Penn State softball faces Northwestern after a strong offensive showing against Maryland

Northwestern will travel to Penn State for a three-game series.

Abigail Britton and McKenna Young split the pitching for Penn State softball last weekend, throwing four and three innings respectively in the final game of the series against Big Ten rival Maryland.

They combined for five strikeouts and allowed just four hits.

Aubrey Wurst pitched the whole game for the Terrapins. She allowed two hits and 10 walks but held the Nittany Lions scoreless until the bottom of the seventh.

Penn State went on to sweep Maryland at its last home game for its sixth straight conference victory. The Nittany Lions improved to 26-12 overall and 7-5 in conference.

The Terrapins fell to 13-23 at that time with overall with a 1-14 conference record. They are now 14-23 after beating Georgetown, but haven’t won a conference game since Rutgers on March 7.

Penn State has recorded back-to-back series sweeps against Rutgers and Maryland.

The first two games of the series against Maryland ended in mercy-rule victories for Penn State, but the second game of last Saturday’s doubleheader featured an intense pitcher’s duel.

Britton and Young’s arms were able to outperform Wurst’s.

Penn State and Maryland were in a scoreless contest through six-and-a-half innings.

Breanna Hanik led the inning off with a five-pitch walk before Brooke Klosowicz drove the first pitch she saw over the center-field wall for a two-run walk-off homer.

The earlier part of the series saw an offensive explosion, with Penn State scoring a total of 29 runs. 

“What I'm most proud of with our offense wasn’t just the long ball or one part of the offensive scheme; they really did a great job in all aspects offensively today,” PSU softball coach Clarisa Crowell said postgame.

Penn State would score all but one of its runs via the long-ball in Friday’s 13-5 victory.

Gabby Gradishar gave her team the lead in the third after hitting a 2-0 pitch over the wall for a grand slam. Hanik and Allison Oneacre would deliver two-run home runs of their own in the same inning.

If one time wasn’t enough, Hanik would deliver a three-run home run in the following inning. The next batter, Michela Barbanente, would cap off the game with a solo shot of her own to reach the 13-5 final score.

The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader delivered one of the most impressive offensive innings of the year.

Sammi Woods started the scoring with a solo home run in the first. Zayda Rocke and Mariah Penta would follow with RBIs of their own, giving Maryland a 4-3 lead after two innings.

That score would hold until the fourth inning, where Penn State would rally for an improbable 13 runs. The Nittany Lions combined for eight total hits and five walks, three of which came with the bases loaded. 

Madison Seidel and Jordan George combined for five RBIs, while Hanik recorded two hits in the inning, including a two-run homer to bring the game to its final score of 16-4. 

Penn State hosts BigTen rival Northwestern for a three-game series Friday through Sunday.

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