PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Penn State softball completed its 2024 regular season slate on Saturday afternoon, dropping a pair of contests against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at the Rutgers Softball Complex. The Blue & White fell by a 5-3 tally in Saturday's lid-lifter before dropping a 9-5 contest in the regular season finale.
The defeat saw Penn State wrap up the fourth-winningest season in program history in addition to the fourth-winningest Big Ten Conference regular season campaign since joining the league in the early 1990s, completing a 34-17 overall record in 2024 paired with a 12-11 finish in B1G play. The Nittany Lions also churned out three consecutive seasons of .500-or-better softball against Big Ten opposition for the first time in school history. The pair of victories on Saturday saw Rutgers guarantee a top-four seed in this year's B1G Tournament while closing the book on a 33-21 overall season coupled with a 14-9 league ledger.
Senior catcher Gaby Garcia led the way at the plate for the Nittany Lions in Saturday's doubleheader, batting a combined 4-for-7 across both contests with a pair of extra-base hits in the form of a double and home run. Freshman pitcher Bridget Nemeth was impressive in her limited plate appearances on Saturday, going a combined 2-for-4 with a run scored thanks to her second home run of the 2024 campaign in the regular season finale.
Also in game two of the day, freshman left fielder Michela Barbanente managed to tie the single-game Nittany Lion home run record, launching homers in consecutive at-bats in the fifth and sixth innings. Elsewhere in the offense, junior utility Maddie Gordon recorded a multi-hit outing in the first game of the day, while senior middle infielder Kaitlyn Morrison cranked a pair of doubles in the finale to move into a tie for the fourth-most doubles in a Nittany Lion career with 41.
Penn State utilized a trio of pitchers to work its way through Saturday's twin bill, with Nemeth earning the start in game one and junior righty Mady Volpe tossing the opening 1.1 innings of game two. Junior southpaw Lydia Spalding made her first appearance of the weekend in the regular season finale, going 3.0 innings in relief with two earned runs allowed. Nemeth led the Nittany Lions in innings pitched on Saturday with 4.1 across both appearances, while Volpe was saddled with a pair of losses as PSU's pitcher of record en route to an 8-8 finish in the regular season.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (GAME ONE)
Gaby Garcia | 2-for-3, R, 2 RBI, HR
Maddie Gordon | 2-for-3
Bridget Nemeth | 4.2 IP, 7H, 3R, 2ER, 2BB, 4K, 86TP
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (GAME TWO)
Michela Barbanente | 2-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 HR
Kaitlyn Morrison | 2-for-3, R, 2 2B, HBP
Lydia Spalding | 3.0 IP, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 0K, 31TP
KEY INNINGS (GAME ONE)
B2 | With one away, Morgan Herka hit her first home run of the season to center field. Maddie Lawson kept the inning alive with a single to the shortstop and advanced to second after a groundout. Jillian Anderson reached on a throwing error by the PSU shortstop, and Lawson completed her trip around the bases due to the error. RUT 2, PSU 0
T4 | Senior centerfielder Liana Jones drew a walk on five pitches, and Garcia crushed a home run over the fence in left field to tie the game. PSU 2, RUT 2
B4 | Lawson drew a hit by pitch and advanced to second thanks to a wild pitch. After a Scarlet Knight popup, Lawson moved 60 feet further due to another wild pitch. From there, Anderson hit her first home run of the 2024 season to give Rutgers the lead once again. RUT 4, PSU 2
B5 | Morgan Smith doubled to center to open the inning, but the Scarlet Knights saw back-to-back batters return to the dugout thanks to a grounder and strikeout. From there, Herka drove Smith in with a single up the middle. RUT 5, PSU 2
T7 | Maddock started the inning with a single through the right side, and a groundout bumped her to second. After another strikeout, Nemeth entered and drove Maddock home with a single to right field. RUT 5, PSU 3
KEY INNINGS (GAME TWO)
B1 | Kyleigh Sand started the home half off with a single to center, but a flyout put one away. Smith doubled to center to bring Sand in, but another popup put two outs on the board for the PSU defense. Payton Lincavage drew a walk to keep the frame alive, and Herka reached on an error that saw Smith complete her unearned trip around the bases. RUT 2, PSU 0
T2 | Garcia led the inning off with a single to left field but was thrown out at second on a fielder's choice that allowed Gordon to reach first. Nemeth drilled her second homer of the year to center, tying the game. PSU 2, RUT 2
B2 | Kayla Bock drew a walk on four pitches, but a popup on a bunt put one away. Sand logged a bunt single to advance Bock, and a double to left center by LA Matthews plated Bock and bumped Sand to third. After Smith was intentionally walked, Katie Wingert notched an RBI groundout that plated Sand in the bases-loaded situation. RUT 4, PSU 2
B3 | With one out on the board, Lawson drew a hit by pitch and Bock drilled a homer to right to extend the Rutgers lead. RUT 6, PSU 2
B4 | Lincavage led off the bottom of the fourth with a triple and Herka singled through the right side to bring her in. A flyout put one away, but Bock drew a walk to extend the frame. From there, Anderson doubled to bring one runner home. RUT 8, PSU 2
T5 | Barbanente drove her second home run of the 2024 campaign over the fence in left centerfield on the first pitch of her at-bat. RUT 8, PSU 3
B5 | Wingert logged a homer over the fence in center. RUT 9, PSU 3
T6 | Barbanente tied the Penn State single-game home run record with her second long ball of the contest over the wall in left. RUT 9, PSU 4
T7 | Morrison led the inning off with a double to right field, and advanced to third after a PSU groundout. Jones stepped up to the plate and drove Morrison in with a sac fly to close out the scoring. RUT 9, PSU 5
UP NEXT
Penn State softball awaits its seeding in the 2024 Big Ten Conference Softball Tournament hosted by the University of Iowa at Pearl Field in Iowa City. The Nittany Lions will enter the postseason for the third year in a row under the direction of fourth-year head coach Clarisa Crowell, and will begin competition on either Wednesday, May 8, or Thursday, May 9. All B1G Tournament matchups will air on the Big Ten Network, with streaming available on the FOX Sports App.
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