URBANA, Ill. – Penn State softball called on an all-around team effort to turn in a 6-1, series-opening victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini on Friday night from Eichelberger Field. The Nittany Lions turned two double plays in the contest, allowed just four hits and blasted a pair of home runs en route to the program’s 30th win of the 2026 campaign.
Penn State improved to 30-17 following Friday night’s action and 9-10 in Big Ten Conference competitions, while Illinois dropped to 14-34 and 3-15 in league play. The Nittany Lions cracked the 30-win threshold for the fourth time in the last five seasons, booking all four of those 30-win campaigns under the direction of sixth-year head coach Clarisa Crowell. The Blue & White are in the midst of one of the most successful five-year stretches in program history, mustering the best five-year run of results at PSU since the program booked five consecutive 30-win seasons from 1999 to 2003. In the all-time series against Illinois, the Nittany Lions improved to 19-30 following the 49th meeting and extended the longest winning streak in the series between the two programs to five consecutive games with Friday’s result in hand.
The balance of the Nittany Lion roster was on full display in the weekend’s opening contest, with PSU shining in every phase of the game. Offensively, the Blue & White recorded six runs on nine hits highlighted by a pair of home runs. The Nittany Lions are now three long balls away from matching, and four away from tying the program’s single-season record of 74 from a season ago. PSU also needs just eight RBI to match and nine to shatter the team’s single-season RBI record of 306, also set by the 2025 roster. In the circle, the Nittany Lions utilized a trio of pitchers to hold Illinois to one run on just four hits, and the Blue & White held things down defensively with a pair of double plays highlighting the night. Penn State turned a pair of double plays in a single game for the first time this season, turning two in 10 different games prior to Friday night’s performance.
On an individual basis, freshman left fielder Breanna Hanik was a force to be reckoned with in her first game back in her home state. The Oak Lawn, Illinois, native finished the night 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored, two RBI on a two-run bomb in the top of the fifth inning, a walk drawn and a stolen base comprising her showing on the box score. Hanik booked her eighth home run of the 2026 season, recorded her 12th multi-hit outing of the year and improved to 14-for-16 in stolen base attempts through this point in her rookie campaign. Junior shortstop Kaylie Walters turned in a dominant 3-for-4 day at the plate with a run scored, three putouts and four assists while playing a role in both of Penn State’s double plays on the evening.
Junior designated player Brooke Klosowicz rounded out the pivotal PSU performances on Friday, mashing her 14th home run of the season while finishing the night 1-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. The Johnsburg, Illinois, native is now up to 27 home runs in her collegiate career, tied for fifth all-time at Penn State with 2022 alumna Ally Kurland. The third-year Nittany Lion needs 10 home runs to tie and 11 to surpass the program’s career home run record of 37, set by Penn State legend Cassidy Bell from 2010 to 2013. Klosowicz also ranks fifth all-time at PSU in terms of home runs in a single season, with her 14 in the 2026 campaign trailing Bell (20), freshman teammate Allison Oneacre (16), Kurland (16) and 2002 alumna Jennifer Tripken (16) in that category.
In the circle, sophomore right-hander Abigail Britton earned her 11th start of the season in her 28th appearance, leading the Blue & White through four unblemished innings of work. Britton, a native of LaVale, Maryland, finished the night with 4.0 innings pitched, allowing one hit on an unfathomable bounce in the infield. She walked two batters and struck out one across 16 batters faced and 66 total offerings, improving to 5-5 overall individually this year. Junior right-hander McKenna Young entered in the bottom of the fifth and went 2.0 innings with two hits and an earned run against, walking one and fanning another. Rookie southpaw Brevyn Kellepouris entered in the seventh and closed things out, allowing one hit while facing four batters.
