany Lion answered with a single to center, and ultimately advanced to second after the centerfielder bobbled the ball for an advancement error. Ricks proceeded to lay down a bunt that she legged out for a single and began to run toward second base in an effort to lure the defense’s attention away from Nelson. In the ensuing commotion, Ricks was successful in her efforts as Nelson completed her journey home while Ricks was safe at second. A groundout in the next at-bat saw Ricks take third base, and an RBI single through the left side of the infield by Klosowicz plated her to tack on a pair of insurance tallies. PSU 4, SJU 0
UP NEXT
Penn State softball concludes its weekend stay in Tampa with its fifth and final game at The Fonseca Memorial Tournament at USF, with the Blue & White scheduled to take on either the USF Bulls or Loyola Chicago Ramblers in the tournament championship game on Sunday, February 16, at the USF Softball Stadium. Game time remains to be determined. Matchup information, including opponent, start time, streaming information, live stats and more will be announced via the Penn State softball social media channels, with links available via the team’s schedule webpage at GoPSUsports.com when available.
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