UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Powered by a dominant day at the plate highlighted by a 3-for-3 showing in game one and a two-run walk-off homer in the series finale from junior Brooke Klosowicz, the Penn State softball team rolled to a pair of wins over the Maryland Terrapins to complete the series sweep on Saturday afternoon from Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field. The Nittany Lions registered an emphatic 16-4 result over five innings in game one and closed things out with a 2-0 walk-off finish in game two of the doubleheader.
Hailing from Johnsburg, Illinois, Klosowicz utilized both precision and power to steer the Nittany Lions to a pair of critical conference victories on Saturday afternoon. The third-year offensive powerhouse finished the day batting .571 across both halves of the doubleheader, logging three runs scored with five RBI throughout the twin-bill. Klosowicz turned in an unblemished 3-for-3 outing in the lid-lifter, notching a trio of singles with two runs scored and three RBI to her credit in addition to a walk drawn. Her shining moment of the day came later in the afternoon, as she clobbered her first home run of the weekend series to close things out in walk-off fashion and complete the series sweep for the Blue & White.
Powered by Klosowicz’ impressive individual performance at the plate, Penn State improved to 26-12 overall through its first 38 opportunities on the 2026 schedule and rose to 7-5 in Big Ten Conference matchups through the first half of the conference calendar. In defeat, Maryland dropped to 13-23 overall and fell to 1-14 in Big Ten action, looking to rebound over the course of their final three Big Ten sets. In the all-time series between the two squads, Penn State picked up a series victory for the fourth year in a row and remains unbeaten against the Terrapins in each of the last two seasons. PSU improved its all-time lead to 30-17 through the first 47 opportunities and has won eight of the last 10 meetings dating to the 2024 campaign.
Elsewhere in the Nittany Lion starting lineup, multiple Penn Staters were able to produce stellar individual offensive performances, with sophomore center fielder Natalie Lieto highlighting the bunch. The Monroe, Connecticut, native turned in a 2-for-4 outing in the batter’s box across both games, notching a pair of runs scored, three RBI and a home run with a walk and hit-by-pitch to her credit in the contests. Junior designated player Jordan George turned in a .500 day at the plate with a bases-clearing double in the bottom of the fourth inning of game one highlighting her pair of outings. Junior second baseman Michela Barbanente also hit .500 with a .667 on-base percentage in the doubleheader, and freshman left fielder Breanna Hanik mustered a single-day high of four runs scored across games one and two to round out the bevy of successful Nittany Lion offensive performances.
Saturday’s games saw four pitchers appear in the circle for the Blue & White, with junior right-hander Bridget Nemeth getting the day underway with the start in game one. Nemeth went 1.1 innings before freshman righty Mackenzie Duncan entered the game, shutting things down with a dominant 3.2 innings of work that saw Maryland muster a single, draw zero walks and strike out thrice. Duncan earned credit for the victory in the lid-lifter, improving to 5-1 individually in the 2026 campaign. Game two began with sophomore right-hander Abigail Britton spinning it from the center of the infield, with the Maryland native performing at her best against her home state’s flagship institution with four shutout innings of effort. Britton scattered three hits, struck out three Terrapins and yielded a pair of walks while keeping the scoreboard clean and setting things up perfectly for junior right-handed teammate McKenna Young. The Brodhead, Wisconsin, native Young closed the day out in style for PSU, earning credit for her 10th individual victory in the circle and improving to 10-3 overall this season following 3.0 shutout innings that saw Maryland strike out twice and book a lone hit. PSU’s pitchers combined for a shutout for the first time since an 8-0 performance at Rutgers on March 27, keeping a zero on the board for the sixth time in 2026.
Similar to Friday afternoon’s start, Maryland was able to find a bit of momentum in the early going as game one of the day got started on a beautiful sunny day in University Park. UMD tallied a pair of runs in the top of the first, but Penn State was able to answer right back with two scores of their own in the bottom of the first to make it a tied score through one. Maryland struck once again with two runs in the top of the second, and PSU managed a reply to make it 4-3 in the Terrapins’ favor as the game entered a quiet third inning. With Maryland leading by one heading into the home half of the fourth, PSU called on a full-team effort to blitz past the Terrapins with an emphatic 13-run, eight-hit inning that saw the Blue & White put Maryland on the verge of an early exit in the first game of the day.
A popout opened the inning, but a triple to left from Barbanente got an electrifying frame underway for PSU. Klosowicz logged a first-pitch single up the middle to plate Barbanente, and a walk from Oneacre followed by a single to center from George saw the bases full of Nittany Lions. Karwowski entered to pinch run for George at first, and a single to left from Lieto brought another run aboard. Back-to-back bases-loaded walks from Flesher and Gradishar scratched two more runs across, and Maryland underwent a pitching change from there. Seidel laced a two-RBI double down the right field line, and a fielding error in the next at-bat saw Hanik safely reach first while another run came home. With one out and runners on the corners, Hanik elected to steal second base, and PSU filled the bases up yet again with a walk from Barbanente on four pitches. Klosowicz took an RBI walk to first base to tack on another score, but a flyout put two away for the Terps defense. George re-entered the game to hit for the second time in the bottom of the fourth and walloped an off-speed offering off the top of the center field wall that found its way back into the ballpark for a bases-clearing double. From there, Lieto crushed the first Nittany Lion home run of the day off the scoreboard in left to close out the scoring in a dominant 16-4, run-rule result to claim the B1G series victory.
