OKLAHOMA CITY – Highlighted by an impressive pitching rotation and a pair of much-needed home runs by senior right fielder Haylie Brunson and sophomore third baseman Brooke Klosowicz, the Penn State softball team cruised to a strong 5-1 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the conclusion of B1G Softball x Devon Park from the home of the Women’s College World Series on Sunday.
Following the team’s weekend finale in the mecca of college softball, Penn State improved to 13-14 overall and secured its first Big Ten Conference victory in the 2025 campaign. The Nittany Lions are now 1-3 against league foes through the team’s first four conference games in neutral site action from Oklahoma City. With the loss in hand, Minnesota dropped to 13-15 overall and moved back to an even .500 record against conference challengers with a 2-2 start. In the all-time series against the Golden Gophers, Penn State picked up its 22nd victory in the 72nd meeting since 1989, with Minnesota now managing a 50-22 lead on the Blue & White in that span. PSU also secured its first win over Minnesota since April 2, 2023, a 2-0 shutout of the Golden Gophers in Minneapolis.
Featuring another dominant offensive performance from Klosowicz, the Penn State bats combined for nine hits on the day and mustered five total runs thanks to a strong third inning and a solo shot for insurance purposes in the home half of the fifth. Klosowicz, a native of Johnsburg, Illinois, extended her nationally significant reached-base streak to 26 consecutive games with another multi-hit performance, marking her 11th game with multiple hits this year. Klosowicz finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and pair of RBI, racking up her seventh home run of the season in the process to tie for the team lead in the statistic alongside senior utility Maddie Gordon.
Elsewhere on the scoresheet, Brunson booked her third multi-hit outing of B1G opening weekend while logging her ninth performance of that nature this season. A native of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, Brunson finished 2-for-3 with two runs and a pair of RBI, adding her sixth homer of 2025 as a solo blast in the fifth. Returning to the top of the order for the first time since March 9 against Fairfield, fifth-year first baseman Meagan Ricks booked her seventh multi-hit game of the season and second in as many games against the Golden Gophers, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored in the win. Gordon went 1-for-2 with a double, junior catcher Madison Seidel contributed a single and sophomore shortstop Kaylie Walters finished the day 1-for-2 with a double and run scored in addition to drawing a walk.
Penn State’s pitching platoon returned to its strongest form on Sunday afternoon, with the right-handed trio of senior Mady Volpe, sophomore Jiselle Hernandez and freshman Abigail Britton working together to hold the Golden Gophers to a single run and four hits across all seven innings of play. Volpe, a native of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, earned the start and went 2.0 innings, scattering a pair of hits with a walk and a strikeout, surrendering a single earned run in a Sunday afternoon no-decision. Hernandez entered from there and mustered her second collegiate victory in the circle, tossing a pair of shutout frames with a walk and strikeout while yielding a meager two hits. Britton, a native of LaVale, Maryland, tossed three no-hit frames while fanning four in a herculean save effort. The rookie righty secured her fourth save of the 2025 campaign, moving into a tie for fifth all-time in the Nittany Lion record book for saves in a career to join sophomore pitcher Bridget Nemeth and alumna Marlaina Laubach with a quartet in the category.
After a Golden Gopher fouled out to open the first inning of play, Taylor Krapf stepped up to the plate and sent a home run over the fence in left center to give Minnesota an early edge. Although PSU failed to tally in the home half, Volpe responded with a shutdown one-two-three frame that included a strikeout and an assist in bunt coverage to keep the Gophers off the scoreboard. Another quiet frame in the bottom of the second paved the way for the first PSU pitching change of the day, as Hernandez shifted from second base to the pitcher’s circle in the top of the third. The Blue & White’s defense played tough behind the second-year utility player, working together to produce another shutout inning on the defensive end. With the momentum back in Penn State’s favor, the Nittany Lions returned to the plate with Walters, Ricks and Brunson heading to the plate.
Walters led the bottom of the third inning off and sparked the Nittany Lion offense with a bloop hit down the left field line that she legged out for a double. Ricks placed a perfect bunt in front of her and mustered a single in the process, but a throwing error by the Minnesota third baseman created enough chaos to allow Walters time to score while Ricks took two bags in the ensuing commotion. With Ricks on third, Brunson sent an RBI single up the middle to bring another PSU run in. Still working with no outs on the scoreboard, Klosowicz entered the batter’s box and elected to leave the yard with a two-run shot to left center to close out the four-run inning. Hernandez and Britton were both lights-out as the game approached its conclusion, with both pitchers helping spearhead the shutout defensive effort over the final four innings. An insurance run came for Penn State, as Brunson clobbered her sixth home run of the season over the fence in right in the bottom of the fifth to put a bow on the 5-1 victory for the Blue & White.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Haylie Brunson | 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR
Brooke Klosowicz | 2-for-3, R, 2 RBI, HR, SB
Jiselle Hernandez | 2.0 IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 1K, WIN
Abigail Britton | 3.0 IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 4K, SAVE
KEY INNINGS
T1 | After a Golden Gopher fouled out to open the first inning of play, Taylor Krapf stepped up to the plate and sent a home run over the fence in left center to give Minnesota an early edge. MINN 1, PSU 0
B3 | Walters came to the plate for PSU to lead off the bottom of the third inning and sparked the Nittany Lion offense with a bloop hit down the left field line that she legged out for a double. Ricks placed a perfect bunt in front of her and mustered a single in the process, but a throwing error by the Minnesota third baseman created enough chaos to allow Walters time to score while Ricks took two bags in the commotion. With Ricks on third, Brunson sent an RBI single up the middle to bring another PSU run in. Still working with no outs on the scoreboard, Klosowicz entered the batter’s box and elected to leave the yard with a two-run shot to left center to close out the four-run inning. PSU 4, MINN 1
B5 | As the leadoff batter for Penn State in the home half of the fifth inning, Brunson stepped up to the plate and clobbered her sixth homer of 2025 over the fence in right field to give the Blue & White an insurance run. PSU 5, MINN 1
UP NEXT
Penn State softball continues its 2025 Big Ten Conference slate and prepares for its first true road series of the season, as the Nittany Lions head to Bloomington, Indiana, and Andy Mohr Field to battle the Indiana Hoosiers. Action runs Friday through Sunday, March 21 through 23, with one game per day slated for 6 p.m. (ET), 2 p.m. (ET) and 1 p.m. (ET), respectively. All three games will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app on connected devices.
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