UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State softball celebrated Country Night and Dollar Dog Night in style on Tuesday, as the Nittany Lions roared to an 11-3 win over the in-state rival Bucknell Bison in five innings of play from Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field.
The Blue & White managed to match their second-highest hit total on the 2026 campaign on Tuesday evening, knocking the ball around the yard 14 times in an impressive all-around offensive performance. Penn State saw four-student-athletes muster multiple-hit efforts, with 10 different performers logging at least one base hit in the game. The Nittany Lions fell a hit shy of the team’s season-high mark of 15, set against the Ohio Bobcats on February 21 in Orlando, Florida. PSU also sent three softballs out of the yard as home runs as a squad, matching the third-most homers in a single game hit by the Nittany Lions this year.
With the dominant offensive performance in hand, Penn State was able to turn in its 27th win of the 2026 campaign while improving to 27-15 overall through the year’s first 42 opportunities. The Blue & White will look to rebound in Big Ten Conference play this weekend on the road in Columbus, as the Nittany Lions sit one game back of the sixth-place Ohio State Buckeyes heading into this weekend’s three-game set. In defeat, Bucknell falls to 6-29-1 overall and will return to Patriot League action this weekend against fellow in-state foe Lehigh back home in Lewisburg. In the oldest all-time Division I series in Penn State softball history, the Blue & White improved to 36-9 against the Bison and recorded their sixth-consecutive win overall.
On an individual basis, freshman left fielder Breanna Hanik raked to the tune of a 2-for-3 effort in the batter’s box that included three runs scored to lead all Penn Staters. The Oak Lawn, Illinois, native tallied four RBI on the night thanks to a three-run homer in the bottom of the second. Hanik boasts six multiple-RBI games this season and has recorded four-or-more RBI in a game thrice over the course of her rookie campaign. Junior second baseman Michela Barbanente turned in a multiple-hit performance of her own with a 2-for-3 night that included a two-run dinger in the third. Freshman infielder Allison Oneacre logged a multi-hit night with a 2-for-3 effort, inching closer to the PSU single season RBI record in the process. The Alpharetta, Georgia, native booked her 52nd RBI of 2026 with a double in the third inning, needing just one more RBI to tie and two to surpass the mark of 53 set by junior teammate Brooke Klosowicz a season ago.
Freshman first baseman Gabby Gradishar rounded out the quartet of Nittany Lions with multiple-hit showings, going 2-for-3 with a run scored as well as an RBI on the game-ending sacrifice fly in the home half of the fifth. Junior center fielder Natalie Lieto left the ballpark for the third and final Penn State home run in the contest, pelting her ninth of the campaign to rank third in the category on PSU’s roster behind Oneacre (14) and Klosowicz (12). Additional hits came from Klosowicz, sophomore catcher Macy Chamberlin, senior catcher Madison Seidel and senior catcher Jordyn Jochims, with rookie shortstop Kalli Karwowski rounding out the 10-member list of Nittany Lion hitters following her first collegiate single in the bottom of the fifth.
Penn State called on a trio of pitchers to work through Tuesday night’s midweek matchup, with sophomore right-hander Abigail Britton earning her ninth start in her 24th appearance of the year. Britton worked 2.0 shutout innings, allowing a lone hit with zero walks and a pair of strikeouts to her credit across 32 total pitches. Junior right-hander Bridget Nemeth entered from there and picked up her fourth winning decision of the 2026 campaign following two innings of work that saw her strike out a pair of batters across 49 total offerings. Freshman lefty Brevyn Kellepouris tossed the remaining frame for Penn State, facing a quintet of batters with a single earned run allowed.
Britton got the game started with a strong opening half-inning, and the Nittany Lion offense replied with some support in the form of the game’s first tally in the home half of the first. PSU’s starting pitcher held Bucknell back yet again in the second, and a three-run blast off the bat of Hanik helped establish Penn State’s advantage in the bottom of the frame. With a 4-0 advantage through two-and-a-half, Gradishar led the bottom of the third off with a single to right center after working the count full, and Barbanente brought her rookie teammate aboard with a no-doubter to right-center. PSU grounded out in the next at-bat, but Lieto kept the scoreboard operator busy with a solo shot to center in an 0-1 count moments later. A flyout put two down, but Seidel kept the inning rolling with a single down the right field line. Back-to-back-to-back RBI doubles from Hanik, Oneacre and Klosowicz ensured that Penn State would tack on three more runs and build up a 10-run differential through three frames.
