CLEARWATER, Fla. – Powered by a trio of home runs on the offensive end, in addition to the return of junior pitcher Bridget Nemeth to the circle, the Penn State softball team roared out of the gates for a pair of victories on opening day Friday at the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic presented by MaxBP from the Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex. Penn State opened the 2026 campaign with a rousing 7-4 win over the Missouri Tigers in 10 innings and followed that up with a 7-0 shutout of the Boston College Eagles in game two.
Penn State opened its season with consecutive victories for the first time since 2024, in addition to accomplishing that feat three times in the last four years. The Nittany Lions improved to 2-0 at the conclusion of their opening day matchups, while Boston College moved to 1-1 overall with a win in hand over Eastern Kentucky. Missouri followed its season-opening loss to the Nittany Lions with a no-hit defeat at the hands of fellow Big Ten Conference rival Oregon later in Friday’s action. Following PSU’s eighth all-time meeting with Mizzou, the Nittany Lions improve to 2-6 overall and notched their first win over the Tigers since February 14, 2003. Against Boston College, Penn State rises to 7-1 and recorded its fourth consecutive win against the Eagles.
The Nittany Lion offense was powered by impressive individual performances from a slew of newcomers, highlighted by an eye-popping 5-for-9 showing from freshman first baseman Kirsten Finarelli across both halves of the doubleheader. The Lehman, Pennsylvania, native mustered five runs scored on her first day as a collegiate athlete, adding her first home run at the Division I level in game two against BC. Graduate right fielder Cara Bohner mustered four hits on the day with a tripe to her credit, while rookie third baseman Allison Oneacre immediately impressed with a .400 day at the plate that included two runs scored, her first collegiate homer, a team-leading five RBI, three walks and a .556 on-base percentage.
PSU’s returning bats were also pivotal in Friday afternoon’s unbeaten performances, with sophomore center fielder Natalie Lieto registering a 3-for-7 day in the batter’s box with a run scored, pair of doubles and an RBI. Junior designated player Brooke Klosowicz had a strong performance in her return to the NFCA Leadoff Classic, finishing the day with a pair of hits as well as a home run on the same field where she mustered her first collegiate dinger a year ago. Elsewhere in the order, junior second baseman Michela Barbanente logged a hit with three runs scored across both games Friday, adding a pristine 1.000 fielding percentage with a pair of highlight plays in the middle infield.
Penn State was a force to be reckoned with in the pitcher’s circle, with the return of junior right-hander Bridget Nemeth serving as the coup de grâce in an exemplary day of effort from the rubber. The Glendora, California, native returned to the circle for the first time since suffering a season-opening injury that limited her opportunities a year ago, earning the winning decision in PSU’s season opener against Mizzou. Nemeth contributed 5.1 frames of work on the day, serving as the only PSU pitcher to appear in both contests. The third-year sensation allowed a single hit across both games, striking out a trio of batters and walking one while surrendering a paltry .063 batting average allowed. Freshman righty Mackenzie Duncan earned the other decision on Friday, throwing 4.0 frames against BC with two hits allowed, six strikeouts, two walks and a .143 BAA. Friday’s games also featured the Nittany Lion debuts of freshman left-hander Brevyn Kellepouris and junior right-hander McKenna Young, as well as the return of sophomore northpaw Abigail Britton following a 42-appearance, five-save campaign in Happy Valley a year ago.
Young earned the start in the first game of the campaign against Missouri, mustering two early strikeouts in the bottom of the first to keep things scoreless through one. Lieto logged the season’s first hit, but action would remain scoreless until Mizzou plated an unearned run in the bottom of the second. PSU answered with a pair of runs in the third thanks to an RBI triple from Barbanente and a ribbie single from Klosowicz, but Missouri tied things up at two apiece through three frames. The teams exchanged blows in the fifth inning, and the Tigers threatened toward the end of regulation, but three straight strikeouts from Kellepouris forced extra softball in the season’s lid-lifting contest. Each squad plated a run in the eighth to make it a 4-4 affair, but Penn State finally broke things open in the tenth. With Barbanente on second base due to the international tiebreaker rule, Klosowicz was able to notch a 1-3 sac bunt to move the go-ahead run 60 feet from home. Finarelli brought Barbanente home with an RBI single, and Oneacre gave PSU a bit of insurance with a two-run jack to left that finalized the 7-4 final score in 10 innings. Nemeth closed out the season opener with ice in her veins, earning the win following 2.1 innings of no-hit, no-walk relief.
