UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State softball is starting off the season strong following their performance in the Northern Lights Southern Nights Invitational this past weekend in Leesburg, Florida. The team went 3-2 on the weekend with strong performances on both offense and defense to start the year on the right note.
Head coach Clarisa Crowell was beaming with pride on the effort and skill her team showed and how they're going to carry that positive momentum into future weekends.
"Our defense [last] weekend was incredible with our energy and timing," said Crowell, on a group that gave up just six runs in five game, including two shutouts. "I was also greatly pleased with our pitching and offensive effort. I love the scrappiness of our offense and I thought we ran the bases really well."
In the season opener against Missouri, the Nittany Lions held their own, taking the 11th-ranked Tigers into extra innings before falling 2-1 in the eighth. Crowell explained that this game showed the team that they have the power to be a top contender against anyone, and the importance of maintaining an elite mindset.
"Missouri was a tough loss, especially the way that it went down," said Crowell. "However, I definitely think it gave our players a lot of confidence knowing that it doesn't matter who we're playing against. They learned together we are a good team that can compete with anyone."
Senior pitcher Bailey Parshall stood out in the first game as she threw a total of 10 strikeouts. This allowed her to reach and surpass a career total of 400 strikeouts.
"Parshall had an impressive game in particular, '' said Crowell. "We also just learned she was placed on the All-Tournament Team, which is very well deserved."
Moving into Saturday's games, Penn State clutched its first win against Eastern Kentucky, 4-0. Senior pitcher Kylee Lingenfelter went all seven innings with five strikeouts. She was backed up by both her team offensively and defensively which led to the shutout. Junior transfer Cassie Lindmark had an RBI-single to score the final two runs for the Nittany Lions and secure the victory.
For Crowell, Lindmark's big hit was no surprise.
"We brought Cassie here knowing that she was going to help us both offensively and defensively," she said. "I think she's brought nothing but positive things to our team and we're going to continue to look to her to do some great things for us this year."
Following the strong win for the Nittany Lions, they ran into some trouble against UConn which ended in a 2-1 loss. Although the Nittany Lions were defeated, Crowell was impressed by the resilience her team maintained.
"We talk to our team a lot about confidence and being resilient," she said. "The only way you learn those skills is to be in those situations. I think every experience that we have going forward is definitely going to help us prepare for conference games and learn ways we can improve."
The Nittany Lions stayed strong and in the final two games of the Invitational, showing resiliency for two wins. Penn State defeated Akron, 3-2, and Pittsburgh, 1-0.
"I think just overall our pitchers have done a great job with being resilient as well as our entire team and that's going to be a message that we continue to preach to them all season," said Crowell.
Moving onto the upcoming Panther Invitational in Miami, Florida, the Nittany Lions are looking to secure more wins and work to keep improving.
"Obviously there is a lot of positive momentum going into this weekend for our team," said Crowell. "I think they feel really good about where we're at, but I also know that they're not content and there are things that we can improve on."
The Nittany Lions will have first pitch against Cleveland State at 12:30 p.m. this Friday, followed by four more games throughout the rest of the weekend.
