UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State softball dropped its series-opening matchup against the Northwestern Wildcats on Friday evening by an 8-2 score from Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field.
Sophomore center fielder Natalie Lieto continued to impress individually for the Blue & White, recording the only extra-base knock of the night in the form of a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Lieto, a native of Monroe, Connecticut, mashed her eighth homer of the 2026 campaign, surpassing her single-season career-high total of seven set last year during her rookie season in the Blue & White. Lieto has been a consistent contributor for the Nittany Lions this season to date, ranking third on the team in home runs while hitting to the tune of a .350 batting average. Thanks to her home run, Lieto managed to extend her reached-base streak to 11 consecutive games, a stretch dating back to the series opener against Wisconsin on March 20.
Elsewhere in the order, sophomore catcher Macy Chamberlin added a pinch-hit single in the bottom of the bottom of the fifth inning, lacing a single through the left side of the infield to add to the threat for the Nittany Lion bats in the frame. Four additional Nittany Lions managed to work their way on base thanks to five walks drawn against Wildcat pitching. Junior designated player Brooke Klosowicz took a pair of bases on balls and extended her reached-base streak to 13-straight in the process. Freshman left fielder Breanna Hanik, freshman shortstop Allison Oneacre and junior right fielder Frankee Flesher each added free passes of their own to round out the Penn State offensive attack on Friday.
In the circle, junior right-handed pitcher McKenna Young earned her ninth start of the 2026 campaign and saw the first 2.2 innings of work. The Brodhead, Wisconsin, native fanned a pair of batters in the contest and was saddled with the losing decision, falling to 10-4 individually during her first season at Penn State. Rookie southpaw Brevyn Kellepouris took it from there, working through some early Northwestern hits to find her groove as the game went along. The Olathe, Kansas, native finished the remaining 4.1 innings, allowing just two earned runs and one walk while striking out a pair of Wildcats across 66 total offerings.
The weekend series opener got started with a strong pitcher’s duel on both sides, with the Wildcat starter managing to limit Penn State’s offensive firepower while Young mowed through the NU lineup in the first two innings of the night. Northwestern managed to find its way onto the scoreboard in the top of the third and turned that into a big inning with the Wildcats managing a 5-0 lead through three frames. A three-run homer in the top of the fourth made it 8-0 Northwestern, but a response in the form of a solo bomb from Lieto kept the Nittany Lions in the hunt as the game headed into the sixth inning. Penn State managed to turn an inning-ending double play to close out the top of the sixth, and a wild pitch saw Klosowicz tack on a score in the home half, but Penn State was ultimately unable to overcome the six-run deficit as Northwestern took the first game of the set by an 8-2 score.
Following Friday night’s result, Penn State moved to 26-13 overall and 7-6 in Big Ten Conference competitions, while Northwestern improved to 18-19 overall and 6-7 in conference contests. In the all-time series between the two squads, Northwestern saw its 57th victory come in the 72nd meeting since Penn State’s first Big Ten season in 1992. The Nittany Lions will look to bounce back in games two and three of the weekend series from Beard Field this Saturday and Sunday.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Natalie Lieto | 1-for-3, R, RBI, HR
Macy Chamberlin | 1-for-2, 1B
Brevyn Kellepouris | 4.1IP, 5H, 3R, 2ER, 1BB, 2K, 19BF, 66TP
KEY INNINGS
T3 | Tru Medina led the top of the third off with a hit by pitch, and Grace Nieto laid down a perfectly-placed bunt single to make it runners on the right side of the infield. From there, Kaylie Avvisato fought in an 0-2 count and hit the fifth pitch of her at-bat over the wall in right-center to make it a three-run game. Emma Raye sent a single through the left side of the infield to keep the inning going for the Wildcats. A flyout put one away, but Raye stole second during the next at-bat. A productive grounder moved Raye over to third and put a second out on the board. Kelsey Nader drew a walk to keep things going, and a first-and-third double steal from the Wildcats allowed Northwestern to plate another run with a runner on second base. Izzy Cunnea singled up the middle and advanced to second on the throw while Nader completed her journey home. NU 5, PSU 0
T4 | With a foul-out on the board early, Nieto laid down a bunt single and Avvisato reached first via a fielding error on the Nittany Lion first baseman. A wild pitch saw both runners advance 60 feet, and Raye hit a three-run homer over the fence in center to make it an eight-run ballgame. NU 8, PSU 0
B5 | After taking the first pitch of her at-bat for a ball, Lieto clobbered a solo shot over the wall in right-center to extend Penn State’s evening. NU 8, PSU 1
B6 | Klosowicz and Oneacre drew back-to-back walks to lead off the home half of the sixth inning, and a productive groundout from George bumped both Nittany Lions into scoring position. A wild pitch brought Klosowicz in for the score to cut the Wildcat lead back to six. NU 8, PSU 2
UP NEXT
Penn State softball continues its three-game Big Ten Conference weekend series against the Northwestern Wildcats this Saturday, April 11. First pitch from Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field is slated for 2 p.m. (ET), with live streaming available 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.