UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Powered by another dominant day of offensive production, the Penn State softball team rolled to a pair of victories on Sunday afternoon to close out an unbeaten weekend at the Penn State Softball Invitational from Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field. The Blue & White opened action with a 9-7 victory over the Fairfield Stags and completed competition at the weekend tournament with a 13-0 shutout of the Lafayette Leopards in five-innings.
Following the team’s fifth straight victory and seventh win in the last nine outings, PSU improved to 12-11 overall on the 2025 campaign through the first 23 contests of the year. The Nittany Lions will enter Big Ten Conference competition next weekend on their longest winning streak of the season, starting the conference portion of the season above .500 for the fourth consecutive campaign. Sunday’s results saw the Stags drop to 4-11 overall, while the Leopards remain winless on the young season at 0-16 overall. The Nittany Lions picked up their second win over Fairfield in as many all-time opportunities, now boasting a 14-1 advantage over MAAC opponents since the first meeting with a foe out of that league in 1990. Penn State also picked up a win over Lafayette for the first time ever on Sunday, booking their 36th all-time victory over a Patriot League rival in the process.
PSU’s dominance in the box on Friday night carried over into both of Sunday’s matchups at Beard Field, with the Nittany Lion offense managing to rake at a .519 average with 15 combined extra base hits highlighted by a quintet of homers on the day. Both junior center fielder Jenna Nelson and sophomore shortstop Kaylie Walters were able to hit at a 5-for-6 clip on the day, with the Philadelphia-native Walters managing to crank her first collegiate triple against Lafayette. Sophomore designated player Brooke Klosowicz went 3-for-5 on the day with three runs scored and a pair of doubles, bringing her season total in the doubles category to 12. Klosowicz, a native of Johnsburg, Illinois, needs just one more double to crack her way onto the single-season leaderboard in the statistic at Penn State. Freshman catcher Macy Chamberlin also impressed in the doubleheader sweep, going 3-for-5 with two runs and a two-run shot to center field against the Stags.
Sophomore second baseman Michela Barbanente made a significant splash in Penn State’s dominant run-rule win over the Leopards in the weekend finale, with the Itasca, Illinois, native matching her career high in single-game home runs with a pair of long balls in the 13-0 result. Barbanente last crushed a pair of dingers in a game against Rutgers on the final day of the 2024 regular season in Piscataway, New Jersey, accomplishing that on May 4 of last year. Her pair of homers also stands tied with 18 prior instances of multi-homer games in the Nittany Lion record book, with the second-year student-athlete becoming the second Penn Stater to accomplish that feat this season while becoming just the third woman in Penn State history to have more than one multi-homer performance all-time, joining Cassidy Bell and Jennifer Tripken. Barbanente also managed to amass six RBI in the win over Lafayette, tying teammate Haylie Brunson, as well as Bell, Karlie Habitz and Macy Jones for the second-most RBI in a single game in Nittany Lion history.
Penn State’s pitching staff was strong on the team’s final day of home tournament competition, with four different Nittany Lions spending time in the pitcher’s circle on Sunday afternoon. Senior right-hander Mady Volpe earned both starts in the doubleheader, finishing the day with 5.0 innings pitched. A native of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, Volpe scattered four hits and allowed one earned run while striking out a trio of opposing batters, all the while earning the win after guiding PSU through three shutout innings against Lafayette. Freshman righty Abigail Britton booked her third win of the season as the most effective reliever against Fairfield, tossing 4.0 frames with three hits, two earned runs, two walks and a pair of strikeouts during her time in the circle. Sophomore Jiselle Hernandez booked her second appearance of the weekend and helped close out the shutout against Lafayette, while senior southpaw Lydia Spalding tallied an inning of work in the PSU win over Fairfield.
Fairfield managed to take an early 1-0 lead in the first game of the day thanks to an RBI double to left by Faith Camilleri, but a three-run Penn State reply in the home half of the second featuring back-to-back homers by senior third baseman Maddie Gordon and freshman left fielder Natalie Lieto made it a two-run game heading into the third. The Stags remained competitive throughout, notching a four-run answer in the third inning, but a two-run dinger from Chamberlin in the fifth inning followed by a two-run insurance frame in the sixth all but iced the lid-lifter to Sunday’s action. Fairfield mustered a valiant comeback attempt in the top of the seventh, but the Nittany Lions were able to come away with the 9-7 victory in a competitive affair.
