URBANA, Ill. – Highlighted by a combined shutout from freshmen pitchers Brevyn Kellepouris and Mackenzie Duncan, the Penn State softball team rolled to a decisive 10-0 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini in six innings of play Saturday afternoon from Eichelberger Field.
Driven by a dominant showing in the circle from a pair of first-year standouts, the Nittany Lions improved to 31-17 overall through the season’s first 48 opportunities, clawing back to .500 in Big Ten Conference competitions with a 10-10 mark in league action. In defeat, Illinois falls to 14-35 overall and 3-16 in Big Ten matchups. In the all-time series between the two programs, Penn State mustered its sixth consecutive victory dating to the 2022 campaign. With Saturday’s result in hand, PSU mathematically guaranteed its placement in the 2026 Big Ten Softball Tournament presented by Allstate, with its opening round matchup and start time to be determined on Wednesday, May 6, from Maryland Softball Stadium in College Park, Maryland.
Offensively, the Nittany Lions turned in their 17th double-digit hitting performance as a team this season and booked their 16th instance with 10-or-more runs in 2026. Penn State scored 10 runs on 11 hits, with three of those going for extra bases in the form of two home runs and one double. As a team, the Nittany Lions need just one home run to tie and two to surpass the program’s single-season record of 74 from a season ago. Freshman third baseman Allison Oneacre continued her torrid stretch of offensive production with a 3-for-4 day in the batter’s box that included two runs scored and two RBI. The Alpharetta, Georgia, native mashed her 17th home run of the 2026 season on Saturday, inching ever-closer to the Penn State single-season record of 20 set by First Team NFCA All-American Cassidy Bell in 2013.
Elsewhere in the Nittany Lion batting order, freshman left fielder Breanna Hanik booked yet another dominant showing in her return to her home state, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored, two RBI and a home run to her credit. The Oak Lawn, Illinois, native Hanik recorded the ninth home run of her rookie campaign, as well as her second home run of the weekend in Urbana-Champaign. Hanik added another stolen base to her season total as well, continuing to lead the Nittany Lion roster with 15 stolen bags in 2026. Sophomore center fielder Natalie Lieto recorded the only other extra-base hit on the day for the Blue & White, mustering an RBI double in the top of the sixth frame. Lieto finished 1-for-3 with a run scored, RBI and hit-by-pitch.
In the circle, the Nittany Lions called on a pair of student-athletes to power PSU to its eighth shutout of the 2026 season. Kellepouris, a rookie left-hander, earned her seventh start and 29th appearance this season. The Olathe, Kansas, native pitched the first 2.1 innings and scattered a pair of hits, keeping the board clean with zero walks and a strikeout across 10 batters faced. Duncan, a native of Winter Garden, Florida, logged 3.2 innings of work in relief and earned the win as well, allowing one hit and zeroes in the run, earned run and walk columns. Duncan struck out a trio of Illinois batters and improved to 6-1 individually this season following her dominant showing in the circle.
Penn State wasted little time getting the scoring started in Saturday’s matinee, as Walters led the game off with a walk on four pitches, and Hanik followed that up by working a 2-1 count just before rocketing a two-run shot just over the wall in left field. Leading by two through the first two innings, Oneacre stepped into the right-handed batter’s box to lead off the top of the third and worked the count full, seeing six pitches and powering the sixth offering over the wall just beyond the foul pole to keep the AB alive. The rookie Nittany Lion adjusted on the seventh pitch and crushed her 17th home run of the 2026 campaign over the wall in left for a solo shot that extended the Nittany Lion advantage to three runs. An error-laden fourth inning saw Penn State add another score, managing a 4-0 lead as the game headed into the fifth inning.
A quiet fifth preceded a dominant six-run frame for the Blue & White as the game neared its conclusion. Barbanente led off the top of the sixth inning with a single to right field, and Walters bumped her 60 feet along with a sacrifice bunt. A single up the middle from Hanik made it runners on the corners, and a stolen base for Hanik put a pair of Penn Staters in scoring position moments later. From there, Oneacre powered an infield single at the Fighting Illini shortstop, plating one run while Hanik was thrown out at third base. An Illinois fielding error kept the inning alive and saw a pair of runners on the right side. Chamberlin batted Oneacre in with a single to right, leaving PSU with two outs and runners on the corners yet again. George recorded a pinch-hit single, advancing to second on the throw while Klosowicz scored, leaving PSU with runners on the left side of the infield. A passed ball plated another score, and a double to right-center from Lieto made it a nine-run ballgame. Flesher brought one more insurance run across in the form of an RBI single, plating Lieto and wrapping up the scoring in the 10-0 shutout from Urbana.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Allison Oneacre | 3-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR
Breanna Hanik | 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, HR, SB
Mackenzie Duncan | 3.2IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 3K, 12BF, 40TP, WIN
KEY INNINGS
T1 | Walters led the game off with a walk on four pitches, and Hanik followed that up by working a 2-1 count just before rocketing a two-run shot just over the wall in left field. PSU 2, ILL 0
T3 | Oneacre stepped into the right-handed batter’s box to lead off the top of the third inning and worked the count full, seeing six pitches and powering the sixth offering over the wall just beyond the foul pole to keep the AB alive. The rookie Nittany Lion adjusted on the seventh pitch and crushed her 17th home run of the 2026 campaign over the wall in left for a solo shot that extended the Nittany Lion advantage to three runs. PSU 3, ILL 0
T4 | A fielding error saw Bohner make her way to first base, and Flesher entered the game to run for her. Barbanente drew a hit-by-pitch to make it runners on the right side of the infield, but a strikeout put one away following a Fighting Illini pitching change. Hanik put a ball in play and reached via fielder’s choice as Illinois got the lead runner out at third, but a fielding error by the Fighting Illini shortstop moments later gave Barbanente the requisite time to come aboard and make it a four-run affair. PSU 4, ILL 0
T6 | Barbanente led off the top of the sixth inning for the Blue & White with a single to right field, and Walters bumped her 60 feet along with a sacrifice bunt. A single up the middle from Hanik made it runners on the corners, and a stolen base for Hanik put a pair of Penn Staters in scoring position moments later. From there, Oneacre powered an infield single at the Fighting Illini shortstop, plating one run while Hanik was thrown out at third base. An Illinois fielding error kept the inning alive and saw a pair of runners on the right side. Chamberlin batted Oneacre in with a single to right, leaving PSU with two outs and runners on the corners yet again. George recorded a pinch-hit single, advancing to second on the throw while Klosowicz scored, leaving PSU with runners on the left side of the infield. A passed ball plated another score, and a double to right-center from Lieto made it a nine-run ballgame. Flesher brought one more insurance run across in the form of an RBI single, plating Lieto and wrapping up the scoring in the 10-0 shutout from Urbana. PSU 10, ILL 0
UP NEXT
Penn State softball wraps up its final Big Ten Conference road series of the 2026 regular season campaign this Sunday, April 26, as the Blue & White square off in game three against the Illinois Fighting Illini from Eichelberger Field. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. (ET), Noon (CT), with 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.