March 24, 2010
Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score | Photo Gallery
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State softball team split their doubleheader against Saint Francis (Pa.) Wednesday night at Nittany Lion Field. After dropping the first game, 5-3, PSU run-ruled the Red Flash, 8-0, in the nightcap with two home runs and 13 hits.
Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.) pitched an outstanding 11.1 innings in the circle for the Nittany Lions, throwing her first complete-game shutout of the year in the second game of the doubleheader. Akamine came on in relief in the first game and went on to strikeout 14 batters, allowing just five hits with no walks.
The Red Flash (8-14) came out in impressive fashion, putting a pair of two-out runs on the board when Raquel Rugani singled to left field with runners on second and third.
The Nittany Lions (18-8) came out fast and scored early with Danee Collett (Orange, Calif.) smashing a three-run home run down the left field line, scoring Ashley Griffith (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) and Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.). PSU would get two more runners in scoring position with a single by Lauren Rossi (Yardley, Pa.) and a walk by Desi Giordano (West Caldwell, N.J.), but a pair of ground outs ended the threat with Penn State leading 3-2.
Saint Francis came out swinging in the second with a Carmen Gurrola sending a sacrifice fly to left field to tie things up 3-3, despite an excellent throw by Griffith, which nearly beat the runner at home for the third out. On a 3-2 count, Taylor Darneille laced a triple the opposite way down the right field line, which barely snuck into fair territory, chasing starter Jackie Hill (San Jose, Calif.) from the game.
Akamine pitched a solid game the rest of the way with seven strikeouts, two hits, and no runs in five and a third innings of work. After gaining the lead, Saint Francis could not capitalize on scoring opportunities putting players on base in the fifth and sixth innings.
The Lions struggled to put players on base with only one hit after the first inning, a Rossi single in the third inning. The Nittany Lions attempted to get a rally going in the seventh when Saint Francis pitcher Megan Layne walked Griffith with two outs, but a strike out ended the game, giving SFU its second win over PSU in the all-time series.
In Game Two, Penn State bounced back from a lackluster showing at the plate. Bell scored the game's first run when Katelyn McMellen booted a grounder that would have ended the inning, allowing Bell safe passage home.
With Akamine cruising in the circle, stifling the Red Flash at the plate, the Lions never looked back after a Giordano two-run home run that was crushed on a 2-0 pitch over the left field wall and into the Happy Valley night for a 3-0 lead.
In the fifth, Collett sent another extra-base hit down the line when her double scored Kailyn Johnson (Yorba Linda, Calif.) from second for a 4-0 advantage. PSU would tack on two more in the inning when Rossi homered home Collett to extend the lead to 6-0. Penn State nearly ended the game when the bases were loaded, but Gurrola, who took the loss in the second game, ended the threat on an unassisted play at home plate.
The Lions would again put together a string of hits when Johnson doubled to center and Collett reached on an infield single. After a flyout, Morgan Long (Oro Valley, Ariz.) doubled off the wall down the left field line, scoring Johnson and sending Collett to third. Akamine would help herself out with an opposite-field single, scoring Collett and ending the game and improving her mark in the circle to 8-3 this year.
For the two games, Rossi went 4-for-7 at the plate, while Collett was 3-for-6 with three runs scored and four RBI. Bell, Giordano and Johnson also put together multi-hit games for Penn State, who followed up its three-hit performance in Game One with 13 in Game Two.
The Blue and White will open its Big Ten slate with a two-game set against Minnesota, starting Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at Nittany Lion Field. Penn State will also face the Gophers at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. Live coverage can be found through Twitter (@PSULionSoftball) with stats running on GameTracker, while radio coverage takes place on 1390 AM WRSC in the State College area.
--NITTANY LIONS--