CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Penn State softball team battled tough but were ultimately overcome by the Auburn Tigers in the teams’ finale from the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic presented by MaxBP, dropping a 4-3 result in walk-off fashion from the Eddie C. Moore Complex.
Auburn, who was receiving votes in the season-opening NFCA/GoRout Division I Coaches Poll, picked up its fourth win of the weekend tournament and improved to 4-2 overall on the 2026 campaign. The Blue & White dropped to 4-1 overall at the conclusion of the NFCA Leadoff Classic, mustering a trio of power conference wins highlighted by a pair of scrappy team results in extra innings over Missouri and BYU. In the all-time series with Auburn, Penn State moves to 1-3 following the fourth all-time meeting and the first matchup since 2012.
On the offensive side of the ball, sophomore center fielder Natalie Lieto led the way with a 1-for-2 day in the batter’s box highlighted by her first home run of the 2026 campaign in the top of the sixth inning. The Monroe, Connecticut, native recorded a pair of runs scored and added two RBI on her blast over the left field fence, adding a walk to her final line. Junior shortstop Kaylie Walters recorded a pair of crafty bunt singles to finish the game 2-for-4, and freshman right fielder Breanna Hanik mustered her first collegiate multi-hit performance to round out the five Penn State knocks on Sunday.
The Nittany Lion pitching staff was impressive in its opportunities against the Tigers throughout the weekend finale, with Penn State calling on four pitchers to limit Auburn to three earned runs. Sophomore right-hander Abigail Britton got things started with 2.0 innings of effort, scattering two hits with a strikeout and zero walks across nine batters faced. Freshman righty Mackenzie Duncan was blisteringly effective in her appearance, racking up six Ks in three innings with an earned run, while junior right-hander Bridget Nemeth tossed an inning with two strikeouts, zero walks and an earned run allowed. Junior righty McKenna Young was saddled with the bad-luck loss, moving to 1-1 on the year after conceding an unearned tally in the bottom of the seventh.
Penn State put the game’s first baserunner on second as Walters laid down a bunt that the Tigers fielded erroneously, but the Blue & White were unable to bring her around. Auburn booked the lid-lifting score in the bottom of the second, and things remained tense over the following two innings before PSU tied things up in the top of the fifth. Lieto drew a gritty walk on seven pitches to lead off the guest half of the fifth, and Seidel laid down a sac bunt that the Tigers failed to field cleanly, putting Lieto on third and Seidel at first base. Following a strikeout that put one away, Hanik zipped an infield single toward the Tiger shortstop to bring Lieto in unearned.
Auburn pulled ahead in the bottom half of the inning, but PSU answered right back with a two-run blast from Lieto in the sixth to give Penn State its first lead of the game at 3-2. An RBI single by the Tigers saw the game knotted up once again, and despite having a runner in scoring position, PSU was unable to plate the go-ahead score in the seventh. The Blue & White nearly worked out of a second and third dilemma with two outs, but a fielding error on the last play of the game saw the game-winning run cross the dish for Auburn. Penn State wrapped up its opening weekend of play with a 4-1 record following the result, booking one of the most impressive team performances at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in 2026.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Natalie Lieto | 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR, BB
Breanna Hanik | 2-for-3, RBI, 2 1B
Mackenzie Duncan | 3.0IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 6K, 13BF, 61TP
KEY INNINGS
B2 | With a flyout on the board, McKaela Walker drew a hit by pitch and Kylie Brockman made it second and third with a double down the left field line. Kyla Stroud was able to lift a sac fly to right field that brought Walker aboard during the next at-bat. AUB 1, PSU 0
T5 | Lieto drew a gritty walk on seven pitches to lead off the guest half of the fifth, and Seidel laid down a sac bunt that the Tigers failed to field cleanly, putting Lieto on third and Seidel at first base. Following a strikeout that put one away, Hanik zipped an infield single toward the Tiger shortstop to bring Lieto in unearned. PSU 1, AUB 1
B5 | With one away, Kylie Shaw laid down a bunt single that stopped right in front of the batter’s box. A flyout put two down, but Destiny Rodriguez laced a double into the right center gap that gave Shaw time to come all the way home for the score. AUB 2, PSU 1
T6 | Barbanente stepped into the box with one out on the board and scrapped for a walk on six pitches. Lieto went to the dish next, and after taking the first pitch of her at-bat for a ball, the sophomore crushed her first homer of the season over the fence in left field. PSU 3, AUB 2
B6 | Haven Roebuck led the bottom of the sixth off with a double to the right center gap, and a flyout to center allowed her to tag up and trot to third. Brockman sent a single to right field that brought Roebuck in for the tally. PSU 3, AUB 3
B7 | Ma’Nia Womack drew a leadoff walk and Rodriguez singled through the left side to put runners on first and second. PSU got the lead runner out with a fielder’s choice on the next play, and a strikeout put two away, but a throwing error on a ball in play during the next at-bat allowed Womack to come home for the unearned score to win the game. AUB 4, PSU 3
UP NEXT
Penn State softball takes a four-day hiatus from play before returning to the diamond the weekend of Friday through Sunday, February 13 through 15, as the Nittany Lions prepare for the Houston Invitational hosted by the University of Houston and Houston Christian University. PSU will face Incarnate Word, Houston, Lafayette, Houston Christian and Pittsburgh in five games over the three-days.
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.