IOWA CITY, Iowa – Despite holding their opponent to just two runs on a pair of hits across all seven innings, the Penn State softball team dropped a hard-fought, 2-1 pitcher’s duel against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first matchup of a three-game series from Bob Pearl Field on Saturday evening.
The Nittany Lions were led by a strong evening of work in the circle and in the field, with the Blue & White defense working for an error-free showing in the weekend opener. A pair of pitchers saw time for PSU, with senior right-hander Mady Volpe notching her 22nd start and 38th appearance of the season. Volpe, a native of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, moved into a tie for ninth place all-time at PSU for appearances in a single season alongside alum Bailey Parshall. Volpe finished the night with 3.1 innings pitches, allowing two hits and two earned runs with a strikeout across 73 total offerings. Freshman northpaw Abigail Britton entered in relief with one away in the bottom of the fourth inning, tossing 2.2 frames with no hits, runs or earned runs allowed highlighted by a 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Fifth-year first baseman Meagan Ricks matched a season high with a pair of doubles in Saturday afternoon’s action, leading the way for the Blue & White with a 2-for-2 performance that included a run scored and walk drawn. Ricks, a native of Winter Haven, Florida, was responsible for both Nittany Lion knocks on the day and tallied the only PSU run of the contest, with the veteran first baseman securing her 12th multi-hit outing of the 2025 campaign to maintain her fifth-place rank on the roster in that category. Senior right fielder Haylie Brunson added a walk to the box score, while junior catcher Madison Seidel mustered an RBI on a groundout to plate Ricks in the top of the second.
Both starting pitchers and defenses booked an eerily similar opening frame, with each team facing a quartet of opposing batters and surrendering one walk apiece en route to an early deadlock. After working a 1-1 count through the first two pitches of her at-bat in the top of the second, Ricks lifted the third Hawkeye offering toward the wall in left-center field for a leadoff stand-up double. Barbanente delivered a perfectly placed 5-4 sacrifice bunt to bump Ricks over to third, and Seidel put a hard-hit ball in play that resulted in a 4-3 RBI groundout to plate Ricks and give the Nittany Lions an early edge. The Blue & White remained steadfast defensively over the next two innings, working out of a bases-loaded jam in the third highlighted by an inning-ending strikeout from Britton. The Hawkeyes were able to scratch a pair of runs across in the fourth, and the Nittany Lion offense was unable to overcome the one-run deficit to close the book on the 2-1 Iowa home win.
Following Saturday night’s action in eastern Iowa, the Nittany Lions dropped to 20-22 overall and own a 6-8 ledger in Big Ten Conference competition following the 14th opportunity of the league year. Iowa improved to 10 games above .500, rising to 26-16 overall and 8-6 in B1G action. After wrapping up the 68th all-time meeting between the two programs on Saturday, the Hawkeyes improved to 47-21 overall against Penn State since the inaugural fixture between the two programs during PSU’s first season in the Big Ten in 1992. The teams will return to action against one another on Easter Sunday at Noon (ET) in a weather-adjusted start time.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Meagan Ricks | 2-for-2, R, 2 2B, BB
Mady Volpe | 3.1 IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, 6BB, 1K, 73TP
Abigail Britton | 2.2 IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 4K, 52TP
KEY INNINGS
T2 | After working a 1-1 count through the first two pitches of her at-bat, Ricks lifted the third Hawkeye offering toward the wall in left center field for a leadoff stand-up double. Barbanente delivered a perfectly placed 5-4 sacrifice bunt to bump Ricks over to third, and Seidel put a hard-hit ball in play that resulted in a 4-3 RBI groundout that plated Ricks and gave the Nittany Lions an early edge. PSU 1, IOWA 0
B4 | With one down, Devin Simon drew a four-pitch walk and ultimately came around to score after Avery Jackson drove her in with a double, advancing to third on the throw. After a PSU pitching change, leadoff hitter Jena Young took over at first with a four-pitch walk of her own. The Hawkeyes then managed to take the lead after both baserunners worked together to execute a double steal that baited a PSU throw toward second, allowing Young to tally. IOWA 2, PSU 1
UP NEXT
Penn State softball continues its Easter weekend Big Ten Conference series against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday, April 20, with the Blue & White prepared for an adjusted 11 a.m. (ET) start in the second game of the series. First pitch time was adjusted due to forecasted inclement weather in eastern Iowa. The contest will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app on connected devices. Live stats provided by StatBroadcast and the University of Iowa are available via links posted on the Penn State softball schedule webpage. Fans are also encouraged to follow along with the team’s social media channels for live updates during the game.
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.