OKLAHOMA CITY – Despite battling tough on the offensive side of the ball throughout the game, Penn State softball experienced a 13-7 setback to the Northwestern Wildcats in each team’s Big Ten Conference opening matchup on Thursday evening from Devon Park, the host site of the Women’s College World Series.
The Nittany Lion offense continued to impress following its first game against a Big Ten Conference competitor this season, with PSU hitting to the tune of a .313 average following a 10-hit combined effort against the Wildcats. Penn State was led by a trio of student-athletes that recorded multiple-hit outings, including a 3-for-4 performance at the plate from senior right fielder Haylie Brunson that featured two RBI, two runs scored and her fifth homer of the season. Freshman left fielder Natalie Lieto impressed with a pair of hits across four at-bats, mustering a career-high tying trio of runs scored in the process.
Freshman catcher Macy Chamberlin rounded out the trio of Penn Staters with multi-hit performances, logging her fourth collegiate multi-hit outing since joining the Blue & White this spring. Chamberlin, a native of Wauseon, Ohio, finished 2-for-4 with an RBI double highlighting her portion of the box score. Elsewhere, sophomore designated player Brooke Klosowicz extended her hitting streak to 14 consecutive games and lengthened the nation’s fourth-longest reached-base streak to 23 games after going 1-for-4 with an RBI double. Seniors Maddie Gordon and Meagan Ricks rounded out the Penn Staters on the scoresheet, with each student-athlete mustering a hit on the evening.
In the circle, freshman right-hander Abigail Britton earned the start and tossed 3.0 innings, allowing six runs and five earned tallies during her time at the pitcher’s rubber. Britton was saddled with the loss as PSU never regained the lead in the contest, with the rookie moving to 3-8 overall on the year. Senior southpaw Lydia Spalding entered in relief and finished with 2.0 innings pitched and four earned runs, while sophomore utility Jiselle Hernandez logged 1.0 inning in the circle. For Northwestern, starter Lauren Boyd picked up the individual victory and improved to 5-2 on the year.
After a quiet opening inning and a half, Northwestern and Penn State managed to exchange one-run blows in the bottom of the second and top of the third, respectively. The Wildcats managed to tack on three runs in the third inning and four more in the fourth to take a substantial 8-1 edge, but the Blue & White remained hungry for an opportunity to battle back into the game. Lieto looked to lift the Nittany Lions to a strong reply in the visitor’s half of the fifth inning, accomplishing that with a leadoff single through the left side of the infield. Brunson added a single of her own to left, placing runners on first and second for the Blue & White. A popup in the next at-bat put one away, but a double to left by Gordon sparked the PSU offense by plating Lieto and bumping Brunson to third. A single toward second by Ricks drove Brunson in and advanced Gordon 60 feet further, and a double to left center by Chamberlin helped bring Gordon home while moving Ricks to third. A grounder by Nelson produced a bit of chaos for the Wildcat defense, with NU unable to stop Ricks from completing her journey home.
With the lead cut back to three at 8-5, Northwestern was able to book a three-run reply and doubled their advantage in the home half of the fifth. Penn State was desperate for yet another reply. With one away in the top of the sixth, Lieto drew a walk and Brunson absolutely crushed the softball over the fence in right center field to give the Blue & White life as the game approached its conclusion. Northwestern answered back with two more runs the bottom of the inning, and despite a bases-loaded two-out rally for the Nittany Lions in the top of the seventh, a final comeback effort failed to materialize as Northwestern took game one by a 13-7 margin.
