PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Led by a powerful offensive performance from the bats and a combined two-hit shutout in the circle from junior right-handed pitchers Bridget Nemeth and McKenna Young, the Penn State softball team cruised to a decisive 8-0 win over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Friday night from the Rutgers Softball Complex.
Following Penn State’s dominant all-around showing, the Nittany Lions picked up their 21st win of the 2026 season and improved to 21-11 overall and 2-5 in Big Ten Conference contests. In defeat, Rutgers dropped to 17-16 overall and 3-7 in league play. In one of the most consistently contested rivalry series in northeast college softball, Penn State picked up a win in the 74th meeting, improving to 44-30 all-time against the former Atlantic 10 Conference rival Scarlet Knights with two games remaining in the weekend series.
Penn State saw a complete team effort drive the squad to an eight-run shutout in the weekend’s opening matchup, with the offense highlighting the evening with the Nittany Lions’ 11th double-digit hit performance of the 2026 campaign and second in the last three games. PSU finished with eight runs on 11 hits, with five of those going for extra bases in the form of three home runs, a triple and a double.
Freshman shortstop Allison Oneacre continued her torrid stretch of outings in the batter’s box with the second multi-home run performance of her rookie campaign. Oneacre finished the night batting 2-for-3 with a pair of bombs, two runs scored, four RBI and a walk drawn comprising her final line. The Alpharetta, Georgia, native became the first Nittany Lion in program history to record two multi-homer efforts in their true freshman season following Friday night’s performance. Oneacre also became just the third Nittany Lion of any classification in PSU history to have more than one multiple-homer effort in a single season, joining 2002 alumna Jennifer Tripken and 2013 alumna Cassidy Bell, who both had two multi-homer games in their senior seasons. The rookie sensation is up to 13 home runs this year to date, good enough for the fourth-most home runs in a single season by any Penn State student-athlete all-time while matching the program’s single-season record for a freshman, set by Chelsea Bisi in 2019.
Elsewhere in the Nittany Lion batting order, junior right fielder Frankee Flesher had a breakout performance against the Scarlet Knights, finishing with her first multi-hit outing at the collegiate level while recording her first extra-base hit in the process. The Chesterland, Ohio, native finished the night 2-for-3 with a double and single with a run scored and stolen base comprising her final stat line. Penn State added two more extra-base knocks on the night, with a home run flying off the bat of sophomore center fielder Natalie Lieto and a triple coming from junior second baseman Michela Barbanente. Junior third baseman Brooke Klosowicz also impressed in her four plate appearances, reaching first base in all four opportunities after going 1-for-1 with a single and three walks in addition to two runs scored.
In the circle, Nemeth got the night started for PSU with an impressive pair of innings. The Glendora, California, native finished with one hit allowed, zeroes in the run and earned run columns, a single walk and pair of strikeouts across eight batters faced and 34 total pitches. Young came in for a relief appearance in the bottom of the third and went the rest of the way, tossing 5.0 frames with one hit and a clean scoreboard. The Brodhead, Wisconsin, native yielded one walk and sat six batters down by way of the strikeout, matching her season-high mark in innings pitched while surpassing her season-best mark in Ks. Young improved to 7-2 overall in the circle this season, further extending her lead on the Nittany Lion roster with her seventh victory of the spring season.
Nemeth commanded both of Friday’s first two innings, spinning her way through a pair of scoreless frames with one strikeout in both the first and the second. With a clean scoreboard heading into the top of the third, Penn State took control of the game with three tallies in the visitor’s half of the inning. Klosowicz drew a two-out walk to get things going for PSU, and Oneacre tore the cover off the softball with a two-run shot to center to put the Blue & White ahead early. Barbanente drew a walk on four pitches in the ensuing plate appearance and advanced to second on a passed ball by the Scarlet Knight catcher. George worked a quality at-bat and sent a single up the middle, allowing Barbanente the opportunity to come all the way around for the unearned tally to make it 3-0 through two and a half.
Young entered in the home half of the third and managed to keep the board clean over the next two innings, giving Penn State time to double its lead in the fifth. With an out on the board, Klosowicz drew a walk, and Oneacre made it two homers in the same game with a no-doubter over the wall in left field. Barbanente continued the fun with a triple down the right field line, and George drew a walk to make it runners on the corners. A batter out-of-the-box call put a second out up, but an RBI single from Gradishar brought Barbanente aboard to make it a six-run ballgame. Lieto added a solo homer in the sixth, and sophomore pinch hitter Macy Chamberlin added a run with an RBI single in the top of the seventh to close out the scoring in the dominant 8-0 result.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Allison Oneacre | 2-for-3, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR, BB
Frankee Flesher | 2-for-3, R, 2B, SB
McKenna Young | 5.0IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 6K, 18BF, 74TP
KEY INNINGS
T3 | A pair of groundouts preceded Klosowicz’ second plate appearance of the contest, with the third-year Nittany Lion drawing a walk on five pitches to kick off PSU’s two-out rally. Oneacre stepped into the batter’s box and worked the count full before ripping the cover off the softball for a two-run bomb over the wall in center field. Barbanente drew a walk on four pitches in the ensuing plate appearance and advanced to second on a passed ball by the Scarlet Knight catcher. George worked a quality at-bat and sent a single up the middle, allowing Barbanente the opportunity to come all the way around for the unearned tally. PSU 3, RUT 0
T5 | With an out on the board, Klosowicz drew a walk, and Oneacre made it two homers in the same game with a no-doubter over the wall in left field. Barbanente continued the fun with a triple down the right field line, and George drew a walk to make it runners on the corners. A batter out-of-the-box call put a second out up, but an RBI single from Gradishar brought Barbanente aboard to make it a six-run ballgame. PSU 6, RUT 0
T6 | After a Nittany Lion foul-out behind home plate to open the inning, Lieto stepped into the box and cranked a solo home run over the left field wall to give Penn State a seven-run advantage. PSU 7, RUT 0
T7 | With one down, Flesher lifted the first extra-base hit of her collegiate softball career into the New Jersey sky, landing on second base following a one-out double to the left-center gap. A grounder put two away, but Chamberlin pinch hit and sent an RBI single up the middle to bring Flesher aboard. PSU 8, RUT 0
UP NEXT
Penn State softball continues its three-game Big Ten Conference weekend series against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights this Saturday, March 28, with the Nittany Lions set for a 3 p.m. (ET) matchup from the Rutgers Softball Complex. The 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.