LYNCHBURG, Va. – Highlighted by back-to-back career performances in the circle from junior Mady Volpe and freshman Bridget Nemeth, Penn State softball swept the Morgan State Bears Saturday night from Kamphuis Field and Liberty Softball Stadium. PSU logged a 5-2 victory in the first game of the day and closed things out with a 7-0 victory on the second day of the Liberty Softball Classic.
The Nittany Lion pitching staff recorded back-to-back gems in the circle, with Volpe tossing a career-high 12 strikeouts en route to a one-hit complete game shutout of the Bears. Volpe's previous career-best mark of nine K's came on two occasions during her two seasons at Coastal Carolina, most recently against Saint Joseph's on Feb. 25, 2023. The Lansdale, Pennsylvania, native tossed PSU's first one-hitter since Bailey Parshall logged a complete-game shutout of the Canisius Golden Griffins on March 18 of last season. Meanwhile, Nemeth booked her own career high in strikeouts by fanning 13 in the first game of the evening. The Glendora, California, native finished with 13 K's and no walks while allowing a single earned run.
Penn State is tied for its best start through 11 games in program history, logging a 10-1 overall record following Saturday's dominant pair of outings. The 1982 team was the last Nittany Lion squad to book a 10-1 start, ultimately logging a 13-1 opening to the season through its first 14 games on the diamond. The Blue & White squared off against the Bears for the first time ever on Saturday, improving to 2-0 in the short-lived all-time series. In defeat, Morgan State fell to 7-3 overall and 1-3 through two days of action in Lynchburg.
On the offensive end, Penn State's bats were on fire in both contests against the Bears. In the second game of the night, the Nittany Lions finished with 14 hits, the most in a game by PSU since a 15-hit performance against Saint Francis on April 3, 2019. Five Nittany Lion hitters finished the day batting .500 through both contests, highlighted by Kaitlyn Morrison's 2-for-4 day that saw her crank a pair of home runs and log three RBI. Senior Liana Jones, as well as freshmen Brooke Klosowicz and Audree Mendoza, tallied .500 outings in addition to Morrison's stellar effort. Freshman Gianna Poletti made her collegiate debut against the Bears, notching her first hit with a single in the nightcap against Morgan State. Junior Maddie Gordon finished the day hitting .429, highlighted by a triple and homer in Saturday's finale.
Morgan State managed a fast start in the day's opener, with the Bears plating the opening run in the top of the first inning. PSU's bats were quiet in the home half of the opening frame but came alive in the second. After a quick flyout, Morrison stepped up to the dish and launched the fourth pitch of her at-bat over the fence in left field. Jones drew a walk moments later and stole second, ultimately reaching third on a throwing error by the catcher in an attempt to catch Jones stealing. A hard-earned single toward second base by Klosowicz brought Jones in for PSU's second run. In the third, Garcia led things off with a single, completing her journey around the basepath in short order courtesy of a Brunson double to left center. A triple to left field from Maddock brought Brunson in moments later, and a Jones groundout plated Maddock to make it 5-1 Penn State. Despite allowing an unearned run in the top of the sixth Nemeth and the defense held things down and closed the opener with a 5-2 victory.
On the back of Volpe's electrifying outing in the circle, the Nittany Lions were able to string together their most complete offensive performance of the season to date. After a quiet opening frame, Morrison worked a hitter's count in the top of the second and pelted the third pitch of her at-bat deep over the wall in right-center. Jones mustered a bunt single in the next Nittany Lion plate appearance and stole second. A sacrifice bunt from Jiselle Hernandez moved Jones 60 feet further, and an Amanda Mack triple to center brought Jones in. Gordon tacked on another PSU run in the third with a solo shot to left, and PSU put another run on the board in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead. In the sixth inning, Jones singled to right, and Poletti booked her first collegiate hit with a single toward the second baseman that allowed Jones to reach third. Poletti then stole second, and a single up the middle by Mendoza brought both baserunners in to score. Penn State logged its seventh run in the seventh inning, closing out the second-highest-scoring performance of the year for the Blue & White.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (GAME ONE)
Haylie Brunson | 1-for-3, R, 2B, RBI
Kaitlyn Morrison | 1-for-1, R, HR, RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB
Bridget Nemeth | 7.0 IP, WIN, 6H, 2R, 1ER, 0BB, 13K, 88TP
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (GAME TWO)
Maddie Gordon | 3-for-4, 2 R, HR, 3B, RBI, SB
Liana Jones | 3-for-4, 3 R, 2B, SB
Kaitlyn Morrison | 1-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBI, SF
Mady Volpe | 7.0 IP, WIN, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 2BB, 12K, 112TP
KEY INNINGS (GAME ONE)
T1 | With one out on the board, Amber Rivas hit a double to left field. A strikeout put two outs on the board for the Nittany Lion defense, but a single up the middle by Gianna Ettore plated Morgan State's first run of the day. MORG 1, PSU 0
B2 | After a quick flyout to open the inning, Morrison stepped up to the dish and launched the fourth pitch of her at-bat over the fence in left field. Jones drew a walk moments later and stole second, ultimately reaching third on a throwing error by the catcher on an attempt to catch Jones stealing. A hard-earned single toward second base by Klosowicz brought Jones in for PSU's second run. PSU 2, MORG 1
B3 | Garcia led off the inning with a single to third base, completing her journey around the basepath in short order courtesy of a Brunson double to left center. A liner put one away for the Bears' defense, but a triple to left field from Maddock brought Brunson in. Morrison drew a walk in the next at-bat and stole second to apply more pressure to Morgan State's defense. Jones grounded out to the shortstop but managed to bring Maddock in for the score for an RBI in the process. PSU 5, MORG 1
T6 | With one down, Victoria Fletcher singled toward the pitcher. Cassie White came in to pinch run for Fletcher at first, and ultimately rounded the bases after a double error by the Nittany Lion defense. PSU 5, MORG 2
KEY INNINGS (GAME TWO)
T2 | Morrison worked a hitter's count and pelted the third pitch of her at-bat deep over the wall in right-center. Jones mustered a bunt single in the next Nittany Lion plate appearance and stole second. A sacrifice bunt from Jiselle Hernandez moved Jones 60 feet further, and an Amanda Mack triple to center brought Jones in. PSU 2, MORG 0
T3 | Gordon propelled the softball out of the yard deep over the fence in left on a 2-1 count. PSU 3, MORG 0
T4 | Jones led the top of the fourth off with a double to center field, and after a quick flyout, Klosowicz singled to left to bring Jones in. PSU 4, MORG 0
T6 | Jones singled to right field to open the inning, and Poletti booked her first collegiate hit with a single toward the second baseman that allowed Jones to reach third. Poletti then stole second, and a single up the middle by Mendoza brought both baserunners in to score. PSU 6, MORG 0
T7 | Gordon launched a triple to right center on a 2-1 count to lead off the final offensive inning, ultimately reaching home plate thanks to a Morrison sac fly to right. PSU 7, MORG 0
UP NEXT
Penn State softball concludes its weekend stay in the Hill City on Sunday, February 25, with a 10 a.m. (ET) start scheduled against the Keystone State-rival Penn Quakers from Kamphuis Field and Liberty Softball Stadium. Live stats for the final day of the Liberty Softball Classic are available on the Penn State softball schedule page at GoPSUsports.com.
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