Crushing bats and big statements: Penn State starts softball season on a tear

PSU softball is cracking bats and taking names.

Penn State softball enters 2026 looking to continue the program’s most successful run since the mid 2000s.

They finished 2025 with a playoff win over Iowa in the Big10 tournament and have started the season with solid performances.

The Nittany Lions participated in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida, to start 2026. The team finished with a 4-1 record, its lone loss coming against Auburn, which walked it off in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Auburn finished with an impressive 21-11 record last season. 

Penn State secured wins over Missouri, Boston College, Eastern Kentucky, and Brigham Young University, including two extra-inning wins.

Head Coach Clarisa Crowell’s Nittany Lions played an exhilarating game against BYU, where they scored four runs after the fifth inning. Facing a 3-0 deficit in the sixth, PSU freshman standout Allison Oneacre delivered a solo shot to left field to put PSU on the board. 

Macy Chamberlin would keep the scoring going as Penn State was facing the barrel in the bottom of the seventh inning. Chamberlin ripped a double into leftfield which was enough for Michela Barbanente to score from second. 

Penn State would soon tie the game as Jordyn Jochims, pinch-running for Chamberlin, would score on a fielding error, tying the game at 3-3.

Wasting no time in the eighth inning, Oneacre played some small-ball and laid down a sacrifice bunt, advancing Cara Bohner to third base. Kirsten Finarelli would put the nail in the coffin as she laced one through the left side, improving her team to 4-0 on the year. 

Penn State’s other extra-inning game, against Missouri, also provided some fireworks.

After both teams scored in the eighth inning, it was tied 4-4 going into the top of the tenth. Finarelli would start the scoring, doubling in Michela Barbanente to break the tie. 

Oneacre then came to the plate with two outs and delivered her first career collegiate homerun. A 2-run shot into left on a 0-2 count gave the Nittany Lions a 7-4 lead, which would hold as the final score. 

Oneacre came into the 2026 season ranked as the No. 19 prospect in her 2025 class. She has not disappointed, already hitting two clutch home runs in just five games played. She also boasts a team-leading six RBIs and a 1.035 OPS.

Penn State is playing in the Houston Invitational from Friday, Feb. 13, to Sunday, Feb. 15.

The Nittany Lions won their first game against Houston 10-2. They will also take on Incarnate Word, Lafayette, Houston Christian, and Pittsburgh.

Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Carter Joseph Brooks is a student-intern at Penn State University.