CLEARWATER, Fla. – Sophomore third baseman Brooke Klosowicz crushed her first collegiate home run and tallied a quartet of hits on the day, as the Penn State softball team booked a split of Saturday’s doubleheader at the NFCA Leadoff Classic from the Eddie C. Moore Complex. Penn State earned its first win of the 2025 season via a 9-1, six-inning rout of the Kennesaw State Owls, and dropped a 6-1 defeat to the No. 24 Mississippi State Bulldogs in the nightcap.
Following Saturday’s action in sunny South Florida, Penn State’s overall season record moved to 1-3, with PSU securing its first victory of the campaign against the Owls. Kennesaw State dropped to 0-4 on the season following its own twin-bill against a pair of Keystone State rivals in Penn State and Pittsburgh. Mississippi State booked a pair of wins on the day, rising to 3-1 overall this season following results against Bethune-Cookman and PSU. The Blue & White picked up a win in the sixth all-time meeting with KSU, rising to 5-1 all-time against the Owls while dropping to 2-6 against Mississippi State following the eighth meeting in program history in Clearwater.
Klosowicz, a native of Johnsburg, Illinois, hit .500 on Saturday afternoon with an eye-popping 1.250 slugging percentage following a 2-for-4 day at the dish with a home run, four RBI, a run scored and a pair of sacrifice flies. Klosowicz’s dinger against Kennesaw State marked the first of her collegiate career, with the Penn State infielder leading the offensive effort in the first Nittany Lion victory of 2025. Elsewhere in the lineup, sophomore outfielder Michela Barbanente had a career day with an .833 on-base percentage thanks to a trio of walks and a 2-for-3 performance at the plate to lead all Penn Staters in that statistic. Freshman outfielder Natalie Lieto impressed in her first pair of collegiate performances, going 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored, a hit-by-pitch and a triple en route to a 1.000 slugging percentage.
In the circle, Penn State called on a pair of impressive performances from veteran pitchers to carry the Blue & White through its second day of the 2025 season. Senior right-hander Mady Volpe paced the pitching staff with 8.2 innings of effort, allowing zero earned runs while holding a pair of opponents to just three hits and a .107 batting average. Volpe additionally contributed a quartet of punchouts after earning the start against Kennesaw State and closing things out against MSU. Senior southpaw Lydia Spalding was dominant in her 3.0 innings of work against the Owls, earning the first Nittany Lion win in the circle this year thanks to an effective effort in relief of Volpe that kept KSU off the board for the entirety of her outing. Freshman righty Abigail Britton logged the start against the Bulldogs, tossing 1.1 frames before Volpe entered in relief.
Against Kennesaw State, senior shortstop Kaylie Walters led the home half of the first off with a quality at-bat, drawing a walk on nine pitches to get the Nittany Lion offense started. After a pair of quick outs, Klosowicz stepped up to the dish and wasted no time asserting herself, pulling her first collegiate homer deep over the fence in left field to give PSU a two-run edge. The Nittany Lions doubled their edge in the second inning of play, but Kennesaw State got one back in the top of the third. In response, senior first baseman Meagan Ricks led things off for the Blue & White with a single through the right side on a two-strike count and added an extra 120 feet of travel courtesy of a passed ball and wild pitch in consecutive offerings. Klosowicz kept her solid afternoon of effort going with a flyer to right field, allowing Ricks time to tag and head home on the sac fly. A quality afternoon of baserunning from the Nittany Lions, paired with impressive hitting from the likes of senior pinch hitter Lydia Coleman, helped drive PSU to its first win of the year by a 9-1 tally in six innings of effort.