Penn State’s offense wasted little time establishing its dominance through the early going in game two, with Brunson stepping up and delivering a one-out double to left field for the first PSU hit in the first inning. Klosowicz drew a walk on five pitches, and Gordon launched a triple into right center that saw both Nittany Lion runners come aboard. Ricks beat out a bunt single toward the Leopard pitcher, plating Gordon, and promptly proceeded to steal second base. Chamberlin singled to left and stole second moments later to place runners on the left side of the infield, and a Nelson single down the first base line bumped Chamberlin to third while driving Ricks home. Nelson added another stolen base for PSU just before Barbanente sent a sacrifice fly to right that brought Chamberlin home. Penn State managed to muster another run in the second inning to carry a 6-0 advantage through two frames.
In the third, Ricks kept the offensive momentum coming for the Blue & White, sending a double to left field on a 2-1 count. A fly ball put an out on the board, but a single through the left side by Nelson saw two PSU runners on base. After falling behind into an 0-2 count, Barbanente bounced back in a big way with a dead-on swing to center field that plated three Nittany Lion runs. Klosowicz made it three straight innings with a leadoff double for the Blue & White, advancing to third on a passed ball during the next at-bat. Gordon drew a walk on five pitches shortly thereafter, and despite a popup that put one out on the scoreboard, Chamberlin managed to send a chaos-inducing single up the middle that saw both PSU baserunners venture home while the rookie catcher was caught in a rundown between first and second. With no ducks on the pond and a pair of outs on the board, Nelson clobbered her third double of 2025 to left field to keep the PSU inning alive, and Barbanente rewarded Nelson’s hit with another homer over the same part of the fence in center to close out the dominant 13-run victory for the Nittany Lions.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (VS. FAIRFIELD)
Natalie Lieto | 3-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR, SB
Kaylie Walters | 3-for-3, R, RBI
Abigail Britton | 4.0 IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 2K, 64TP, WIN
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS (VS. LAFAYETTE)
Michela Barbanente | 2-for-2, 2 R, 6 RBI, PROGRAM RECORD-TYING 2 HR, SF
Jenna Nelson | 3-for-3, 2 R, RBI, 2B, SB
Mady Volpe | 3.0 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 1K, 37TP, WIN
KEY INNINGS (VS. FAIRFIELD)
T1 | The Blue & White battled on the defensive end to force a pair of outs through two batters faced, but Anna Paravati drew a walk on five pitches to place a runner on base for the Stags. From there, Faith Camilleri laced a double to left center, and Paravati turned on the jets to make it all the way home for the game-opening score. FFD 1, PSU 0
B2 | Gordon stepped up to the plate and worked a 1-2 count, fouling off a trio of pitches before taking the fifth pitch of her at-bat on a ride to left field, with the ball smacking off the Beard Field scoreboard en route to tying the game. Less than a minute later, Lieto came to the dish and made it back-to-back jacks for the Nittany Lion bats by clobbering a no-doubter over the fence in left center. After a pair of outs popped onto the board, Nelson managed to loop a high-arching double into right field that Fairfield’s defense was unable to corral. A slap single up the middle from Walters helped Nelson complete her sprint home to close out the three-run frame. PSU 3, FFD 1
T3 | With one out on the board, Faith Camilleri drew a walk and Darby Weller entered to run for her at first base. A Stag struck out moments later, but Weller was able to swipe second base in the process to move into scoring position. Ava Armuth singled toward the Nittany Lion shortstop to put runners on the corners, and Danica Silvestri left the yard over the fence in left for a three-run shot. Christina Minor doubled to left center in the next at-bat and advanced to third on a wild pitch. A fielding error by the PSU third baseman allowed Martina Gutierrez to reach first while Minor came in to score, unearned. FFD 5, PSU 3
