Penn State Opens Season in Bubble Play in FloridaPenn State Opens Season in Bubble Play in Florida
Eric Espada/Penn State Athletics

Penn State Opens Season in Bubble Play in Florida

Opens in a new window Game Notes

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State softball team, under first-year head coach Clarisa Crowell, opens the 2021 season down in Leesburg, Fla., Feb. 26-28. After nearly a year removed from the last game, the Nittany Lions will face Big Ten opponents Wisconsin, Purdue and Northwestern in doubleheaders each day at the Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex.

GAME INFORMATION

SERIES HISTORY

  • Playing a Big Ten-only schedule in 2021, Penn State will face familiar opponents all season long.
  • The Nittany Lions' first doubleheader will be against the Badgers of Wisconsin on Friday, Feb. 26 starting at 4:15 p.m. Penn State holds the slight all-time series advantage over Wisconsin, 25-20.
  • Penn State will then face the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday, Feb. 27 in a doubleheader starting at 4:15 p.m. The Nittany Lions once again hold a slight series advantage over the Boilermakers, 28-26.
  • Penn State will conclude the first weekend of play in a doubleheader against Northwestern on Sunday, Feb. 28 starting at 10 a.m. Northwestern leads the all-time series, 49-19.

SCOUTING THE FIELD

  • Wisconsin concluded the 2020 season with a 14-10 record. Junior Jolie Fish returns as an offensive leader for the Badgers after posting a .302 batting average a season ago with 16 hits and 14 RBI. Senior pitcher Haley Hestekin returns to the circle for the Badgers after starting 10 games in 2020 and holding a 1.94 ERA.
  • Purdue finished the 2020 season with a 15-10 record. Junior Kasey Wilholt returns as a leader of the Boilermakers' offense after posting a .324 batting average last season with 23 hits and eight RBI. Redshirt senior Sydney Bates returns to the circle for Purdue after making 16 appearances and throwing 10 complete games in 2020. She had a 9-4 record with a 2.36 ERA.
  • Northwestern concluded the 2020 season at 11-12, but eight of those losses came against top-25 teams. Sophomore Gracie Huff returns as one leader of the offense for the Wildcats after recording a .300 batting average last season. Junior Danielle Williams is back as a pitcher and utility player for Northwestern. Williams hit .286 last season with 14 hits and eight RBI. In the circle, she held a 3.57 ERA in 15 appearances. Northwestern starts the season receiving votes in two of the three top polls.

2020 IN REVIEW

  • The 2020 season obviously did not end how any coach or student-athlete wanted due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The Nittany Lions ended with an 11-15 record but were just starting to pick things up as the season got cut short.
  • Bailey Parshall led Penn State in the circle with a 7-6 record in 20 total appearances. She held a 2.51 ERA and struck out 129 batters in just 89.1 innings. Parshall pitched eight complete games, and had three shutouts and one save.
  • In the batter's box, Penn State had productive at-bats from Maggie Finnegan who hit .306 with 15 hits and four RBI. Kennedy Legg hit .299 making appearances in all 26 games with 20 hits and eight RBI. Melina Livingston also started to heat up in the box before the season ended, posting a .274 batting average with 20 hits and a team-high 14 RBI.

THE CLARISA CROWELL ERA BEGINS

  • Head coach Clarisa Crowell was hired as the eighth head coach in program history on August 3, 2020.
  • Crowell left Miami (Ohio) as the winningest coach in program history, posting a 209-182 record in eight seasons at the helm.
  • Crowell brough in assistant coach Stephanie Sanders with her from Miami while also adding hitting expert Jeff Tylka to her staff who has head coaching experience at Loyola Chicago.

WE'RE PARSHALL TO BAILEY'S STRIKEOUT SUCCESS

  • Lefty ace Bailey Parshall shined again in the circle as a sophomore in 2020, totaling 129 strikeouts in the shortened season.
  • Parshall posted four double-digit strikeout efforts, including a season-high 14, just one short of her career best and program record.
  • She earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors on March 9 after throwing three complete-game shutouts with no runs allowed in 19.0 innings and double-digit strikeout numbers in every game.
  • The Belle Vernon, Pa., native ranked first in the conference and 15th in the nation with a 7.17 strikeout-to-walk ratio. She was third in the conference and eighth in the nation with 129 total strikeouts.
  • Parshall has 313 career strikeouts, good for eighth all-time in the Penn State record books.

ON DECK
Penn State will have a week off before returning to Leesburg, Fla. and the Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex for six more games, March 11-14. The Nittany Lions will play three-game series against Iowa and Illinois.