Following Thursday night’s conference-opening matchup, Penn State moved back to .500 on the year with a 12-12 overall mark and an 0-1 opening to Big Ten action. Northwestern improved to 10-9 overall and rose to 1-0 following their victory against the Blue & White. In the all-time series that dates to Penn State’s inaugural season as a B1G member institution in 1992, Northwestern improves to 55-15 overall against the Blue & White following the 70th all-time meeting. The Nittany Lions will seek their first win over Northwestern since 2011 in tomorrow night’s rematch against the Wildcats from Devon Park.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Haylie Brunson | 3-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR
Natalie Lieto | 2-for-4, 3 R, BB
Macy Chamberlin | 2-for-4, RBI, 2B
KEY INNINGS
B2 | With a pair of outs on the scoreboard to open the frame, Avery Garden mustered a hard-hit ball toward the PSU third baseman to leg out a single and keep the Wildcats alive. Garden proceeded to steal second, and back-to-back walks juiced the bases for Northwestern. Kaylie Avvisato stepped up to the plate and put a ball in play that nicked off the PSU pitcher’s glove for a fielding error that allowed Garden to complete her journey home. NU 1, PSU 0
T3 | After a groundout put one away in the early moments of the third inning, Lieto made it six-straight games with a hit after lacing a single to right field. Another grounder put two away while bumping Lieto 60 feet further, and a hard-hit ball from Klosowicz ricocheted off the Wildcat third baseman’s foot and went in the scorebook as a double down the left field line and an RBI that brought Lieto aboard. PSU 1, NU 1
B3 | Bridget Donahey led the home half of the third off with a solo shot over the wall in right field, and the Wildcats kept the inning going with a double down the left field line by Isabel Cunnea. The Wildcat took an extra base after a wild pitch, and a walk drawn by Emma Raye placed runners on the corners. After a pitching change, NU managed to load the bases after a fielder’s choice failed to force the Wildcats out of the inning with a rundown between third and home. With Cunnea still occupying third, Garden was able to drive a ball to center for a sac fly that brought Cunnea aboard while moving pinch runner Ayana Lindsey to third. An RBI grounder brought Lindsey home from third to close out the three-run inning for Northwestern. NU 4, PSU 1
B4 | Kansas Robinson got the fourth inning for Northwestern started with a walk, and Donahey made it a pair of Wildcat runners with a hit by pitch. A fielder’s choice saw Cunnea reach and load the bases for NU, and Raye sent a single to center field that plated a pair of Wildcat runners while leaving runners on the right side of the infield. Riley Grudzielanek kept things going with an RBI single and advancement to second on the throw that failed to halt Cunnea, while Raye advanced to third. Garden returned to the plate and lifted a sac fly to right that brought Raye home. NU 8, PSU 1
T5 | Lieto looked to lift the Nittany Lions to a strong reply in the visitor’s half of the fifth inning, accomplishing that with a leadoff single through the left side of the infield. Brunson added a single of her own to left, placing runners on first and second for the Blue & White. A popup in the next at-bat put one away, but a double to left by Gordon sparked the PSU offense by plating Lieto and bumping Brunson to third. A single toward second by Ricks drove Brunson in and advanced Gordon 60 feet further, and a double to left center by Chamberlin helped bring Gordon home while moving Ricks to third. A grounder by Nelson produced a bit of chaos for the Wildcat defense, with NU unable to stop Ricks from completing her journey home. NU 8, PSU 5
B5 | Donahey walked to lead off the home half, and Cunnea sent a single up the middle that allowed Donahey to sprint to third while Cunnea advanced to second on the throw. A double to left center by Raye plated Donahey, but a 7-6-2 putout caught Cunnea at home while Raye made her way to third on the throw. Grudzielanek reached on a fielder’s choice that saw Raye thrown out at third, 1-2-5, but a hit-by-pitch and walk juiced the bases for NU once more. A single to right from Kelsey Nader plated two more Wildcats to make it a six-run game. NU 11, PSU 5
T6 | With one away, Lieto drew a walk and Brunson absolutely crushed the softball over the fence in right center field to give the Blue & White life as the game approached its conclusion. NU 11, PSU 7
B6 | Robinson led the home half of the sixth off with a single to right, but back-to-back outs put the Wildcat offense in a precarious position. Raye responded by zipping a homer over the fence in left field to negate PSU’s two-run reply in the visitor’s half. NU 13, PSU 7
UP NEXT
Penn State softball continues its Spring Break stay in the Softball Capital of the World tomorrow, Friday, March 14, as the Blue & White gear up for game two of B1G Softball x Devon Park against the Northwestern Wildcats. First pitch from the home of the Women’s College World Series is slated for 7:30 p.m. (ET), with streaming available to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app on connected devices. Fans are also encouraged to follow along with the live stat feed housed on the Penn State softball schedule webpage or follow the team on its social media channels for the most up-to-date news and notes.
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 Instagram and X @PennStateSB.