Penn State wasted little time finding momentum in the top of the first inning, as Walters led the game off with a single down the third base line, and Oneacre followed that up with a single through the left side to put a pair of runners on with zero outs. A fielding error by the Fighting Illini shortstop saw the bases loaded, but a quick popup in the ensuing at-bat put one away. A wild pitch moments later allowed Walters to come aboard, leaving Oneacre and Klosowicz in scoring position. From there, Gradishar laced an RBI single to right field, bringing Oneacre across with Klosowicz thrown out at home, 9-2-3, while Gradishar advanced to second on the throw. Working with a two-run advantage, Britton was a force to be reckoned with, keeping the board clean through four innings.
A fielding error by the Fighting Illini third baseman preceded Hanik’s third at-bat of the evening in the top of the fifth. The Illinois-native responded to her return to the Land of Lincoln with an absolute no-doubter off the bat, clobbering her eighth home run of the 2026 campaign over the fence in left field to double the Nittany Lion advantage through four-and-a-half played. Illinois was able to muster a reply with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth, but Penn State slammed the door shut half an inning later. Klosowicz led off the top of the seventh inning for the Nittany Lions and worked the count full on five pitches, ripping the sixth offering of her at-bat over the wall in left field to mark her 14th dinger of the season. Hanik drew a walk on four pitches in the next plate appearance, and Gradishar reached via a fielder’s choice after Illinois failed to get out the lead runner during her at-bat. The pair of Penn Staters executed a double steal just before a strikeout flashed on the board, but a pinch-hit sacrifice fly from Chamberlin to right field brought a second insurance score across to close out the scoring in Penn State’s 6-1 victory Friday night.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Breanna Hanik | 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR, BB, SB
Kaylie Walters | 3-for-4, R, 3 1B, 3 PO, 4 A, 2 DP TURNED
Abigail Britton | 4.0IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 1K, 16BF, 66TP, WIN
KEY INNINGS
T1 | Walters led the game off with a single down the third base line on the fourth pitch of the evening, and Oneacre responded in kind with a single of her own through the left side of the infield to put a pair of runners on. A fielding error by the Fighting Illini shortstop saw the bases loaded, but a quick popup in the ensuing at-bat put one away. A wild pitch moments later allowed Walters to come aboard, leaving Oneacre and Klosowicz in scoring position. From there, Gradishar laced an RBI single to right field, bringing Oneacre across with Klosowicz thrown out at home, 9-2-3, while Gradishar advanced to second on the throw. PSU 2, ILL 0
T5 | A fielding error by the Fighting Illini third baseman preceded Hanik’s third at-bat of the evening. The Illinois-native responded to her return to the Land of Lincoln with an absolute no-doubter off the bat, clobbering her eighth home run of the 2026 campaign over the fence in left field to double the Nittany Lion advantage through four-and-a-half played. PSU 4, ILL 0
B6 | With no outs on the scoreboard, Eileen Donahue worked a 2-2 count before sending an opposite-field solo shot over the fence in right field. PSU 4, ILL 1
T7 | Klosowicz led off the top of the seventh inning for the Nittany Lions and worked the count full on five pitches, ripping the sixth offering of her at-bat over the wall in left field to mark her 14th dinger of the season. Hanik drew a walk on four pitches in the next plate appearance, and Gradishar reached via a fielder’s choice after Illinois failed to get out the lead runner during her at-bat. The pair of Penn Staters executed a double steal just before a strikeout flashed on the board, but a pinch-hit sacrifice fly from Chamberlin to right field brought a second insurance score across to close out the scoring in Penn State’s 6-1 victory Friday night. PSU 6, ILL 1
UP NEXT
Penn State softball continues its three-game Big Ten Conference weekend series against the Illinois Fighting Illini this Saturday, April 25, with a 2 p.m. (ET) / 1 p.m. (CT) start scheduled from Eichelberger Field. The game will air to a national television audience via the Big Ten Network, with streaming available through the FOX Sports App. Lisa Byington and Jennie Ritter will call the action live from Big Ten Network studios in Chicago.
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.