HOUSTON – Powered by an eight-run bottom of the second inning that featured three home runs, the Penn State softball team crushed the in-state rival Pittsburgh Panthers by an 11-2 margin in five innings of play on Sunday afternoon from Cougar Softball Stadium.
Following its dominant performance on Sunday afternoon, the Nittany Lions improved to 8-2 overall and concluded their three-day stay in the Lone Star State of Texas with a 4-1 performance at the Houston Invitational, snagging a pair of true road victories in addition to two wins over power conference challengers. In defeat, Pittsburgh moves back even to 5-5 overall and will return to play in Stephenville, Texas, at the Texan Classic next week. In the series between PSU and Pitt, the Nittany Lions picked up their fifth win in the last six opportunities dating to the 2019 season and improved to 20-9 against the Panthers all-time. The win also marked the first-ever run-rule result for PSU over Pittsburgh according to Penn State’s available records.
Penn State’s dominant rivalry win was fueled by eight hits from seven different student-athletes, highlighted by five extra-base knocks in the form of two doubles and three home runs. Junior designated player Brooke Klosowicz was the only Nittany Lion to record a multiple-hit outing on Sunday afternoon, turning in a 2-for-3 final line with three runs scored, a pair of RBI, a home run and a walk comprising her final line. Freshman third baseman Allison Oneacre continued her tirade against opposing pitchers, blasting her fourth home run of the weekend and sixth of the season with a solo shot in the dominant Nittany Lion second inning. The Alpharetta, Georgia, native finished 1-for-3 with two runs scored, a walk and an RBI on her solo blast.
Sophomore center fielder Natalie Lieto added another homer to her impressive weekend in the batter’s box on Sunday, finishing with a 1-for-4 line that included a run scored and three RBI. Sophomore catcher Macy Chamberlin cranked a two-RBI double in the bottom of the first inning, freshman left fielder Breanna Hanik added an RBI double, and both graduate right fielder Cara Bohner and junior shortstop Kaylie Walters added base hits in Sunday’s dominant performance.
In the pitcher’s circle, junior right-handed pitcher McKenna Young earned the start and threw 2.0 frames, scattering a trio of hits with two earned runs, zero walks and a strikeout to her credit. Freshman southpaw Brevyn Kellepouris notched her second appearance of the weekend in relief of Young, throwing 3.0 innings with two hits, zero runs allowed a walk and two strikeouts across 13 batters faced. Kellepouris, a native of Olathe, Kansas, picked up her first victory at the collegiate level in the result against the Panthers, improving to 1-0 overall.
Pittsburgh got the game started offensively with a trio of hits and two runs on the board, jumping ahead just before a two-RBI double from Chamberlin made it a deadlocked affair through one inning of work. Young shut the Panthers down in the second, giving PSU momentum heading into what would prove to be the Nittany Lions’ biggest inning of the year to date. The Blue & White would utilize a trio of home runs from three different student-athletes to rack up eight runs scored in the home half of the second.
After a lineout put one away, Walters slapped a single down the left field line, and Lieto wasted little time giving the Nittany Lions a two-run advantage after pelting the ball over the center field fence. A Panther pitching change preceded a no-doubter of a bomb off the scoreboard in left field by Oneacre, and Finarelli kept the inning rolling with a hit by pitch. Klosowicz worked a 1-2 count on four pitches and lifted the fifth over the left field fence to tack on two more runs, but the Panthers forced a flyout to put two away. Barbanente kept the frame alive with a walk, and Bohner joined her to put two runners on the right side of the basepath. A first-pitch double to left from Hanik plated Barbanente and moved Bohner to third, pre-empting another Pitt pitching change. Walters drew a walk immediately thereafter, and a fielding error by the Panthers allowed two more unearned runs to cross the dish to place Penn State in run-rule territory through two innings.
Kellepouris entered the game from that point, striking out one and using her defense to earn a pair of groundouts and preserve the eight-run differential through the top of the third. The bottom of the third opened with a flyout, but a single up the middle from Klosowicz got things rolling for the Blue & White once again. A walk by Chamberlin saw a pair of runners reach first and second, with Karwowski taking over as a pinch runner at first base. Barbanente walked to juice the bases, and a four-pitch RBI walk from Bohner plated Penn State’s 11th and final run. Stellar work from Kellepouris and the Nittany Lion defense highlighted the remainder of the contest, with the Nittany Lions battling for their sixth error-free effort in 10 opportunities.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Brooke Klosowicz | 2-for-3, 3 R, 2 RBI, HR, BB
Natalie Lieto | 1-for-4, R, 3 RBI, HR
Allison Oneacre | 1-for-3, 2 R, RBI, HR, BB
Brevyn Kellepouris | 3.0IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 2K, 13BF, 56TP, WIN
KEY INNINGS
T1 | With one out on the board, Tieley Vaughn sent a double off the wall in right center, and Calle Henne singled up the middle to give the Panthers first and third with one away. Gracie Helton sent a single through the left side of the infield, plating Vaughn while sending Henne to third. KK Esparza lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to bring Henne home. PITT 2, PSU 0
B1 | A strikeout put one away, but PSU saw its first baserunner of the day following a walk from Oneacre. Another out flashed on the board, but Klosowicz drew a walk to put runners on the right side. From there, Chamberlin worked a 2-1 count and lifted a two-RBI double to the wall in right field to deadlock the contest through one. PSU 2, PITT 2
B2 | After a lineout put one away, Walters slapped a single down the left field line, and Lieto wasted little time giving the Nittany Lions a two-run advantage after pelting the ball over the center field fence. A Panther pitching change preceded a no-doubter of a bomb off the scoreboard in left field by Oneacre, and Finarelli kept the inning rolling with a hit by pitch. Klosowicz worked a 1-2 count on four pitches and lifted the fifth over the left field fence to tack on two more runs, but the Panthers forced a flyout to put two away. Barbanente kept the frame alive with a walk, and Bohner joined her to put two runners on the right side of the basepath. A first-pitch double to left from Hanik plated Barbanente and moved Bohner to third, pre-empting another Pitt pitching change. Walters drew a walk immediately thereafter, and a fielding error by the Panthers allowed two more unearned runs to cross the dish to place Penn State in run-rule territory through two innings. PSU 10, PITT 2
B3 | The bottom of the third opened with a flyout, but a single up the middle from Klosowicz got things rolling for the Blue & White once again. A walk by Chamberlin saw a pair of runners reach first and second, with Karwowski taking over as a pinch runner at first base. Barbanente walked to juice the bases, and a four-pitch RBI walk from Bohner plated Penn State’s 11th and final run. PSU 11, PITT 2
UP NEXT
Penn State softball travels back to Happy Valley prior to a return trip to the Sunshine State of Florida next Friday through Sunday, February 20 through 22, as the Nittany Lions attend the SpaceU Classic hosted by UCF. The Nittany Lions will challenge the Charleston Southern Buccaneers on Friday and Sunday, in addition to single games against UCF, Ohio and Notre Dame over the three-day tournament from the UCF Softball Complex.
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.
The 2026 Penn State softball season is presented by Highmark.