EUGENE, Ore. – A grand slam from junior designated player Brooke Klosowicz saw the Penn State softball team take a 4-3 lead over the No. 18 Oregon Ducks in the fifth inning on Sunday, but the Blue & White were ultimately unable to hold on as the home side registered a 6-5 win from Jane Sanders Stadium to conclude the weekend series.
Penn State took the nation’s 18th-ranked team to the brink in the series finale, boasting a one-run lead in the fifth inning and managing to keep the contest tied at five-all heading into the bottom of the seventh. The Johnsburg, Illinois, native Klosowicz was instrumental in Penn State’s success in the final game of the weekend, finishing 1-for-4 with a run scored and a career-high five RBI to her credit. Klosowicz’ previous career high of four came on three prior occasions, most recently against Robert Morris on February 28 of last season. Her five RBI performance against the Ducks marked the first instance of five or more RBI by a Nittany Lion hitter since senior catcher Madison Seidel booked six against Saint Francis on April 9 of last year.
Elsewhere in the order, freshman first baseman Gabby Gradishar recorded a single and finished the game 1-for-3, while graduate right fielder Cara Bohner rounded out the trio of Nittany Lions with hits in the game with a 1-for-2 effort. In addition to Klosowicz’ run scored, four other Penn Staters worked their way onto the box score in that category with pinch runners Jordyn Jochims and Frankee Flesher being joined by junior second baseman Michela Barbanente and freshman shortstop Kalli Karwowski in the run column.
In the pitcher’s circle, Penn State saw a quality start from sophomore right-handed pitcher Abigail Britton, who earned her fifth start of the 2026 season in her 15th overall appearance. The LaVale, Maryland, native threw the first 4.0 innings of the series finale, scattering three hits with just a pair of earned runs allowed, two walks and four strikeouts to her credit across 75 total pitches. Freshman righty Mackenzie Duncan entered for 2.0 innings of relief, with junior right-hander McKenna Young and freshman southpaw Brevyn Kellepouris registering appearances of their own. Young was saddled with the bad-luck loss, moving to 5-2 overall on the young season.
Oregon got the game’s scoring started with a tally in the bottom of the second inning, ultimately ballooning its advantage to 3-0 through the game’s first four frames. The Blue & White found offensive life in the top of the fifth, as Gradishar led things off and laced a single through the left side of the infield. Bohner entered the box and put some English on the softball to register an infield single and place a pair of Nittany Lion runners on the right side of the infield. Oregon changed pitchers, and PSU installed a pair of pinch runners on the path just before a wild pitch saw two Nittany Lions reach scoring position. Karwowski grounded out on a bunt attempt moments later, and a strikeout put two away in the inning, but Barbanente kept things alive with a gritty nine-pitch walk. Klosowicz entered the batter’s box and registered the toughest and most clutch at-bat of the 2026 campaign, seeing 12 pitches and working the count full before crushing Penn State’s first grand slam of the year over the fence in left center to put the Blue & White ahead by one.
The Ducks answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth to re-take the lead at 5-4, but Penn State swung the pendulum the other way in the top of the seventh. Junior Jordan George entered the game as a pinch hitter and drew a leadoff walk, with Karwowski re-entering to run for her at first base. A wild pitch saw Karwowski move to second base, and a productive groundout bumped her over to third. Barbanente drew a hit by pitch, and Klosowicz put an RBI fielder’s choice in play to see Karwowski score while Barbanente reached third on an Oregon throwing error. Penn State ultimately managed to load the bases with one out on the board, but an inning-ending double play by the Ducks set Oregon up with a tied game in the bottom of the seventh. Oregon managed to find the game’s final run via sac fly, closing the book on the 6-5 affair from Eugene to conclude the B1G-opening weekend series.
Following Sunday’s action, the Nittany Lions dropped to 19-9 overall and 0-3 in Big Ten Conference competitions while Oregon improved to 21-7 overall and 3-0 in league play through conference opening weekend for both programs. In the all-time series, Oregon remained unbeaten against the Blue & White through the ninth meeting. The Nittany Lions will travel back to University Park this week and open their 16th season at Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field with a Big Ten weekend series against the Wisconsin Badgers this Friday through Sunday, March 20-22.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Brooke Klosowicz| 1-for-4, R, 5 RBI, HR
Gabby Gradishar | 1-for-3, 1B
Abigail Britton | 4.0IP, 3H, 3R, 2ER, 2BB, 4K, 18BF, 75TP
KEY INNINGS
B2 | Amari Harper led the bottom of the second off with a single to right field, and Rylee McCoy joined her on the basepath with a walk. Emma Cox grounded into a 5-3 double play that saw Harper and Cox out on the play with McCoy remaining in scoring position at second. Stefini Ma’ake ripped a single into center field to bring the Duck runner around. ORE 1, PSU 0
B4 | Elon Butler reached via a throwing error on the Nittany Lion pitcher and ultimately found herself at third base following a fielding error against the PSU right fielder on an attempt to corral the original errant throw. Harper drew a walk to make it runners on the corners, and Regan Legg entered to run for her at first. Legg proceeded to steal second, but a strikeout flashed one out on the board. Cox put a ball in play and reached first via fielder’s choice while Butler came in to score and Legg advanced to third. From there, Ma’ake sent a double to right that plated Legg and made it a three-run game. ORE 3, PSU 0
T5 | Gradishar led the top of the fifth inning off and laced a single through the left side of the infield. Bohner entered the box and put some English on the softball to register an infield single and place a pair of Nittany Lion runners on the right side of the infield. Oregon changed pitchers, and PSU installed a pair of pinch runners on the path just before a wild pitch saw two Nittany Lions reach scoring position. Karwowski grounded out on a bunt attempt moments later, and a strikeout put two away in the inning, but Barbanente kept things alive with a gritty nine-pitch walk. Klosowicz entered the batter’s box and registered the toughest and most clutch at-bat of the 2026 campaign, seeing 12 pitches and working the count full before crushing Penn State’s first grand slam of the year over the fence in left center to put the Blue & White ahead by one. PSU 4, ORE 3
B6 | Cox led the bottom of the sixth off with a first-pitch single up the middle, and Presley Lawton entered to pinch run for her at first. Lawton proceeded to steal second base, and Ma’ake recorded a single to make it runners on the corners. A wild pitch saw Ma’ake reach third base while Lawton came around, and an RBI single through the left side from Taryn Ho brought Ma’ake in to give Oregon the lead. ORE 5, PSU 4
T7 | George entered the game as a pinch hitter and drew a leadoff walk, with Karwowski re-entering to run at first base. A wild pitch saw Karwowski move to second base, and a productive groundout bumped her over to third. Barbanente drew a hit by pitch, and Klosowicz put an RBI fielder’s choice in play to see Karwowski score while Barbanente reached third on an Oregon throwing error. PSU 5, ORE 5
B7 | Butler reached first via a Nittany Lion error, and Harper walked to put runners on the right side of the infield. PSU elected to change pitchers just before McCoy laid down a sacrifice bunt, and Cox ended the game with a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Butler. ORE 6, PSU 5
UP NEXT
Penn State softball prepares for its 16th season of competition at Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field with its home-opening weekend series in Big Ten Conference play next Friday through Sunday, March 20 through 22, as the Nittany Lions host the Wisconsin Badgers. Games are slated to begin at 5 p.m. (ET), 2 p.m. (ET) and 1 p.m. (ET), respectively, over the three days. Action will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app on connected devices.
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.