UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Despite a two-run home run from sophomore second baseman Michela Barbanente and a record-breaking double from sophomore designated player Brooke Klosowicz, Penn State softball dropped a 9-5 decision to the 22nd-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in the weekend series opener Friday afternoon from Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field.
Klosowicz, a native of Johnsburg, Illinois, smacked her 19th double of her second collegiate season, marking a single-season program record in the statistic. Her two-RBI two-bagger in the home half of the seventh broke a five-way tie between Klosowicz and four program legends in Kaitlyn Morrison, Ally Kurland, Danielle Kinley and Jen Acunto, with the previous record of 18 last set by Morrison during the Nittany Lions’ run to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The second-year superstar has established herself as one of the strongest hitters, both in the Big Ten Conference and in Division I softball, with her 19 doubles currently leading the nation while her .468 batting average remains atop the Penn State program leaderboard in the statistic by a .012 margin.
Elsewhere in the Nittany Lion batting order, sophomore second baseman Michela Barbanente clobbered her fifth home run of the 2025 campaign. The Itasca, Illinois, native provided a spark for the Penn State bats with a two-run shot off the scoreboard in left field in the fourth inning, with the second-year utility player notching her 23rd RBI of the season on her 20th hit of the campaign. Senior third baseman Maddie Gordon mustered the only multi-hit outing of the contest, with the Shenandoah, Virginia, native booking a 2-for-4 final line with a pair of singles, a run scored and a stolen base. Gordon now boasts the fourth-most multiple-hit games on the roster with her 11th of the year, as well as her 10th performance of the campaign with two hits.
In the circle, Penn State called on a trio of pitchers to work through the game’s 21 outs, with senior right-hander Mady Volpe booking her 20th start in her 34th appearance of the campaign. The Lansdale, Pennsylvania, native went 3.2 innings and was responsible for five earned runs, adding a quintet of strikeouts across 109 total pitches while being saddled with the loss and moving to 7-10 overall. Sophomore righty Jiselle Hernandez opened the visitor’s half of the fourth inning in relief of Volpe, just before the starter was able to re-enter after the first out of the inning was recorded. Senior southpaw Lydia Spalding came in to finish the game out in the top half of the fifth frame. The Austintown, Ohio, native stepped up in a big way against her home state’s flagship institution, booking 3.0 innings of near-flawless work that featured a pair of hits, one earned run, a walk and three strikeouts across 49 pitches.
After neither offense was able to work their way onto the scoreboard in the opening inning, Ohio State got the scoring started with an RBI hit-by-pitch in the top of the second just before adding another run via sacrifice fly in the visitor’s half of the third. OSU’s offense booked a crooked number with six runs in the top of the fourth to take an 8-0 advantage, but the Nittany Lions were able to snap back with a reply in the home half. With one out on the board, Gordon zipped the first pitch of her at-bat up the middle for a single. A flyout moments later put two away, but after fouling off three-straight pitches in an 0-2 count, Barbanente was able to smack a no-doubt two-run homer off the scoreboard in left field to get the Blue & White on the board.
Thanks to stellar work in the circle from the Ohio-native Spalding, PSU was able to capitalize on defensive momentum towards the end of the game to spark a bottom-of-the-seventh rally attempt. A strikeout led off the home half of the seventh frame for the Blue & White, but a seven-pitch pinch-hit walk from sophomore Jordan George kept the inning alive for the Nittany Lions. Junior center fielder Jenna Nelson re-entered to run for George at first base, and was ultimately able to trot to second base on a first-pitch single through the left side by freshman left fielder Natalie Lieto. Senior right fielder Haylie Brunson drew a pivotal walk to juice the bases for PSU, and after senior Lydia Coleman entered to pinch run for her at first base, a wild Buckeye offering saw Nelson score while the other two baserunners took 60 more feet. On the first pitch of the ensuing at-bat, Klosowicz stepped up to the plate and sent a perfectly placed hit into the right-center gap for her record-breaking two-RBI double that placed her atop the Nittany Lion all-time leaderboard in the statistic. Unfortunately, the Blue & White were unable to add any additional runs as Ohio State came away with the 9-5 victory on Friday.
