BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Featuring a herculean offensive performance in the batter’s box from senior utility Maddie Gordon, and a team-wide offensive explosion that combined to rake .474 with 18 hits, the Penn State softball team mustered its second-straight Big Ten Conference victory with a 14-13 road win over the Indiana Hoosiers from Andy Mohr Field Friday night.
Hailing from Shenandoah, Virginia, Gordon completed one of the strongest individual performances of her collegiate career in the series opener from Bloomington. The senior utility player contributed a 3-for-4 line with a walk drawn across her five plate appearances, mashing a pair of home runs with six RBI in the process. Her two homers were both a single-game career best and Penn State single-game record, while her six RBI shattered her previous career best of four while marking the third-most RBI in a single game in Penn State history, tied alongside five different Nittany Lions with sophomore Michela Barbanente booking the most recent six-RBI instance on March 9 of this season against Lafayette.
The Nittany Lions were able to book an astonishing .474 night inside the batter’s box and muster 18 hits across all seven innings, one of PSU’s most dominant offensive performances against a B1G challenger in recent memory. Seven Nittany Lions mustered multi-hit performances on the night, with PSU’s No.2, No. 3 and No. 4 hitters booking three hits apiece. Senior right fielder Haylie Brunson booked a 3-for-5 effort at the plate, while sophomore infielder Brooke Klosowicz went 3-for-4 with a walk to extend her reached base streak to 27 games dating to PSU’s second game of the year on opening night against Texas Tech. Freshman center fielder Natalie Lieto rounded out the offensive highlights for PSU, going 2-for-4 with a home run that marked her seventh of the 2025 campaign.
Following Penn State’s electric offensive performance on Friday night, the Nittany Lions moved back to an even .500 leger on the season with a 14-14 overall record through the team’s 28th game of the campaign. The Blue & White improved to 2-3 in Big Ten Conference competition in the process, while Indiana dropped to 20-8 overall and 0-3 in the league, respectively. In the all-time series against the Hoosiers, PSU took the 89th meeting in dramatic fashion and improved to 39-50 against Indiana since the inaugural contest featuring the two programs in 1977. The Blue & White are unbeaten against IU in the last five regular season meetings, as well as the last four meetings overall dating to last season’s series sweep in Happy Valley. Penn State is now 7-2 against the Cream & Crimson in the last nine matchups dating to a 2-1 series victory for PSU against Indiana back in 2022.
In the circle, freshman right-hander Abigail Britton booked her 12th start of the season and secured her fourth win of the year after tossing 3.2 frames with four hits surrendered and five earned runs against her final line. Britton, a native of LaVale, Maryland, rose to 4-8 and picked up her first individual victory in Big Ten Conference play, improving to 1-1 against league challengers this season to date. Senior right-hander Mady Volpe appeared in relief to toss 0.2 frames, while sophomore utility Jiselle Hernandez amassed 2.2 relief innings with just three earned runs allowed sandwiched between Britton’s bookended time in the circle.
After a pair of outs popped onto the scoreboard for the Nittany Lion offense, Klosowicz kicked off a two-out rally with a double down the left field line that extended her reached-base streak to 27 consecutive games. After swinging and missing on the first pitch of her at-bat, Gordon replied with an absolute no-doubt home run over the fence in dead center, lifting the Blue & White to an early two-run advantage. Another two-out rally highlighted the visitor’s half of the second inning, with Ricks booking a bunt single down the third base line to spark PSU’s effort. A single to left by Brunson prompted an Indiana pitching change, but Klosowicz remained unfazed following the defensive substitution, drawing a walk on four pitches to load the bases. After working a full count, Gordon promptly pummeled the sixth pitch of her at-bat over the fence in right to book her fourth collegiate grand slam. Lieto made it back-to-back jacks for the Blue & White, clobbering the fourth pitch of her at-bat straight over the fence in left center to close out the five-run inning and give PSU a 7-0 lead.
Following a seven-run opening by the Nittany Lion offense, Indiana managed to book nine unanswered runs with three apiece in the second, third and fourth innings to take a narrow 9-7 advantage through the home half of the fourth frame. After a number of defensive changes for the Hoosiers, Seidel led the top of the fifth off with a double to center that IU’s center fielder failed to corral with a diving play. Coleman came in to pinch hit for Nelson and managed to reach first via a Hoosier error, allowing Seidel to journey all the way home in the ensuing commotion. With one Penn State runner on, Barbanente singled to right field and Walters followed moments later with an infield single toward third base to load the bases. An RBI grounder by Ricks put an out on the board while Coleman scored, and a Nittany Lion popped up to put two away. A throwing error on the IU catcher drawn by aggressive PSU baserunning allowed Walters to reach third while Barbanente came around, and an RBI single by Klosowicz plated Walters to give PSU an 11-9 advantage.
