UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State softball program welcomed a season-high 1,275 fans to Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field on Saturday, but the Blue & White ultimately dropped a pair of matchups against the No. 3 Nebraska Cornhuskers in a series-opening B1G twin-bill. Nebraska booked a 5-1 win in the opener before registering a 10-4 finish in game two.
The Nittany Lions were highlighted on the day by a dominant showing from freshman left fielder Breanna Hanik, who led all Penn Staters on the day with four hits. The Oak Lawn, Illinois, native booked two knocks apiece in each game, finishing the day hitting .571 with a run scored and RBI to her credit while working an unblemished 1.000 outing in her fielding opportunities. Freshman third baseman Allison Oneacre powered PSU to an early lead in the second game of the day, going 2-for-4 in the nightcap with a run scored and pair of RBI on an astonishing two-run shot in the bottom of the third. Oneacre continues her push for first place in Penn State history with 18 home runs this season, needing just two more to match and three to surpass the single-season record of 20 set by Cassidy Bell in 2013.
Junior shortstop Kaylie Walters mustered her second double in as many weeks with a two-bagger down the third base line in game two of the doubleheader. Walters extra-base hit was joined by junior second baseman Michela Barbanente as the only other multi-base knock on the day, with the latter powering her eighth dinger of the 2026 campaign over the fence down the left field line in game two. Additional hits ringed off the bats of freshman first baseman Gabby Gradishar, junior right fielder Frankee Flesher, sophomore catcher Macy Chamberlin and junior infielder Jordan George across both games on Saturday.
Penn State was competitive in the pitcher’s circle across games one and two against the nationally-ranked Cornhuskers, with sophomore right-hander Abigail Britton booking the start in game one. The LaVale, Maryland, native was saddled with the loss after 1.2 frames, moving to 5-6 overall as an individual despite leading the Blue & White in ERA. Junior righty McKenna Young and freshman northpaw Mackenzie Duncan appeared in both games, with Young tossing 6.1 innings across the doubleheader and Duncan appearing for a limited 0.2 inning stretch. Junior right-hander Bridget Nemeth highlighted the day in the circle, continuing her stretch of impressive starts against top-10 opposition this season. Nemeth threw 5.1 against the Huskers, limiting their potent offense to just three earned runs with five strikeouts to her credit. The Glendora, California, native moved to 4-6 individually following the outing.
A wild pitch in the opening half-inning caused early commotion for Penn State, but the Blue & White were able to ultimately limit the Cornhuskers to a single tally in the top of the first. Hanik led things off for the Blue & White in the home half with a single over the second baseman’s head, reaching second via a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt from Walters during the next plate appearance. A wild pitch saw Hanik trot to third, and an RBI fielder’s choice from Oneacre brought the first Nittany Lion run aboard on Saturday. Nebraska broke the deadlock with a run scored in the top of the second, but things remained close for much of the remainder of the lid-lifter. Nebraska added another run in the top of the fifth, and scratched one apiece on the board in the sixth and seventh to close the book on a 5-1 win to open the weekend.
Game two showed signs of early promise for PSU, with Nemeth racking up a trio of strikeouts through the first two innings of work. Despite Nebraska managing to plate one run in the top of the third, an emphatic home half paved the way for a dramatic contest. An early popout in foul territory saw one out flash on the board just before Walters stepped into the batter’s box. The sensational slap-hitting Nittany Lion directed the first pitch of her at-bat down the third base line, allowing her requisite time to run 120 feet to second, legging out her second double of the week. From there, Oneacre stepped up and walloped a no-doubter over the wall off the scoreboard in left to put the Nittany Lions ahead early. PSU utilized an RBI single from Hanik in the fourth and a solo bomb from Barbanente in the fifth to work a 4-1 lead, but an emphatic finish from Nebraska saw the Cornhuskers take game two by a 10-4 margin.