Following Friday afternoon’s series opener, the Nittany Lions dropped back to an even .500 record at 19-19 overall while moving to 5-6 against Big Ten Conference opposition through the team’s first 11 opportunities in league play. The 22nd-ranked Buckeyes picked up their 32nd win of the season, improving to 32-9-1 overall with a 7-4 Big Ten Conference record. In the all-time series, Ohio State picked up a win in the 100th meeting between the two programs since 1975, with the Buckeyes carrying a 65-35 lead into the second game of the series on Saturday afternoon.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Michela Barbanente | 1-for-3, R, 2 RBI, HR
Brooke Klosowicz | 1-for-4, 2 RBI, SINGLE-SEASON PROGRAM RECORD SETTING 2B
Maddie Gordon | 2-for-4, R, 2 1B, SB
Lydia Spalding | 3.0 IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 3K, 49TP
KEY INNINGS
T2 | Jasmyn Burns drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second via a wild pitch. Reagan Milliken drew a base on balls, and a single up the middle by Kaitlyn Farley loaded the bases for the Buckeyes. OSU experienced back-to-back strikeouts against Volpe, but Taylor Cruse drew a hit-by-pitch to bring the first run of the game across the plate. OSU 1, PSU 0
T3 | Three straight walks saw Sami Bewick, Kami Kortokrax and Burns load the bases, and Milliken sent a high-flying foul ball down the left field line allowed Bewick to tag and run home on the sacrifice fly. OSU 2, PSU 0
T4 | Cruse led the top of the fourth inning off with a solo home run over the fence in left center on a 1-0 count, with Hadley Parisien keeping the inning going with a walk on five pitches. After a Buckeye lined out, Kortokrax sent a first-pitch double to the fence in left field while Parisien trotted to third. After Volpe re-entered, Burns reached on a fielder’s choice to the shortstop that saw Kortokrax called out for interfering with the Nittany Lion defender, leaving runners on the corners. Milliken sent a single through the left side of the infield to plate Parisien, and Farley hit a bases-clearing double to right field to tack on two more runs. From there, Morgan Frye lifted a two-run shot over the fence in center to close out the six-run Buckeye inning. OSU 8, PSU 0
B4 | With one out on the board, Gordon zipped the first pitch of her at-bat up the middle for a single. A flyout moments later put two away, but after fouling off three-straight pitches in an 0-2 count, Barbanente was able to smack a no-doubt two-run homer off the scoreboard in left field to get the Blue & White on the board. OSU 8, PSU 2
T7 | After Cruse laced a one-out double down the left field line, Parisien sent a single into right field that allowed the speedy nine-hole hitter to complete her journey around the basepath. OSU 9, PSU 2
B7 | A strikeout led off the home half of the seventh frame for the Blue & White, but a seven-pitch pinch-hit walk from George kept the inning alive for the Nittany Lions. Nelson re-entered to run for George at first base, and was ultimately able to trot to second base on a first-pitch single through the left side by Lieto. Brunson drew a pivotal walk to juice the bases for PSU, and after Coleman entered to pinch run for her at first base, a wild Buckeye offering saw Nelson score while the other two baserunners took 60 more feet. On the first pitch of the ensuing at-bat, Klosowicz stepped up to the plate and sent a perfectly-placed hit into the right-center gap for her record-breaking two-RBI double that placed her atop the Nittany Lion all-time leaderboard in the statistic. OSU 9, PSU 5
UP NEXT
Penn State softball remains inside the friendly confines of Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field for game two of the team’s Big Ten Conference weekend series against the No. 22 Ohio State Buckeyes. The second game of the weekend is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. (ET), with the contest set for streaming to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app on connected devices. Links to view live stats, purchase parking, and listen live to PSU’s local radio broadcast are available at the team’s schedule webpage at GoPSUsports.com. General admission to all Penn State softball home games is free.
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