Penn State Kicks Off Nine-Game Homestand with Midweek Test Against Bucknell
Nittany Lions host Bison to open nine-game home stretch over the next two weeks
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State softball returns to Happy Valley and is set to kick off a nine-game homestand over the next 15 days, with the Nittany Lions beginning the extensive stretch with a midweek contest against the Bucknell Bison on Tuesday night, April 1, from Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field.
PROMOTIONS AND PARKING
The Nittany Lion softball program will host its annual Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night on Tuesday against the Bison, with the team set to welcome Penn State University faculty and staff members to Nittany Lion Softball Park. Select faculty and staff members will join the team on the field prior to the midweek contest during the National Anthem, and further faculty and staff recognitions will take place throughout the game. As always, fans of all ages are encouraged to attend to take part in a family-friendly evening of college softball action, including poster giveaways and the Penn State Softball Dino Races in the fourth inning of each game.
General admission seating is free for all Penn State softball home games at Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field. Parking for all games in the 2025 Penn State softball season is now available online or via the ParkMobile app, with fans encouraged to prepay for parking to avoid additional fees on game days. Click the link here to be directed to the parking hub for Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field and select either a full season pass or single-game parking pass at the purchaser’s discretion. Parking is available in the Stadium West, Jordan East or Porter North lots at a rate of $5.50 per game, or $5 per game when purchasing a full season pass. Day-of event parking will be $10 without a valid permit or prepayment, with fans encouraged to pay at payment stations around the lot, or via the ParkMobile app. Prepayment availability ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) the night before each scheduled game day. Events will not be selectable on the site after that time, and payment must then be made on site upon arrival.
Follow the Action
Penn State’s first home midweek contest of the 2025 season will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app on connected devices. Michael Siroty and Allie Wenskoski will call the action from the Beard Field press box, with Cailey Thalman set to report live from the sidelines. Links to view Penn State’s contest against Bucknell live, or view replays of past PSU games at home or on the road in Big Ten Conference play are always available at BigTenPlus.com. Live stat links are available for all games on the Penn State softball schedule webpage or via the team’s StatBroadcast central hub at the link here.
QUICK HITS
The Blue & White return to action following a non-conference road doubleheader against the No. 17 Oklahoma State Cowgirls and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets from Mewborn Field in Atlanta. PSU dropped both contests, but sophomore designated player Brooke Klosowicz managed to extend the nation’s longest reached-base streak to 31 consecutive games after reaching base safely in both contests. Klosowicz has been a force to be reckoned with in the batter’s box through the first 32 contests of the 2025 campaign, leading the Nittany Lions in practically every offensive statistic while simultaneously logging a nation’s-best doubles tally of 16. Her .489 batting average paces the Blue & White, while senior utility Maddie Gordon’s 10 home runs and 30 runs batted in top the charts in Happy Valley. In the circle, senior Mady Volpe leads PSU in wins with five, as well as ERA with a 3.69 mark. Penn State’s extensive upcoming homestand will feature three non-conference midweek contests and a pair of three-game weekend Big Ten Conference series. The Nittany Lions are 4-0 in contests contested at Nittany Lion Softball Park this season, with the team outscoring their opponents on home-opening weekend by a 57-11 differential while logging a trio of run-rule victories.
HOME COOKIN’
Penn State prepares for just its second stint at home in Happy Valley this season, with the last home contests for the Blue & White coming during the Penn State Softball Invitational the weekend of Friday through Sunday, March 7 through 9. The Blue & White have opened each of the last two seasons at home with at least four wins. This season to date, PSU has booked wins at Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field against Canisius, Fairfield and Lafayette, outscoring those opponents by a striking 57-11 differential. PSU’s bats have been electric inside the friendly confines of Beard Field this year, with the Nittany Lions hitting to the tune of a .534 average as a team while amassing a team-wide OPS of 1.648. The Blue & White left the yard 15 times over the course of their home-opening weekend tournament highlighted by back-to-back games with five home runs against Fairfield and Canisius on Friday, March 7.
Bucknell at Penn State
9-19 | 0-6 PATRIOT
14-18 | 2-5 B1G
Introducing Bucknell
ABOUT THE BISON
Under the guidance of fifth-year head coach Sarah Caffrey, the Bucknell Bison enter Tuesday night’s in-state rivalry clash with a 9-19 overall record paired with an 0-6 start to Patriot League play. The Bison are currently saddled with a six-game losing streak and have gone 2-8 over their last 10 matchups dating to March 11. The Bison have squared off against a challenging conference slate in each of the last two weeks, with Bucknell battling perennial league contenders in Boston University and Army. The team’s last victories came in a midweek doubleheader against the Wagner Seahawks, with Bucknell turning in 8-1 and 5-2 final scores to sweep both halves of the twin-bill on the road in Staten Island.
Bucknell currently maintains a team-wide batting average of .239 with a .323 on-base percentage highlighting the program’s offensive stat line. The Bison have recorded seven triples this season to mark the second-most in the Patriot League while sitting in the top 100 nationally in the statistic. Reagan Powell’s .333 batting average and Nicole LIoumis’ trio of homers headline the individual offensive leaders for Bucknell heading into Tuesday night. In the circle, the Bison boast a top-100 national ranking in strikeout-to-walk ratio with a 1.70 mark as a team. Individually, Savannah Jones boasts the best ERA on the roster with a 3.93 mark, pairing that with a plurality of the team’s wins with a 4-5 overall record in 2025.
STORY OF THE SERIES
Penn State will renew its longest-running all-time series against a Division I opponent on Tuesday night, with the Blue & White set to square off against Bucknell for the 44th time in history this week in University Park. Penn State currently maintains a 34-9 differential in the 60-year in-state rivalry series, with the first meeting resulting in a 24-2 PSU win in Happy Valley on April 25, 1966. After taking a two-year hiatus from the series due to the COVID-19 pandemic, PSU head coach Clarisa Crowell and Bucknell skipper Sarah Caffrey renewed the series in 2022, with the Blue & White taking each of the last three meetings in that span, as well as the last four contests overall dating to a 9-8 win on April 24, 2019. Penn State has booked back-to-back run-rule wins at home, with a 9-0, five inning finish in 2023 followed by a 10-2 win in six frames a year ago.
Last year’s game at Beard Field saw the Blue & White extend the Nittany Lion Softball Park season-opening win streak record to nine consecutive games while extending the team’s longest win streak of the 2024 campaign in the process. Then-graduate catcher Gaby Garcia led the way for PSU in the home half of the second with a grand slam to highlight the team’s 15 combined hits on the day. Then-freshman pitcher Bridget Nemeth landed the win in the circle to improve to 14-0 individually after tossing 1.2 frames.
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.