B3 | After a flyout put one away for the Blue & White bats, Klosowicz got the offense rolling with a double to left center. Gordon stood by as four consecutive Fairfield pitches failed to find the zone, placing runners on the right side of the infield. A single to right center from Lieto allowed Klosowicz time to score while Gordon sprinted to third, and the Stags elected to make a pitching change shortly thereafter. A stolen base by Lieto forced a fielding error on Fairfield’s second baseman who failed to cut off the throw to halt Lieto, allowing Gordon to venture home in the ensuing chaos. With Lieto on second base, Chamberlin worked the count full before sending a two-run shot to dead-center to give Penn State a two-run lead. PSU 7, FFD 5
B6 | Nelson sparked an insurance inning for the Nittany Lion bats, legging out an infield hit toward the Stag shortstop, with Walters mustering a bunt single of her own in the next at-bat to place runners on the right side of the infield. Poletti executed an ideal sacrifice bunt to bump both runners 60 feet further. Brunson worked a nice piece of hitting through the left side of the infield and managed to turn it into a double, scoring Walters and Nelson in the process. PSU 9, FFD 5
T7 | With a grounder putting one away, Delaney Whieldon singled toward the PSU first baseman. Evelyn Wozniak entered to pinch run for her at first, but a popout put two outs on the scoreboard. Caroline Walls entered to pinch hit and drew a walk, with Christina Minor doubling to left center to drive both runs in. PSU 9, FFD 7
KEY INNINGS (VS. LAFAYETTE)
B1 | After a groundout put one away in the first at-bat of the game, Brunson stepped up and delivered a double to left field. Klosowicz drew a walk on five pitches, and Gordon launched a triple into right center that saw both Nittany Lion runners come aboard. Ricks beat out a bunt single toward the Leopard pitcher, plating Gordon, and promptly proceeded to steal second base. Chamberlin singled to left and stole second moments later to place runners on the left side of the infield, and a Nelson single down the first base line bumped Chamberlin to third while driving Ricks home. Nelson added another stolen base for PSU just before Barbanente sent a sacrifice fly to right that brought Chamberlin home. PSU 5, LAF 0
B2 | Lieto led the home half of the second off with a double to right, and advanced to second on a groundout moments later. Another Nittany Lion grounder afforded Lieto time to trot home to plate the only PSU run in the inning. PSU 6, LAF 0
B3 | Ricks kept the offensive momentum coming for the Blue & White, sending a double to left field on a 2-1 count. A fly ball put an out on the board, but a single through the left side by Nelson saw two PSU runners on base. After falling behind into an 0-2 count, Barbanente bounced back in a big way with a dead-on swing to center field that plated three Nittany Lion runs. PSU 9, LAF 0
B4 | Klosowicz made it three straight innings with a leadoff double for the Blue & White, advancing to third on a passed ball during the next at-bat. Gordon drew a walk on five pitches shortly thereafter, and despite a popup that put one out on the scoreboard, Chamberlin managed to send a chaos-inducing single up the middle that saw both PSU baserunners venture home while the rookie catcher was caught in a rundown between first and second. With no ducks on the pond and a pair of outs on the board, Nelson clobbered her third double of 2025 to left field to keep the PSU inning alive, and Barbanente rewarded Nelson’s hit with another homer over the same part of the fence in center to close out the dominant 13-run victory for the Nittany Lions. PSU 13, LAF 0
UP NEXT
Penn State softball prepares for the start of its 34th season as a Big Ten Conference member this week, as the Nittany Lions prepare for a four-game Spring Break gauntlet against the Northwestern Wildcats and Minnesota Golden Gophers. PSU will challenge NU in a two-game series on Thursday and Friday, March 13 and 14, followed by a two-game set against Minnesota on Saturday and Sunday, March 15 and 16. The four-game slate will be hosted at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the home to the NCAA Women’s College World Series. All games will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app on connected devices.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Visit GoPSUsports.com for more information on Penn State softball. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion softball team on Facebook at /pennstatesoftball as well as Instagram and X @PennStateSB.