The Blue & White wasted little time returning to their offensive bag of tricks in game two, quickly jumping ahead by a 2-0 margin against Boston College. With one down, Barbanente drew a walk on six pitches and promptly stole second base at the nearest opportunity. Klosowicz took the first two pitches of her at-bat and worked a 1-1 count, but elected to swing at the third Eagle offering, lifting her first homer of the 2026 campaign over the same fence in left field where she notched her first collegiate home run a season ago. Finarelli added her first collegiate homer in the top of the fifth, Hanik scored via a steal and error by the Eagles in the sixth, and PSU tacked on three more in the visitors’ half of the seventh to finalize the 7-0 score. Brilliance in the circle from Nemeth and Duncan helped guarantee Penn State’s first shutout of the nascent 2026 campaign, PSU’s first opening day shutout since holding North Florida scoreless on February 17, 2022.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (VS. MISSOURI)
Kirsten Finarelli | 3-for-5, 3 R, RBI
Cara Bohner | 3-for-5, 3B
Allison Oneacre | 1-for-4, R, 3 RBI, TWO-RUN HR IN 10TH
Bridget Nemeth | 2.1 IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 2K, 7BF, 24TP. WIN
KEY INNINGS (VS. MISSOURI)
B2 | With one away, Madison Uptegrove drew a four-pitch walk and Abby Hay sent a hard-hit ball to right field that popped in and out of a Nittany Lion glove for an error that put runners on first and second. Kayley Lenger sent a shallow single to right center to juice the bases, and a sac fly to center by Sophie Smith plated the opening run of the game, unearned. MIZ 1, PSU 0
T3 | Following an inning-opening groundout, Walters drew a gritty eight-pitch walk. From there, Barbanente powered a hit to the right-center gap, with both Walters and Barbanente using their speed to plate the first Nittany Lion run of the season by way of an RBI triple. A shallow single to right field by Klosowicz in the ensuing at-bat brought Barbanente aboard to give the Blue & White an early one-run edge. PSU 2, MIZ 1
B3 | Missouri loaded the bases with walks in the home half of the third inning, with the Nittany Lions registering a pair of outs in the process. Abby Hay drew a bases-loaded RBI walk to deadlock the game at two runs apiece. PSU 2, MIZ 2
T5 | After a pair of flyouts put two away, Finarelli battled for a single to center field. In the next at-bat, Lieto laced an RBI double to right field that brought the rookie Nittany Lion all the way around to give PSU the lead once again. PSU 3, MIZ 2
B5 | With one down, Emma Jackson drew a hit by pitch, and pinch-hitter Saniya Hill drew a walk to put runners on the right side. Following a PSU pitching change, Uptegrove sent a single up the middle to bring Jackson around and tie the game. PSU 3, MIZ 3
T8 | With the international tiebreaker rule in effect, Finarelli was placed at second base and got bumped over via a successful sac bunt from Lieto. Oneacre lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to bring Finarelli aboard and give the Nittany Lions the lead. PSU 4, MIZ 3
B8 | Uptegrove was installed at second, but an out-of-the-box call put an out on the scoreboard with the Tiger stuck at her base. In the next at-bat, Lenger sent a single up the middle that gave Uptegrove to complete her journey around the bases, with the batter advancing to second on the attempted throw home. PSU 4, ,MIZ 4
T10 | Barbanente started off on second base, and Klosowicz bumped her 60 feet further with a 1-3 sacrifice bunt. Finarelli zipped a single to shallow right and advanced to second on a Tiger fielding error, with Barbanente trotting in on the base hit. Following a strikeout, Oneacre blasted her first collegiate home run over the fence in deep left field, tacking on a pair of insurance runs to power PSU’s thrilling win in extra innings. PSU 7, MIZ 4
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (VS. BOSTON COLLEGE)
Kirsten Finarelli | 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, HR
Allison Oneacre| 1-for-1, 1 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB,
Bridget Nemeth | 3.0IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 1K, 11BF 43TP
Mackenzie Duncan | 4.0IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 6K, 16BF, 78TP, FIRST COLLEGIATE WIN
KEY INNINGS (VS. BOSTON COLLEGE)
T1| With one down, Barbanente drew a walk on six pitches and promptly stole second base at the nearest opportunity. Klosowicz took the first two pitches of her at-bat and worked a 1-1 count, but elected to swing at the third Eagle offering, lifting her first homer of the 2026 campaign over the same fence in left field where she notched her first collegiate home run a season ago. PSU 2, BC 0
T5 | After a pair of flyouts put two away, Finarelli stepped into the box and unleashed her first collegiate home run over the fence in right center. PSU 3, BC 0
T6 | With one out on the board, Hanik drew a walk and Walters registered a slap single over the third baseman’s head to put runners on the right side. A double-steal worked to perfection, but a fielding error by the Eagle shortstop resulted in 60 more feet for Hanik, making it a four-run game. PSU 4, BC 0
T7 | Finarelli reached first base on an error by the Eagles, and a double to center by Lieto resulted in runners on the left side of the infield. Oneacre zipped an RBI single and advanced to second on the throw that failed to prevent Finarelli and Lieto from completing their journeys home. After a pitching change, Oneacre moved to third on a wild pitch. A strikeout put one away, but a productive groundout from Seidel brought PSU’s seventh and final run of the game aboard. PSU 7, BC 0
UP NEXT
Penn State softball continues its three-day stay in the Tampa area on Saturday, February 7, as the Nittany Lions continue play at the 2026 NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic presented by MaxBP. PSU faces off against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at noon (ET) followed by a 3 p.m. (ET) start against the BYU Cougars. Both games from the Eddie C. Moore Complex will stream live at no cost to a worldwide audience through the GameChanger app and the links available on the Penn State softball schedule webpage.
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.