Bucknell battled from there, managing to find their way onto the scoreboard in the top of the fourth with a pair of runs, and prolonging the game with an additional tally in the top of the fifth. Seeking an answer, Chamberlin led off the home half of the fifth and got things started with a resounding first-pitch double down the left field line. Jochims pinch hit and booked a single of her own just before a productive groundout from graduate outfielder Cara Bohner bumped both Penn Staters into scoring position. With one down and runners at second and third, Karwowski came up to the plate and booked her first hit as a Nittany Lion with an infield single that saw the bases loaded with Lions. Gradishar came up next and did her job, lifting the game-ending sacrifice fly to center field to close out the 11-3 run-rule performance in five innings.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Breanna Hanik | 2-for-3, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2B, HR, SB
Michela Barbanente | 2-for-3, R, 2 RBI, HR
Abigail Britton | 2.0IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 2K, 8BF, 32TP
KEY INNINGS
B1 | Hanik led off the home half of the first inning and reached first following a passed-ball third strike. Hanik wreaked havoc on the basepath from there, stealing second base and advancing to third on a throwing error by the Bison catcher. A liner put an out on the board, but Klosowicz drew a hit-by-pitch to keep the inning rolling. A double steal attempt baited a throw that saw Klosowicz put out at second base while Hanik came in for the opening score. PSU 1, BUCK 0
B2 | With one away, Lieto drew a walk and stole second base, and Flesher joined her on the basepath with a walk of her own. Flesher advanced to second on a 2-5 caught stealing that put Lieto out moments later. Seidel drew a walk, and both Nittany Lions moved into scoring position via a wild pitch. From there, Hanik stepped into the batter’s box and tattooed a three-run homer over the fence in center field to make it a four-run affair. PSU 4, BUCK 0
B3 | Gradishar led the bottom of the third off with a single to right center after working the count full, and Barbanente brought her rookie teammate aboard with a no-doubter to right-center. PSU grounded out in the next at-bat, but Lieto kept the scoreboard operator busy with a solo shot to center in an 0-1 count moments later. A flyout put two down, but Seidel kept the inning rolling with a single down the right field line. Back-to-back-to-back RBI doubles from Hanik, Oneacre and Klosowicz ensured that Penn State would tack on three more runs and build up a 10-run differential through three frames. PSU 10, BUCK 0
T4 | Brooke Popella and Molly Lawson registered back-to-back singles to open the top of the fourth, but a swinging K got an out on the board. A walk loaded the bases for the Bison, but a 1-2 fielder’s choice ensured that a second out would pop onto the scoreboard before a run came across. In the next at-bat, Reagan Powell sent a two-RBI single to center that saw the Bison pull back within eight. PSU 10, BUCK 2
T5 | Haley Speicher singled up the middle and advanced to second on a productive grounder. From there, Popella doubled to right center, giving Speicher enough time to come all the way around to extend the game. PSU 10, BUCK 3
B5 | Chamberlin led off the home half of the fifth and got things started with a resounding first-pitch double down the left field line. Jochims pinch hit and booked a single of her own just before a productive groundout from graduate outfielder Cara Bohner bumped both Penn Staters into scoring position. With one down and runners at second and third, Karwowski came up to the plate and booked her first hit as a Nittany Lion with an infield single that saw the bases loaded with Lions. Gradishar came up next and did her job, lifting the game-ending sacrifice fly to center field to close out the run-rule performance. PSU 11, BUCK 3
UP NEXT
Penn State softball returns to Big Ten Conference competition for a three-game series against the Ohio State Buckeyes this Friday through Sunday, April 17 through 19, from Buckeye Field in Columbus. The Nittany Lions will battle OSU in a pair of matchups on B1G+ Friday and Saturday at 6 and 2 p.m. (ET), respectively, followed by the program’s Big Ten Network debut on Sunday at 4 p.m. (ET).
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.