Following the pair of results on Saturday, Penn State dropped to 32-19 overall and 11-12 in Big Ten Conference games with a single opportunity remaining in regular season action. Nebraska improved to 42-6 overall with a 22-1 mark against B1G foes, their only league defeat coming at the hands of fellow top-10 conference rival UCLA. Nebraska clinched the outright Big Ten regular season title on Saturday, as well as the No. 1 seed in the 2026 Big Ten Softball Tournament presented by Allstate. The Nittany Lions will look to close the regular season out strong against Nebraska on Sunday, with the program set to honor a trio of graduating student-athletes in Cara Bohner, Jordyn Jochims and Madison Seidel, as well as student manager Lily Keefe in a pregame ceremony presented by the Penn State Alumni Association.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (GAME ONE)
Breanna Hanik | 2-for-3, R, 2 1B
Jordan George | 1-for-1, 1B
McKenna Young | 4.2IP, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 0K, 18BF, 51TP
KEY INNINGS (GAME ONE)
T1 | Jordy Frahm led the game off with a double to the right-center gap in an 0-1 count, advancing to third following a Cornhusker groundout. A wild pitch during the ensuing at-bat resulted in the first run of the game coming across for Nebraska. NEB 1, PSU 0
B1 | Hanik led things off for the Blue & White with a single over the second baseman’s head, reaching second via a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt from Walters during the next plate appearance. A wild pitch saw Hanik trot to third, and an RBI fielder’s choice from Oneacre brought the first Nittany Lion run aboard. PSU 1, NEB 1
T2 | With a pair of early outs on the board, Kacie Hoffmann drew a walk on five offerings. From there, Lauren Camenzind smacked a triple off the wall in right-center to bring Hoffmann all the way around while turning the lineup card over for the Cornhuskers. NEB 2, PSU 1
T5 | An early foul out put one down, but Lauren Camenzind sent a single to the Nittany Lion logo in center field. Frahm executed a sacrifice bunt to bump the runner into scoring position, and a single to center from Hannah Coor brought another run across the plate. NEB 3, PSU 1
T6 | Jesse Farrell sent a 1-1 pitch over the fence in center with one away in the top of the sixth. NEB 4, PSU 1
T7 | Hoffmann booked a leadoff double to left center, and Kennadi Williams entered to run for her at first. Lauren Camenzind executed a sac bunt to bump the runner over, and after a PSU pitching change, a Cornhusker grounded out to put two away. From there, Coor sent an RBI single to right that closed out the scoring in game one. NEB 5, PSU 1
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (GAME TWO)
Allison Oneacre | 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, HR
Breanna Hanik | 2-for-4, RBI, 2 1B
Bridget Nemeth | 5.1IP, 3H, 5R, 3ER, 4BB, 5K, 26BF, 113TP
KEY INNINGS (GAME TWO)
T3 | With one down, Lauren Camenzind drew a walk, and Frahm reached on a fielding error by the Penn State shortstop. With two on and one away, Coor drew a walk to load the bases. Another Husker popped out moments later, but a wild pitch allowed one unearned tally to come aboard. NEB 1, PSU 0
B3 | An early popout in foul territory saw one out flash on the board just before Walters stepped into the batter’s box. The sensational slap-hitting Nittany Lion directed the first pitch of her at-bat down the third base line, allowing her requisite time to run 120 feet to second, legging out her second double of the week. From there, the rookie standout Oneacre stepped up and walloped a no-doubter over the wall off the scoreboard in left to put the Nittany Lions ahead early. PSU 2, NEB 1
B4 | Chamberlin smacked a leadoff single through the left side, and Karwowski came in to pinch run for her at first. A strikeout and caught-stealing put two away and cleared the base, but Gradishar kept the frame alive with a walk on five offerings. Flesher slapped a single through the left side in the next at-bat, and Hanik pelted an RBI knock to right-center to bring Gradishar in. PSU 3, NEB 1
B5 | With two down, Barbanente stepped into the box and pelted a solo shot down the left field line to make it a three-run Nittany Lion advantage. PSU 4, NEB 1
T6 | Ava Kuszak registered a leadoff infield single, but a flyout put one down. Emmerson Cope reached via a PSU fielding error, moving Kuszak all the way to third. A pinch runner took over at first, and a fielder’s choice loaded the bases with one out shortly thereafter. Hoffmann sent a two-RBI single up the middle moments later, prompting a PSU pitching change. Lauren Camenzind walked to load the bases once more, and back-to-back hits from Frahm and Coor brought three more scores across. A sac fly to left from Hannah Camenzind closed out a six-run frame for Nebraska. NEB 7, PSU 4
T7 | Farrell hit a leadoff double to right-center, and McMillen followed with a double down the right field line that plated her. Back-to-back outs flashed on the board just before Lauren Camenzind hit a homer to left-center to finish the scoring in Saturday’s doubleheader. NEB 10, PSU 4
UP NEXT
Penn State softball wraps up its three-game Big Ten Conference weekend series against the No. 3 Nebraska Cornhuskers this Sunday, May 3, with a Noon (ET) first pitch scheduled from Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field. Game three of the series will air live to a national television audience via the Big Ten Network and FOX Sports App on connected devices. The game will also serve as Penn State’s Senior Day presented by the Penn State Alumni Association, with ceremonies set to begin at approximately 11:40 a.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.