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March 9, 2018
HOUSTON, Texas -- An early lead by the Northwestern Wildcats was too much for Penn State softball to overcome as it fell 13-0 in six innings in game one of the Houston Tournament Friday, March 9.
Junior Meghan Williams (Bethlehem, Pa.) earned her first start of the 2018 season at first base and knocked one hit for the Nittany Lions, while Destiny Weber (Grafton, Ohio) had one hit for the Blue and White. Freshman Dani Fey (Bangor, Pa.) continued to be a key piece to Penn State as she tallied one hit and extended her reached base streak to 11 games.
Junior Madison Shaffer (New Castle, Pa.) threw 3.1 innings in the loss with three strikeouts, while all four Nittany Lions hurlers saw time in the circle.
The Wildcats used a leadoff single and a two-out single with a runner on third to get out to the early lead over the NIttany Lions in the top of the first inning. Penn State started a two-out rally in the bottom of the second with three-straight singles but an infield popup would close out the inning before the Blue and White could push a run across the plate.
A home run and a single with runners on second and third added three runs to the Northwestern tally in the top of the third inning to extend its lead to 4-0 over Penn State.
After holding the powerful Wildcat offense scoreless for two innings, a three-run home run over the right field fence gave Northwestern the 7-0 lead before a solo shot extended its lead to 8-0 with two outs. NU tacked on six more runs before Penn State could close out the sixth inning to go on and take the win over the Blue and White.
Up Next:
Penn State will take on Lipscomb at 10 a.m. and Northwestern at 12:30 p.m. for day two of the Houston Tournament Saturday, March 10.