Nittany Lions Hit the Road for B1G Series at Rutgers
Penn State returns to road competition for three-game set against Scarlet Knights in Piscataway
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Penn State softball prepares for its third Big Ten Conference series of the 2026 regular season this Friday through Sunday, March 27 through 31, as the Nittany Lions hit the road to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights from the Rutgers Softball Complex. All three games of the series will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app on connected devices.
Follow the Action
Penn State’s Big Ten Conference road trip to face the the Rutgers Scarlet Knights will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app on connected devices via the link here. Admission for all three games of the weekend series from the newly-renovated Rutgers Softball Complex is free. Live stats provided by the Rutgers University and StatBroadcast are available via Penn State’s StatBroadcast hub at the link here.
QUICK HITS
The Blue & White return to action following a split series against the Wisconsin Badgers on home-opening weekend from Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field a week ago. The Nittany Lions and Badgers split the first two games of the series before Wisconsin took the rubber match in 7-4 fashion on Sunday. PSU outscored Wisconsin by a 23-21 differential over the three days, with Saturday’s matchup featuring the first instance of two Penn State hitters blasting two home runs in the same game in program history. Junior designated player Jordan George made an immediate impact in her first start of the 2026 season against Wisconsin on March 21, with the third-year collegian and second-year Penn Stater blasting PSU’s second grand slam of the year in the second inning, in addition to a solo blast in the seventh to record a career-best five RBI while steering the Nittany Lions to victory in game two. Freshman outfielder Breanna Hanik also recorded a pair of home runs on the day and matched the program’s single-game record for runs scored with four tallies in the weekend matinee. PSU’s offense continues to make headlines this season, with the 62nd team in program history already boasting the fourth-best batting average in Happy Valley all-time with a .295 mark as a squad. Penn State has also launched 42 home runs on the year, good for the sixth-highest mark in program history, tied with the 2013 team. The Nittany Lions own the fourth-best scoring offense in the Big Ten with 219 total tallies and 7.06 runs per game, good for the 29th and 34th-best marks in the nation, respectively.
DA BOMB.COM
The Nittany Lion offense is off to a strong start in the 2026 season, with the Blue & White racking up the fourth-highest batting average in school history to date. PSU’s .295 mark is tied alongside the 2000 roster for the fourth-place spot, trailing the team’s single-season record from a season ago by a mere .034 differential. In terms of power hitting, Penn State has recorded the sixth-highest home run total in school history, tied with the 2013 team in that statistic. PSU needs one home run to tie and two to surpass the fifth-place spot, with the Nittany Lions needing 32 homers to tie and 33 to pass the program’s single-season record of 74 from 2025. PSU owns the seventh-most total home runs and home runs per game in the Big Ten with 45 total and 1.35 per game. Penn State currently ranks as the fourth-highest scoring offense in the Big Ten Conference and 34th-highest mark in Division I overall, logging 7.06 runs per game. In terms of total runs scored, PSU is fourth in the Big Ten and 29th nationally with 219. PSU ranks inside the top 25 nationally in total doubles and third in the B1G with 55 to this point in the season, ranking third in the B1G in doubles per game with 1.77.
Penn State at Rutgers
Record | 20-11 | 1-5 B1G
Record | 17-15 | 3-6 B1G
Introducing Rutgers
ABOUT THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
Under the direction of head coach Kristen Butler, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights enter their fourth Big Ten Conference weekend series of the 2026 campaign after booking a 17-15 overall start coupled with a 3-6 opening to league play through the early going. Rutgers has won two of the last five games in addition to splitting the last 10 matchups by an even 5-5 margin. Rutgers returns to play following an exciting home-opening weekend in Piscataway, with the Scarlet Knights christening a renovated Rutgers Softball Complex with a sold-out series against the seventh-ranked UCLA Bruins. UCLA registered double-digits in all three games and recorded run-rule results across the series. Rutgers traveled to face in-state rival Seton Hall on Tuesday night, logging a 14-4 win in six frames. The Scarlet Knights have been productive on both sides of the ball in the 2026 season to date, with riley Hwang pacing the offense in overall batting average with a .397 mark in that statistic. Sam Rohwer has been a leader in terms of run production and power hitting, leading the roster in homers with eight while sitting tied with Addie Osborne in RBI with 24. Osborne also has seven home runs to her credit this season. In the pitcher’s circle, Rutgers has utilized a balanced attack of three student-athletes throwing parallel numbers of innings, with Kelsey Hoekstra headlining the group with a team-best 3.27 ERA across 55.2 frames. Kassandra Gewecke has a 4.68 earned run average in a team-high 58.1 IP, while Brooke Shifflett owns a 6.33 mark in 52.0 innings.
STORY OF THE SERIES
Penn State and Rutgers prepare for the 74th, 75th and 76th all-time meetings in one of the longest-running series in program history this weekend in Piscataway. The Nittany Lions boast a considerable 43-30 lead in the set, with the teams meeting as regular season foes in all but seven of the prior 73 fixtures. The Nittany Lions have faced off against the Scarlet Knights as members of both the Atlantic 10 Conference and Big Ten Conference, with the series serving as the only matchup between two teams with that background in the nation. In recent contests, Penn State has won seven of the last nine games and two of the last three conference series, with the Blue & White notching series sweeps in the last two opportunities in Happy Valley. PSU’s most recent matchup with Rutgers in Piscataway came in the regular season finale for both teams in the 2024 season, with the Nittany Lions taking the first matchup before dropping the final two games on Rutgers’ senior weekend. The Blue & White dominated last year’s regular season series at Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field, sweeping all three games while notching four-plus run victories in the final two games of the series. PSU scrapped for a 2-1 win in the opener before logging an 8-0 run-rule result in six innings in game two of a Friday doubleheader. Penn State closed the weekend out with a high-scoring 15-11 affair to close out the sweep.
Penn State at Rutgers
Record | 20-11 | 1-5 B1G
Record | 17-15 | 3-6 B1G
Penn State at Rutgers
Record | 20-11 | 1-5 B1G
Record | 17-15 | 3-6 B1G
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.