Feb. 24, 2011
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Coming off a 2-3 record last week in Boca Raton, Fla., the Penn State softball team looks to reverse its fortunes at the Carolina Classic beginning Saturday morning. The Nittany Lions will face Florida International and Georgetown on the first day of competition before closing out with a rematch against FIU on Sunday morning and a game against host North Carolina.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (2-3)
Carolina Classic (Anderson Stadium; Chapel Hill, N.C.)
| Date | Opponent | Media |
| Saturday, 11 a.m. | FIU | |
| Saturday, 1 p.m. | Georgetown | |
| Sunday, 10 a.m. | FIU | |
| Sunday, Noon | North Carolina |
GAME STORIES
• Penn State went 2-3 at the FAU Kick-Off Classic last weekend
• Pitchers Jackie Hill and Lisa Akamine held teams to .228 hitting and 1.69 ERA
• Desi Giordano leads the team with a .333 average, .600 OBP and a homer to move her into a tie for 4th all-time at PSU in HRs
•â€ˆPenn State is 7-5 all-time at the Carolina Classic in three previous entries
• PSU faces FIU for just the second and third times; Georgetown for the first meeting and take on North Carolina for the 16th all-time meeting
• The Nittany Lions will be featured four times on the Big Ten Network this Spring
• Head coach Robin Petrini is 24 wins from 450 career wins
GAME NOTES
FAU KICK-OFF CLASSIC RECAP: The Nittany Lions went 2-3 in an up-and-down weekend at Florida Atlantic. Penn State opened the weekend with a 3-1 win over Tulsa on Friday before falling 10-0 to Massachusetts. PSU wrapped up the weekend with a 1-0 loss to Long Island, a 2-1 win over host FAU and a 3-0 loss to Tulsa. The mixed performances saw solid pitching out of Jackie Hill and Lisa Akamine who combined for a 1.69 earned run average in 29 innings of work with 23 strikeouts. The duo held teams to a .228 batting average as well keeping the Nittany Lions in each of their games. At the plate, Desi Giordano stood out with a .333 batting average and a .600 on-base percentage with three hits, two runs and a homer vs. Tulsa. Danee Collett (.308) was the only other Lion to tally an average over .300 going 4-for-13 with a double. Cassidy Bell had the best one-game performance of all the PSU bats with a 3-for-4 showing vs. FAU notching a double and both the team's RBI.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN PANTHERS: FIU (5-6) had a schitzophrenic weekend hosting its own tournament by defeating then-No. 17 Georgia Tech twice (4-3, 9-1) and Providence (17-1), but falling to Pittsburgh twice (4-0, 3-2) and Illinois (7-4). Jenn Gniadek has gotten 6 starts in 8 appearances going 3-4 with a 3.05 ERA in 38.1 innings of work. Her teammate Mariah Dawson is 1-2 with a 3.52 ERA in 23 innings with 5 appearances and 4 starts. The Panthers have hit the ball well with a 2.95 average led by Ashley McClain who has sported a .467 average with 3 doubles, a triple, homer and 7 RBI. McClain has racked up a .733 slugging percentage with a .564 on-base percentage. Two other FIU hitters own averages over .300: Jess Alfonso (.345) and Kayla Burri (.324). Beth Peller leads the team in runs batted in with 8 on the year.
SERIES HISTORY: Penn State fell in the teams' only meeting, which happened last year in Clearwater, Fla., a 5-0 loss in favor of the Panthers.
SCOUTING THE HOYAS: Georgetown (1-4) opened its season in Fort Myers, Fla. defeating Saint Louis (3-2), but dropping games to South Carolina (10-2), Florida Gulf Coast (10-0), Michigan State (3-1) and SLU (7-5). The Hoyas had their hitting woes at FGCU batting just .180 and striking out 30 times. Three starters went 3-for-12 on the weekend led by Shikara Lowe with her 3 RBI backed by a triple and a home run. In the circle, Mackensey Carter got the bulk of the work going 16.1 innings with a 1-1 record and a 2.57 ERA. Hanna Slovacek (0-2, 5.73) is GU's other primary starter.
SERIES HISTORY: Penn State and Georgetown have never met on the softball diamond. Georgetown started its softball program in 2006.
SCOUTING THE TAR HEELS:  North Carolina (6-4) got a much needed confidence boost on Wednesday by sweeping UNC Wilmington (7-0, 8-0) after dropping three straight at Florida (3-0, 9-0, 10-0). The Tar Heels feature a high-powered offense that hits .292 with 42 runs scored through 10 games. UNC employs 6 hitters with averages over .300 led by Kelli Wheeler (.433, 7 RBI) and Haleigh Dickey (.400, 9 RBI). Ally Blake provides some major power with 3 homers already this year, while batting .346. In the circle, Lori Spingola (5-3, 2.79 ERA) returns as UNC's top hurler. So far Pingola has tossed 37.2 innings with 47 strikeouts and allowing opposing batters to hit just .209. Sara Buchholz has backed Spingola up with 4 starts in 6 appearances going 1-1 with a 3.10 ERA in the early going.
