PITTSBURGH – The Penn State softball team dropped an 8-7 decision to the Pittsburgh Panthers on Tuesday night in non-conference action from Vartabedian Field.
The Nittany Lions tallied seven runs on nine hits, with seven different Nittany Lions booking at least one base knock in the contest. Sophomore center fielder Natalie Lieto led the way in the batter’s box with a career-high-tying trio of hits, finishing the night 3-for-4 with a run scored. The Monroe, Connecticut, native also matched her career high in doubles with two, tying a mark set against James Madison on March 7 of this season. Junior designated player Jordan George and graduate right fielder Cara Bohner added extra-base hits of their own, with the former launching a three-run homer in the top of the seventh, and the latter adding an RBI double in the top of the fourth. Additional hits came off the bats of freshman left fielder Breanna Hanik, junior third baseman Brooke Klosowicz, sophomore catcher Macy Chamberlin and freshman first baseman Gabby Gradishar.
Penn State utilized four pitchers in Tuesday evening’s result, with junior right-handed pitcher Bridget Nemeth highlighting the group. The Glendora, California, native threw the first six innings of the game and re-entered the contest in the bottom of the seventh for a final putout before things wrapped up. Nemeth finished with 6.1 innings pitched, scattering four hits with a pair of earned runs allowed, walking two and fanning six across 24 batters faced and 100 total pitches offered. Freshman lefty Brevyn Kellepouris, junior righty McKenna Young and sophomore right-hander Abigail Britton each saw time in the bottom of the seventh as well.
Hanik drew a leadoff hit-by-pitch to open the game, and a productive groundout from Barbanente bumped the Nittany Lion rookie into scoring position. From there, Klosowicz worked a 2-2 count and zipped a single over to right field to give Hanik the requisite time to score, racking up an RBI while advancing to second on the throw home. A Nittany Lion flew out in the next at-bat to put two away, but an errant throw from the Panther left fielder careened into the dugout to let another PSU run come aboard. Leading by two through half an inning, Penn State was able to tack on additional scores in the top of the fourth and sixth innings to double their advantage to four heading into the home half of the sixth.
Pittsburgh’s offense showed signs of life in the bottom of the sixth inning, with a two-run homer cutting the Nittany Lion advantage in half. Barbanente led off the top of the seventh inning and reached via a Panther fielding error, but a flyout to center put one away shortly thereafter. Oneacre wore a hit-by-pitch to put runners on the right side, and Jochims entered the game to pinch run for her at first. From there, George re-entered the game to hit and promptly clobbered a three-run blast into the back of Pitt’s soccer stadium in center field to make it a five-run game. The Blue & White were ultimately unable to hold on in the bottom of the seventh frame, with Pittsburgh tallying six runs capped off by a sacrifice fly to end the game in walk-off fashion, 8-7.
Penn State dropped to 23-12 overall on the 2026 campaign and will look to return to its winning ways in Big Ten Conference competition this weekend against the Maryland Terrapins. PSU owns a 4-5 ledger in conference matchups and is fresh off a three-game series sweep of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights last weekend on the road in Piscataway. With the win, Pittsburgh improved to 18-16 overall and will resume Atlantic Coast Conference play on Friday with the first of three games against the Syracuse Orange at home in Pittsburgh.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Natalie Lieto | 3-for-4, R, 2 2B
Jordan George | 1-for-4, R, 3 RBI, HR
Bridget Nemeth | 6.1IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 6K, 24BF, 100TP
KEY INNINGS
T1 | Hanik drew a leadoff hit-by-pitch to open the game, and a productive groundout from Barbanente bumped the Nittany Lion rookie into scoring position. From there, Klosowicz worked a 2-2 count and zipped a single over to right field to give Hanik the requisite time to score, racking up an RBI while advancing to second on the throw home. A Nittany Lion flew out in the next at-bat to put two away, but an errant throw from the Panther left fielder careened into the dugout to let another PSU run come aboard. PSU 2, PITT 0
T4 | With a flyout on the board, Lieto stepped up to the dish and lifted a high-flying double to right field. In the next at-bat, Bohner took the first two pitches to the tune of a 1-1 count and found the left-center gap for an RBI double on the third offering to bring another Penn Stater aboard. PSU 3, PITT 0
T6 | George reached on a Panther fielding error in the first at-bat of the inning, and Karwowski entered to pinch run for her at first base. A productive groundout from Lieto in the next at-bat bumped the Nittany Lion runner 60 feet further, and another grounder saw Karwowski reach third base. Chamberlin entered the batter’s box and went oppo through the right side of the infield for an RBI single that plated another Penn State score. PSU 4, PITT 0
B6 | With a pair of outs on the board, KK Esparza sent a single up the middle and Calle Henne sent a homer over the wall in right-center to make it a two-run ballgame heading into the seventh inning. PSU 4, PITT 2
T7 | Barbanente led off the top of the seventh inning and reached via a Panther fielding error, but a flyout to center put one away shortly thereafter. Oneacre wore a hit-by-pitch to put runners on the right side, and Jochims entered the game to pinch run for her at first. From there, George re-entered the game to hit and promptly clobbered a three-run blast into the back of Pitt’s soccer stadium in center field to make it a five-run game. PSU 7, PITT 2
B7 | With a 1-0 count, Camryn Murphy sent a solo homer over the wall in left field to pull back within four. A popup put one away, but Mackenzie Reese sent a double down the right field line on the first pitch of her at-bat. Addison Toczek drew a pinch-hit walk, and a wild pitch saw both runners advance into scoring position. A Tieley Vaughn RBI single up the middle allowed two runs to score, with Vaughn safe at second thanks to a Nittany Lion obstruction call that went in the books as an E-4. Alena Ball singled and advanced to second on the throw while Vaughn came aboard, and Esparza walked to keep the inning alive. Henne recorded an RBI single that scored another Panther run and left Esparza in scoring position. Pitt subbed in a pinch runner, and Gracie Helton lifted a sac fly to right to close out the game. PITT 8, PSU 7
UP NEXT
Penn State softball returns home to Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field this weekend, Friday through Sunday, April 3 through 5, as the Blue & White host a three-game Big Ten Conference series against the Maryland Terrapins at 5, 2 and 1 p.m. (ET) respectively over the three days. The first three games of PSU’s seven-game homestand 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.