Offensive fireworks in game one were answered by a gritty all-out pitcher’s duel in the second half of the doubleheader, with both squads threatening on multiple occasions despite being unable to register an opening score through six and a half innings of effort. The Blue & White appeared to break the deadlock in the bottom of the sixth, as with one out and junior Frankee Flesher running at third base, sophomore catcher Macy Chamberlin lifted what would have likely been the game-winning sacrifice fly to center field. Upon appeal from Maryland, the third-base umpire ruled that Flesher failed to tag up, and the sixth ended with a double-play that appeared to give Maryland some serious momentum heading to the seventh.
The Terrapins booked a leadoff single to open the visitor’s half of the seventh, but stellar work from freshman shortstop Allison Oneacre at short saw the next Maryland batter line into a 6-3 double play that brought all the energy back into Beard Field’s first base dugout. Outstanding effort from Young in the circle, coupled with a solid defensive performance, kept the game knotted at nil heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. From there, Hanik stepped into the batter’s box and drew a leadoff walk on five pitches, and Barbanente executed a 5-4 sacrifice bunt to bump Hanik into scoring position. Klosowicz ventured from the on-deck circle to the plate and decided she had enough, lifting a walk-off two-run bomb over the fence in left-center to book the 2-0 win, close out the series sweep and mark the program’s sixth-consecutive victory over Maryland.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (GAME ONE)
Brooke Klosowicz | 3-for-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, 3 1B, BB
Natalie Lieto | 2-for-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR, BB, SB
Mackenzie Duncan | 3.2IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 3K, 12BF, 60TP, WIN
KEY INNINGS (GAME ONE)
T1 | With one out on the scoreboard, Sammi Woods lifted a solo homer over the wall in left field to get the scoring started. Mariah Penta drew a walk, Anna McGowan sent a single to left and Matti Benson drew a walk moments later to load the bases. Zayda Rocke sent a single up the middle in the next at-bat to plate a second Terrapin score to make it a two-run game early on. UMD 2, PSU 0
B1 | Hanik led off the home half of the first with a single up the middle in an 0-1 count, and a hit-by-pitch saw Barbanente trot to first with runners on the right side of the infield. From there, Klosowicz sent a single to center field and advanced to second on the throw, plating Hanik and seeing Barbanente trot to third. A fielding error by the Terrapin catcher on the play allowed Barbanente to come in to score while Klosowicz trotted to third, tying the game up at two-all. PSU 2, UMD 2
T2 | Caitlyn Cornwell drew a leadoff walk, and Bailey Murphy registered an infield single to put runners on the right side. Woods executed a 3-4 sacrifice bunt to put a pair in scoring position, and a double off the bat of Penta found the right-center gap to bring a pair of Terrapin scores aboard and see Maryland re-take the lead. UMD 4, PSU 2
B2 | With a groundout on the board early in the bottom of the second, Hanik battled in a quality nine-pitch at-bat and was rewarded with a single up the middle for her efforts. A flyout to right put two down, but a single through the left side from Klosowicz saw a pair of runners work their way on. Oneacre stepped up to the dish moments later and followed Klosowicz’ lead with a single through the left side that brought Hanik aboard for the tally. UMD 4, PSU 3
B4 | A popout opened the inning, but a triple to left from Barbanente got an electrifying frame underway for PSU. Klosowicz logged a first-pitch single up the middle to plate Barbanente, and a walk from Oneacre followed by a single to center from George saw the bases full of Nittany Lions. Karwowski entered to pinch run for George at first, and a single to left from Lieto brought another run aboard. Back-to-back bases-loaded walks from Flesher and Gradishar scratched two more runs across, and Maryland underwent a pitching change from there. Seidel laced a two-RBI double down the right field line, and a fielding error in the next at-bat saw Hanik safely reach first while another run came home. With one out and runners on the corners, Hanik elected to steal second base, and PSU filled the bases up yet again with a walk from Barbanente on four pitches. Klosowicz took an RBI walk to first base to tack on another score, but a flyout put two away for the Terps defense. George re-entered the game to hit for the second time in the bottom of the fourth and walloped an off-speed offering off the top of the center field wall that found its way back into the ballpark for a bases-clearing double. From there, Lieto crushed the first Nittany Lion home run of the day off the scoreboard in left to close out the 13-run, eight-hit home half of the fourth. PSU 16, UMD 4
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (GAME TWO)
Brooke Klosowicz | 1-for-4, R, 2 RBI, WALK-OFF HR
Abigail Britton | 4.0IP, 3H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 3K, 18BF, 73TP
McKenna Young | 3.0IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 3BB, 2K, 12BF, 40TP, WIN
KEY INNINGS (GAME TWO)
B7 | Hanik stepped into the batter’s box and drew a leadoff walk on five pitches, and Barbanente executed a 5-4 sacrifice bunt to bump Hanik into scoring position. Klosowicz ventured from the on-deck circle to the plate and decided she had enough, lifting a walk-off two-run bomb over the fence in left-center to book the 2-0 win. PSU 2, UMD 0
UP NEXT
Penn State Softball continues its seven-game homestand from Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field next Friday through Sunday, April 10 through 12, as the Blue & White play host to the Northwestern Wildcats. First pitch is slated for 5 and 2 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, before wrapping the series up with an 11:30 a.m. (ET) first pitch on Sunday morning. All three games 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.