SERIES HISTORY: The Nittany Lions hold a 9-6 lead in the all-time series against North Carolina. Before a 2-0 loss in 2009, Penn State had won the previous five matchups with the Tar Heels including an 11-7 win at Anderson Stadium in 2007. PSU is 5-1 under Robin Petrini vs. North Carolina.
CAROLINA CLASSIC HISTORY:  This will be the fourth time Penn State will compete in the Carolina Classic during Robin Petrini's tenure. PSU has never had a losing record in three tries going 2-2 twice (2005, 2009) and 3-1 once in 2007.
MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU: Senior co-captain Desi Giordano climbed up the record books on Friday with a long bomb to left field, her first of the season and 20th in her career. The homer moved Giordano into a tie for fourth all-time at Penn State with Jen Acunto (2005-08). Giordano is just three off from matching Jennifer Tripken (1999-2002) and five from Ashley Esparza (2005-08) from third and second, respectively. PSU's all-time home run leader is Shannon Salsburg who belted 34 from 1995-98.
NITTANY LIONS DÉBUTANTES: Penn State saw three newcomers make their collegiate debut last weekend. Outfielder Alyssa Sovereign started 4-of-5 games in the outfield and had 12 plate appearances. Catcher Kasie Hatfield twice came in reserve of Danee Collett behind the plate and had 2 at-bats. Jordan Wheatley saw her first time in the Blue and White going 2.2 innings against UMass with 5 strikeouts in a relief appearance.
BIG LIFE. BIG STATE. BIG TEN NETWORK: Four Penn State softball games will be televised live by the Big Ten Network in 2011. PSU's doubleheader will be the live TV debut of Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field when Penn State plays host to Michigan on Apr. 20. The doubleheader starts at 5:30 p.m. against the defending Big Ten champs. A third home contest will be aired May 1 against Purdue at Noon while a lone away game, vs. Iowa, will be shown May 8 at 2:00 p.m. All game times are Eastern. In addition to the live schedule, the Nittany Lions will be apart of several BigTenNetwork.com streaming productions, which are run through the Big Ten Network's Student U initiative. Many of those games are shown on the Network the following day in a tape delay fashion after their live stream.
RETURNING TO THE FOLD: Penn State's 2011 squad remains relatively intact from last year's team due to graduate of just one everyday starter in Ashley Griffith. All told, Penn State has 15 letterwinners from a year ago returning including the top three Nittany Lions in batting average (Cassidy Bell, Danee Collett, Lauren Rossi) and hits (Bell, Collett, Kailyn Johnson) as well as the top two pitchers in Jackie Hill and Lisa Akamine.
NEW ADDITIONS: Penn State figures to improve with newcomers Alyssa Sovereign, Kasie Hatfield, Liz Presto, Jordan Wheatley and Jenn Edsall. Sovereign looks to fill the vacant spot in the outfield left by Griffith, while Hatfield and Presto have shown powerful hitting at the plate. Wheatley and Edsall are expected to back up and give depth in the pitching circle.
DIFFICULT 2011 SCHEDULE: The Nittany Lions will once again face some of the best teams in the country. By the numbers, the 2011 non-conference schedule will be one of the toughest in the country as 22 of Penn State's 26 non-Big Ten opponents participated in postseason action in 2010. Additionally, 10 of the first 12 scheduled opponents sported a winning record last year totaling eight NCAA Tournament appearances. Penn State will play at least 21 games this year against teams that won 30 or more games last season with 10 who won at least 40.
ALL-BIG TEN RETURNEE: Junior pitcher Lisa Akamine returns to the Nittany Lions as the lone All-Big Ten honoree having claimed third-team honors in 2009 and 2010. Fellow pitcher Jackie Hill is Penn State's only NFCA All-Great Lakes mention after her second-team performance in 2008.
FALL BALL REDUX: Penn State played six games this offseason going 4-2. PSU's hitting was superb knocking home 29 runs altogether. The Nittany Lions defeated Lock Haven (8-3), Virginia Tech (4-0) and Liberty (3-2 and 7-2), while falling to Bucknell (7-6) and Virginia Tech (11-1).
PSULIONSOFTBALL ON TWITTER: Nittany Lion softball is now on Twitter. Keep up to date with inside information and exclusive access @PSULionSoftball.
NEXT SERIES: The Nittany Lions will travel south again as Penn State participates in the Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C. PSU will face Florida International and Georgetown on Feb. 26 and wrap things up against FIU and North Carolina on Feb. 27.
For complete coverage of all the Nittany Lion softball this season, visit GoPSUsports.com.
Follow Penn State Softball on Twitter: @PSULionSoftball
--NITTANY LIONS--