ORLANDO, Fla. – The Penn State softball team scrapped for a pair of victories in its first day of competition at the SpaceU Classic, turning in a 10-3 win over the Charleston Southern Buccaneers before turning in a thrilling 6-5 upset of the UCF Knights on Friday from the UCF Softball Complex.
Following Friday afternoon’s action from Central Florida, the Nittany Lions improved on their hot start by registering their sixth-straight win, improving to 10-2 overall through the first 12 opportunities of 2026. In defeat, Charleston Southern moves to 3-10 following a split Friday of games against PSU and Notre Dame, while host-UCF dropped to 11-4 overall. The Knights, which were receiving votes in both the NFCA Division I Coaches Poll and USA Softball Coaches Poll, suffered just their second loss at home in the 2026 campaign, with the other defeat coming at the hands of then-No. 16 Duke on opening weekend. PSU picked up a win in the first all-time meeting with Charleston Southern, while improving to 3-2 overall against UCF following the fifth-ever matchup.
The Blue & White were paced offensively by freshman infielder Allison Oneacre once again, who hit to the tune of a .571 batting average across both halves of the twin bill. The Alpharetta, Georgia, native turned in four hits with one run scored, a pair of doubles and three RBI to her credit. Junior utility Brooke Klosowicz hit .444 on the day, going 4-for-9 with two runs, a double, homer and pair of RBI comprising her final line. Freshman outfielder Breanna Hanik went 3-for-7 with two runs scored and two RBI, freshman first baseman Kirsten Finarelli logged a .667 on-base percentage on the day and senior catcher Madison Seidel lit things up against the Buccaneers, going 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and three RBI.
A pair of first-year sensations paved the way for Penn State’s success in the pitcher’s circle on Friday, with rookie right-hander Mackenzie Duncan making a return to her home state in style with 6.0 innings of work against Charleston Southern. The Winter Garden, Florida, native finished the day with zeroes in both the run and earned run columns, yielding just two hits and a .105 opponent batting average while striking out eight Buccaneer batters. Southpaw Brevyn Kellepouris earned the start and threw 5.2 combined innings against the Knights, with her effort in the circle paving the way for Penn State’s rousing upset win. The Olathe, Kansas, native turned in a 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, scattered four hits and let up zeroes in the run and earned run categories en route to her second collegiate victory.
Friday’s action got underway against Charleston Southern, with the Nittany Lions utilizing a one-out double from Oneacre and an RBI single up the middle from Finarelli to take an early 1-0 advantage through half an inning of play. The Buccaneers surged ahead with a three-run home half, but Penn State answered back in the top of the second to make it a 3-2 game early on. The Blue & White utilized a big top of the third inning to take control of the contest, with PSU bringing 12 batters to the plate and scoring six runs to lead by an 8-3 differential through two and a half innings. Duncan entered the circle in the bottom of the second inning and commanded the game throughout, highlighted by eight Ks across her six innings of effort. Backed by a powerful showing from Duncan, and a pair of insurance runs tacked on in the top of the fifth, Penn State was able to close out Friday’s lid-lifter with a 10-3 win in hand.
The second game of the day got underway a few hours after Penn State booked its tournament-opening win over the Buccaneers, with UCF dispatching Ohio in the interim game break. The contest started as a bit of a pitcher’s duel, with Penn State managing to scratch across the game’s first run by way of a UCF fielding error in the top of the third. Back-to-back innings with solo home runs from Klosowicz and Barbanente saw the Blue & White build up a three-run edge heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, and another shutdown frame kept the board clean through six.