Indiana replied with two more runs in the home half of the fifth to deadlock things at 11-all, and both defenses buckled down for a scoreless sixth inning to set the table for an incredibly dramatic finish. With one out on the scoreboard, Walters placed a perfect ball down the left field line to muster a double and spark a Nittany Lion rally in the top of the seventh. Ricks zipped a single up the middle to plate Walters, advancing to second on the throw that attempted to catch Walters at the plate. Brunson doubled to left center to plate Ricks, and after a pitching change forced a PSU strikeout moments later, Brunson was able to advance to third via wild pitch. Gordon drew a borderline intentional walk in Indiana’s effort to avoid a third home run from the PSU senior, and a single to right center by Lieto brought Brunson aboard to give Penn State a three-run advantage heading into the final half inning. Despite a two-run reply from Indiana in the home half, freshman second baseman Michela Barbanente was able to corral a lineout to her spot on the field to close out the marathon 14-13 B1G victory.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Maddie Gordon | 3-for-4, 2 R, 6 RBI, SINGLE-GAME PROGRAM RECORD-TYING 2 HR, BB
Brooke Klosowicz | 3-for-4, 2 R, RBI, 2 2B, BB
Haylie Brunson | 3-for-5, 2 R, RBI 2B
Natalie Lieto | 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, BB
KEY INNINGS
T1 | After a pair of outs popped onto the scoreboard for the Nittany Lion offense, Klosowicz kicked off a two-out rally with a double down the left field line that extended her reached-base streak to 27 consecutive games. After swinging and missing on the first pitch of her at-bat, Gordon replied with an absolute no-doubt home run over the fence in dead center, lifting the Blue & White to an early two-run advantage. PSU 2, IU 0
T2 | Another two-out rally highlighted the visitor’s half of the second inning, with Ricks booking a bunt single down the third base line to spark PSU’s effort. A single to left by Brunson prompted an Indiana pitching change, but Klosowicz remained unfazed following the defensive substitution, drawing a walk on four pitches to load the bases. After working a full count, Gordon promptly pummeled the sixth pitch of her at-bat over the fence in right to book her fourth collegiate grand slam. Lieto made it back-to-back jacks for the Blue & White, clobbering the fourth pitch of her at-bat straight over the fence in left center to close out the five-run inning. PSU 7, IU 0
B2 | A grounder put one away for IU in the home half of the second, but back-to-back walks by Cassidy Kettleman and Madalyn Strader placed runners on the right side of the infield. A Hoosier struck out moments later, but leadoff hitter Melina Wilkison sent a three-run shot over the fence in left center to cut into the PSU advantage. PSU 7, IU 3
B3 | Copeland drew a walk to lead off the inning, and Kinsey Mitchell booked a bunt single to place runners on the right side. Aly VanBrandt booked a sac bunt to advance the runners, and Kettleman reached via fielder’s choice moments later to load the bases. From there, the Hoosiers logged back-to-back RBI walks before a sac fly plated the third and final Indiana run of the frame. PSU 7, IU 6
B4 | Copeland drew a leadoff walk, and a sac bunt by Mitchell bumped her over. A flyout to left put a second out on the board, and Copeland stole third just before Kettleman walked to put runners on the corners. Copeland proceeded to steal home after the IU offense forced a throw to second on a double steal attempt, and Strader kept the inning going with a single through the left side. PSU committed an outfield error in the next at-bat that allowed Strader and Kettleman to book unearned tallies before the batter was thrown out at third via an 8-5 putout. IU 9, PSU 7
T5 | After a number of defensive changes for the Hoosiers, Seidel led the top of the fifth off with a double to center that IU’s center fielder failed to corral with a diving play. Coleman came in to pinch hit for Nelson and managed to reach first via a Hoosier error, allowing Seidel to journey all the way home in the ensuing commotion. With one Penn State runner on, Barbanente singled to right field and Walters followed moments later with an infield single toward third base to load the bases. An RBI grounder by Ricks put an out on the board while Coleman scored, and a Nittany Lion popped up to put two away. A throwing error on the IU catcher drawn by aggressive PSU baserunning allowed Walters to reach third while Barbanente came around, and an RBI single by Klosowicz plated Walters to give PSU an 11-9 advantage. PSU 11, IU 9
B5 | With one away, Minnick drew a walk just before a Hoosier flew out in the next at-bat. Copeland tied the game with a chaotic inside the park homer to right center that caromed off the fence awkwardly between the centerfielder and right fielder. PSU 11, IU 11
T7 | With one out on the scoreboard, Walters placed a perfect ball down the left field line to muster a double and spark a Nittany Lion rally. Ricks zipped a single up the middle to plate Walters, advancing to second on the throw that attempted to catch Walters at the plate. Brunson doubled to left center to plate Ricks, and after a pitching change forced a PSU strikeout moments later, Brunson was able to advance to third via wild pitch. Gordon drew a borderline intentional walk in Indiana’s effort to avoid a third home run from the PSU senior, and a single to right center by Lieto brought Brunson aboard. PSU 14, IU 11
B7 | Back-to-back walks led off the seventh inning for the Hoosier offense, and Copeland doubled down the left field line to bring Indiana’s final two runs in. PSU 14, IU 13
UP NEXT
With inclement weather in the forecast later this weekend in the Bloomington area, the schedule for the remaining two games of the series between Penn State softball and Indiana has been changed. The Nittany Lions will now challenge the Hoosiers in a Saturday afternoon doubleheader from Andy Mohr Field, with action set to begin at 2 p.m. (ET) followed by the second game of the day approximately 30 minutes thereafter. Both contests will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app.
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