After a brief intermission, Penn State got back to business on the diamond against the 24th-ranked Bulldogs. Tasked with battling head-to-head against Mississippi State right-handed ace pitcher Raelin Chaffin, the Blue & White were able to amass multiple hits and place a number of Nittany Lions in scoring position, but the Bulldogs were able to build up an insurmountable 6-0 lead. With one out on the board, Lieto recorded a triple on the first pitch of her at-bat to help Penn State attempt a comeback effort in the home half of the seventh. Nelson grounded out to the second baseman in the next at-bat, recording an RBI after Lieto ran home, but her run would go in the book as the only PSU score of the night in an eventual 6-1 victory for Mississippi State.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (VS. KENNESAW STATE)
Brooke Klosowicz | 1-for-1, R, 4 RBI, TWO-RUN HR, 2 SF
Natalie Lieto | 2-for-3, R
Lydia Spalding | 3.0 IP, 3H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 4K, 56TP, WIN
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE)
Michela Barbanente | 2-for-2, BB
Natalie Lieto | 1-for-2, 3B, R, HBP
Mady Volpe | 5.2 IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 2K, 69TP
KEY INNINGS (VS. KENNESAW STATE)
B1 | Walters led the home half of the first off with a quality at-bat, drawing a walk on nine pitches to get the Nittany Lion offense started. After a flyer to center put one away, Walters beat an on-target throw by the Owl catcher for her first stolen base of the 2025 season. Following another quick PSU popup, Klosowicz stepped up to the dish and wasted no time asserting herself, pulling her first collegiate homer deep over the fence in left field to give PSU a two-run edge. PSU 2, KSU 0
B2 | With one down, Gordon stepped into the box and clobbered a triple to left field to give PSU a dangerous scoring opportunity. A PSU grounder put two away, but the Owl pitcher tossed a wild offering to Barbanente for her fourth ball of the plate appearance, allowing Gordon to trot home while Barbanente moseyed to first. Barbanente promptly stole second, and Walters took her spot at first following a seven-pitch walk. Following a KSU pitching change, the Owls tossed another wild pitch that allowed both runners to advance 60 feet. Yet another wild offering from Kennesaw State saw Barbanente complete her journey home to double the Nittany Lion lead through two. PSU 4, KSU 0
T3 | Ava Strickland led the visitor’s half of the third off with a four-pitch walk, and a sac bunt attempt from the Owls caused commotion with the PSU defense, as a throwing error in the coverage attempt allowed the two runners to reach second and third. Penn State forced a groundout on a brilliant defensive play from Volpe, but a 1-4-3 grounder in the next at-bat afforded the runner on third enough time to complete the 60-foot jaunt home. PSU 4, KSU 1
B3 | Ricks led the inning off for the Blue & White with a single through the right side on a two-strike count and added an extra 120 feet of travel courtesy of a passed ball and wild pitch in consecutive offerings. Klosowicz kept her solid afternoon of effort going with a flyer to right field, allowing Ricks time to tag and head home on the sac fly. PSU 5, KSU 1
B4 | Lieto led things off with a single to center field, and following a KSU pitching change, both Barbanente and Ricks drew walks to juice the bases. Coleman came in to pinch hit for the Nittany Lions and delivered an RBI single to left field that brought Lieto in while leaving the bases juiced. After another out popped onto the scoreboard, Klosowicz delivered her second sac fly of the game to center to bring Barbanente home. PSU 7, KSU 1
B6 | Walters started the frame off with a bunt single toward the third baseman, and Nelson legged out a single in the infield that allowed Walters time to sprint to third. The Blue & White then executed an ideal double-steal that moved plated Walters and moved Nelson to second. Ricks drew a four-pitch walk, with the fourth proving to be a wild offering that sent Nelson to third base. After another Owl pitching change, Ricks stole second base, and another wild pitch allowed Nelson to complete her trip around the basepath to end the game via run-rule. PSU 9, KSU 1
KEY INNINGS (VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE)
T1 | Sierra Sacco led the game off with a double to left center, and Nadia Barbary singled toward the third baseman to put runners on first and second. Kiarra Sells reached on a fielder’s choice after PSU went for the forceout at third, but a throwing error allowed Sells to reach second while Barbary headed to third. Lexi Sosa delivered an RBI single to left field, plating Barbary and pushing Sells to third, culminating in runners on the corners. After a foul out, Kylee Edwards cranked a double to left that allowed both baserunners to complete their trips home for an early three-run edge. MSST 3, PSU 0
T2 | Morgan Bernardini led the second off with a single to right center, and MSU advanced her via the sac bunt. Sacco notched her second hit of the night with a double to left, plating Bernardini, and moved to third on a wild pitch. Barbary returned to the plate and reached first via the fielder’s choice after PSU’s shortstop elected to attempt to get Sacco out at home to no avail. MSST 5, PSU 0
T6 | Mississippi State saw Morgan Stiles head to the dish with two outs on the board, and she managed to reach via a fielding error to put a runner on the basepath. Sacco notched another double to left center in the next at-bat but was thrown out at third attempting to leg out a triple. Stiles managed to score before the out was recorded, registering the sixth run of the night for Mississippi State. MSST 6, PSU 0
B7 | With one out on the board, Lieto recorded a triple on the first pitch of her at-bat to help Penn State attempt a comeback effort in the home half of the seventh. Nelson grounded out to the second baseman in the next at-bat, recording an RBI after Lieto ran home to prevent the shutout. MSST 6, PSU 1
UP NEXT
Penn State softball concludes its weekend stay in Clearwater at the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic on Sunday, February 9, as the Nittany Lions prepare to square off in a 10 a.m. (ET) battle with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from the Eddie C. Moore Complex. PSU’s weekend finale will stream live to a worldwide audience at no cost to the viewer via the GameChanger app.
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