Seeking insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning, Bohner stepped into the batter’s box and pulled a double deep to the right-center gap, with Karwowski coming in to pinch run for her at second base. Walters laid down a perfectly-executed sacrifice bunt to move the insurance run 60 feet from home, and an RBI grounder from Lieto brought Karwowski aboard for the score. Oneacre drew a walk to keep the inning alive, and Jochims entered to run for her at first. A single from Finarelli forced a two-base miscue by the UCF right fielder, bringing Jochims home while Finarelli moved to third. A pitching change for the Knights preceded a Klosowicz double to dead center, plating Finarelli for an unearned run which would prove to be pivotal. UCF battled back in a big way during the home half of the seventh, utilizing heart-stopping two-out hitting to plate five runs with the game-winning run in scoring position. Luckily for the Blue & White, Kellepouris was able to re-enter and notch an ultra-clutch strikeout to close out an intense 6-5 battle from Orlando.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (VS. CHARLESTON SOUTHERN)
Allison Oneacre | 4-for-5, R, 3 RBI, 2 2B, 2 1B
Madison Seidel | 2-for-5, R, 3 RBI, 2 2B
Mackenzie Duncan | 6.0IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 8K, 23BF, 95TP, WIN
KEY INNINGS (VS. CHARLESTON SOUTHERN)
T1 | With one out on the board, Oneacre powered a double into the right center gap, and Finarelli drove a hard-hit single through the middle of the infield to bring Oneacre around, advancing to second on the Buccaneer throw home. PSU 1, CSU 0
B1 | Blakley Kingsmore singled up the middle and promptly stole second moments later, with Jordyn Dimond joining her on the basepath following a walk. A swinging K put one away, but a single up the middle from Emma Smith brought Kingsmore aboard and Dimond to third while Smith trotted to second on the throw. Emily Chandler reached via a Nittany Lion error that plated a run, and a single to shallow left from Charlee Yourman tacked on one more. CSU 3, PSU 1
T2 | An early lineout put one down, but Hanik kept the inning alive with a bloop single to shallow left. Walters drew a walk to put runners on the right side, and a fly ball allowed Hanik to trot to third after tagging up. From there, Oneacre worked a 1-2 count and zipped a single through the left side of the infield to bring Hanik around. CSU 3, PSU 2
T3 | Klosowicz sent a single up the middle of the infield, and Barbanente reached via a fielder’s choice, but Klosowicz got to stay on the basepath thanks to a muffed catch by the Buccaneer second baseman. Chamberlin walked to load the bases, and Seidel laced a first-pitch double down the right field line to bring a pair of scores aboard. A CSU pitching change preceded an RBI single up the middle from Hanik, with the Nittany Lion rookie swiping second moments later to put runners on the left side. Walters slapped an infield single to the Buccaneer shortstop, and a hit by pitch drawn by Lieto juiced the bases once more. Oneacre took the first pitch of her at-bat for a ball and then recorded another single that plated a pair to make it a five-run Nittany Lion advantage. PSU 8, CSU 3
T5 | Finarelli drew a leadoff walk for the Nittany Lions, but a popup put one out on the board. Barbanente stepped up to the plate and clobbered a double off the wall in left field, placing a pair of runners on the left side of the infield. Chamberlin registered a productive groundout that plated a run, and Seidel smacked her second RBI double of the day to right center to bring Barbanente aboard. PSU 10, CSU 3
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (AT UCF)
Brooke Klosowicz | 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR
Michela Barbanente | 1-for-3, R, RBI, HR, BB
Brevyn Kellepouris | 5.2IP, 4H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 4K, 21BF, 84TP, WIN
KEY INNINGS (AT UCF)
T3 | With an out on the scoreboard, Walters drew a walk, and a groundout on the next at-bat saw her trot to second with two away. From there, Oneacre entered the batter’s box and lifted a fly ball to shallow left field that was misplayed by the Knight outfielder, allowing Walters to complete her journey home for the opening score. PSU 1, UCF 0
T4 | Klosowicz led off the top of the fourth inning in a big way, lifting her fifth home run of the 2026 campaign over the fence in deep left field. PSU 2, UCF 0
T6 | Following a popup in foul territory that put one away, Barbanente stepped into the box and crushed her first offering to left center, with the ball taking a friendly carom off the top of the wall for the Nittany Lion’s first homer of 2026. PSU 3, UCF 0
T7 | Bohner stepped into the batter’s box and pulled a double deep to the right-center gap, with Karwowski coming in to pinch run for her at second base. Walters laid down a perfectly-executed sacrifice bunt to move the insurance run 60 feet from home, and an RBI grounder from Lieto brought Karwowski aboard for the score. Oneacre drew a walk to keep the inning alive, and Jochims entered to run for her at first. A single from Finarelli forced a two-base miscue by the UCF right fielder, bringing Jochims home while Finarelli moved to third. A pitching change for the Knights preceded a Klosowicz double to dead center, plating Finarelli for the unearned score. PSU 6, UCF 0
B7 | Ashleigh Griffin mustered an infield single, and Sierra Humphreys sent a double to right that brought a pinch runner around. A pair of groundouts put two away and saw Humphreys move to third, with Kendall Yarnell bumping her home with a single through the right side. A wild pitch saw another pinch runner move to second, and Samantha Rey registered an RBI single to plate another score. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases, and a Beth Damon single scored two more runs, but an inning-ending strikeout from Kellepouris following a re-entry in the circle closed the door on UCF’s comeback attempt. PSU 6, UCF 5
UP NEXT
Penn State softball continues its weekend stay in sunny Central Florida on Saturday, February 21, as the Nittany Lions get set to face off against the Ohio Bobcats and Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a twin bill from the UCF Softball Complex. First pitch against Ohio is slated for 11:30 a.m. (ET), with a 2 p.m. (ET) test against the Fighting Irish on deck. Both games during PSU’s Saturday at the SpaceU Classic will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via ESPN+ and the ESPN app on connected devices.
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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.