IOWA CITY, Iowa – Penn State softball dropped a pair of decisions to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Monday afternoon, with the Nittany Lions falling by a 10-2 differential in six-innings of play in the first half of a doubleheader before narrowly dropping a 3-1 decision in the nightcap from Bob Pearl Field.
Following both halves of Monday evening’s doubleheader, the Nittany Lions dropped to 20-24 overall and moved to 6-10 against Big Ten Conference competition with six games remaining in league play. Iowa improved to 28-16 overall, securing the team’s 10th Big Ten victory in the process to improve to 10-6 against league competitors in 2025. In an all-time series that dates to PSU’s inaugural season as a member of the Big Ten in 1992, the Hawkeyes picked up wins in the 69th and 70th meetings to amass a 49-21 advantage over the Blue & White in the last 33 seasons.
In the batter’s box, the Nittany Lions saw seven student-athletes combine for nine hits and four runs across both halves of the twin bill. Sophomore second baseman Michela Barbanente booked the only multi-hit game for the Blue & White in game two, booking a 2-for-3 performance with the only run scored in the contest for PSU. Fifth-year first baseman Meagan Ricks had a hit apiece in both games, finishing the day 2-for-6 overall with a pair of leadoff singles in each contest. Freshman left fielder Natalie Lieto, sophomore designated player Brooke Klosowicz, junior center fielder Jenna Nelson, sophomore shortstop Kaylie Walters and senior pinch hitter Lydia Coleman were the remaining five Penn Staters with their names on the box score Monday.
Penn State saw all four of their available pitchers appear in the circle over the course of the doubleheader, with freshman right-hander Abigail Britton booking the start in the lid-lifting matchup. The rookie tossed 3.0 innings on the day and scattered a trio of hits, with the LaVale, Maryland, native rookie responsible for a pair of earned runs in her 17th start as a Nittany Lion. Senior right-hander Mady Volpe entered for 0.1 frames in the lid-lifter and booked the start in the nightcap, with the Lansdale, Pennsylvania, native being saddled with both losses. Senior southpaw Lydia Spalding tossed the final 2.0 innings of the first contest of the afternoon, while sophomore right-hander Jiselle Hernandez booked an impressive 2.0 innings of work in the series finale. The Riverside, California, native Hernandez allowed one hit and kept the Hawkeyes off the board over the final moments of the game, adding a strikeout to her final line.
The Nittany Lions wasted little time readying a reply from Saturday afternoon’s hard-fought result, with PSU taking an early two-run advantage through half-an-inning of play. After working a 2-1 count through the early going in her first at-bat of the day, Ricks smacked a leadoff single up the middle to get the Nittany Lions started. Lieto started 1-2 in her plate appearance, but the rookie was able to lift a hit into right center and leg out a double while Ricks moved along to third. After a strikeout put one down, Klosowicz sent her 46th RBI of 2025 through the left side for a single that plated Ricks and moved Lieto to third. A stolen base by Klosowicz forced an errant Hawkeye throw that saw her take third base while Lieto leisurely strolled in for the second PSU run of the contest. The Nittany Lion defense held strong through three-and-a-half innings, but a five-run frame in the fourth, one-run inning in the fifth and four-run finish in the sixth closed out the 10-2 run-rule result for the Hawkeyes at home in game one.
After a brief intermission between contests, both teams returned to the turf for the second game of the Monday doubleheader. Neither team tallied in the opening frame, but the Hawkeyes were able to scratch across three runs in the home half of the second inning via a three-run home run to take an early advantage. The Nittany Lions attempted a comeback beginning in the fifth frame, but Barbanente was able to send her second hit of the ballgame into left center field for a one-out single. Coleman entered to pinch hit for the Nittany Lions, with the senior zipping a first pitch double down the left field line to place a pair of Penn Staters on the left side of the basepath. From there, George entered to pinch hit and produced a quality eight-pitch at-bat that resulted in an RBI grounder that brought Barbanente aboard. Despite a strong showing in the circle from Hernandez over the final two innings, the Blue & White were not able to pull ahead, resulting in a 3-1 Hawkeye win in the series finale.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (GAME ONE)
Natalie Lieto | 1-for-3, R, 2B
Brooke Klosowicz | 1-for-3, RBI, 1B
Meagan Ricks | 1-for-3, R, 1B
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (GAME TWO)
Michela Barbanente | 2-for-3, R, 2 1B
Lydia Coleman | 1-for-1, 2B
Jiselle Hernandez | 2.0 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 1K, 35TP
KEY INNINGS (GAME ONE)
T1 | After working a 2-1 count through the early going in her first at-bat of the day, Ricks smacked a leadoff single up the middle to get the Nittany Lions started. Lieto started 1-2 in her plate appearance, but the rookie was able to lift a hit into right center and leg out a double while Ricks moved along to third. After a strikeout put one down, Klosowicz sent her 46th RBI of 2025 through the left side for a single that plated Ricks and moved Lieto to third. A stolen base by Klosowicz forced an errant Hawkeye throw that saw her take third base while Lieto leisurely strolled in for the second PSU run of the contest. PSU 2, IOWA 0
B4 | Back-to-back Hawkeye batters took the first pitch of their at-bat for a ball and lifted solo homers over the fence, with homers by Avery Jackson and Hannah Lindsay deadlocking the score at two. After a PSU pitching change and popup that put one away, Jena Young kept the offense for Iowa going with a single to right and advancement to third following an error in right field. Back-to-back walks juiced the bases, and a hit-by-pitch brought the go-ahead run in for Iowa. Another free pass added an additional tally, and after another Nittany Lion change, Talia Tretton lifted a sacrifice fly to center to make it a five-run reply. IOWA 5, PSU 2
B5 | Lindsay drew a leadoff walk, and Tatianna Roman attempted a sac bunt but was able to reach first safely on a fielding error by the PSU third baseman while pinch runner Devin Simon moved to second. A popup and strikeout put two away, but an infield popup by Desiree Rivera popped in and out of a Nittany Lion glove, allowing Simon to score unearned. IOWA 6, PSU 2
B6 | Soo-Jin Berry booked a leadoff single toward second to open the inning, but a strikeout put one away shortly thereafter. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases, and three consecutive free passes brought three more Hawkeyes aboard with the bases still loaded. Desiree Rivera ended the contest with an RBI single to center field that plated Roman for the run rule-securing tally. IOWA 10, PSU 2
KEY INNINGS (GAME TWO)
B2 | Lindsay sent a single to left field in a 3-2 count, and Simon drew a walk to place a pair of runners on the right side of the infield. From there, Young worked the count full just before lifting a three-run shot over the fence in left center field to give the Hawkeyes an early advantage. IOWA 3, PSU 0
T5 | A quick groundout put one away, but Barbanente was able to send her second hit of the ballgame into left center field for a single. Coleman entered to pinch hit for the Nittany Lions, with the senior zipping a first-pitch double down the left field line to place a pair of Penn Staters on the left side of the basepath. From there, George entered to pinch hit and produced a quality eight-pitch at-bat that resulted in an RBI grounder that brought Barbanente aboard. IOWA 3, PSU 1
UP NEXT
Penn State softball prepares for its penultimate Big Ten Conference weekend series of the 2025 campaign, as the Blue & White travel to College Park to battle with the Maryland Terrapins the weekend of Friday through Sunday, April 25 through 27, with first pitch times slated for 6 p.m., 2 p.m. and Noon (ET), respectively. All three games from the Maryland Softball Stadium are scheduled to stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app on connected devices.
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