UNIVERSITY PARK, State. – Penn State softball dropped the second matchup of its three-game Big Ten Conference weekend series to the Northwestern Wildcats by a 13-4 score in five innings of play on Saturday from Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field.
Penn State mustered a pair of hits and drew nine free passes on the day in the form of eight walks and a hit-by-pitch, ultimately combining to score four runs on the offensive end. Freshman infielder Allison Oneacre and freshman left fielder Breanna Hanik each recorded singles, with Oneacre adding an RBI hit-by-pitch to her final stat line for the game. Additional RBI came in the form of walks drawn by junior right-handed pitcher Bridget Nemeth, as well as freshman first baseman Gabby Gradishar, in addition to an RBI on a fielder’s choice from junior second baseman Michela Barbanente.
In the circle, Nemeth earned the start to mark her 21st appearance and 13th start of her third collegiate campaign. The Glendora, California, native went 4.0 innings and recorded a strikeout in the contest, ultimately being saddled with the losing decision to drop to 3-5 overall on the 2026 season. Freshman right-handed pitcher Mackenzie Duncan threw the remaining inning for the Blue & White, facing eight batters and throwing 35 total pitches in the game.
Northwestern got a hold of things early, running up a 4-0 advantage through the first one-and-a-half frames of work. Penn State came to life in the bottom of the second, as three-straight walks drawn by Gradishar, Lieto and Hanik saw the bases loaded with no outs on the board. A fielder’s choice from Barbanente brought Gradishar aboard while Hanik was put out at second base. George entered the game to pinch hit for Karwowski and drew a walk that saw the bases loaded once again. Nemeth entered the lineup to hit and drew an RBI walk that scored Lieto, but a fielder’s choice and runner’s interference call saw George put out while the bases remained juiced. An RBI hit-by-pitch drawn by Oneacre made it a one-run game through two. NU replied with three runs in the top of the third, and two more in the fourth to make it a five-run ballgame. Penn State threatened with bases loaded in the home half of the inning but only managed to scratch across one additional score. Northwestern added four tallies in the top of the fifth and kept PSU off the scoreboard to close out the 13-4 decision in five innings.
In defeat, Penn State falls to 26-14 overall through the first 40 opportunities on the 2026 ledger, dropping back to .500 in Big Ten Conference play with a 7-7 mark against league foes. With the series win in hand, Northwestern moved back to .500 overall at 19-19 and is a parallel 7-7 in Big Ten matchups, with the two sides looking to break the deadlock in the Big Ten standings in Sunday’s finale from Happy Valley.
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Allison Oneacre | 1-for-2, RBI, 1B, HBP
Breanna Hanik | 1-for-2, 1B, BB
KEY INNINGS
T1 | Grace Nieto drew a leadoff walk, but a flyout moments later put one away. Nieto stole second, and a single to center from Emma Raye made it runners on the corners with one down. Kansas Robinson drew a walk to load the bases, and a passed ball saw all three runners advance 60 feet while Nieto scored to break the deadlock. A single to left from Bridget Donahey brought an additional Wildcat run aboard, with Raye notching the tally. NU 2, PSU 0
T2 | With one out on the board, Tru Medina sent a single to left field, and Nieto drew a walk on four pitches to make it runners on the right side. A flyout saw both runners tag up, and a throwing error following a passed ball saw Medina come in to score and Nieto advance to third. Raye singled in the infield to make it a four-run game, with Nieto finding her way home. NU 4, PSU 0
B2 | Three-straight walks drawn by Gradishar, Lieto and Hanik saw the bases loaded with no outs on the board. A fielder’s choice from Barbanente brought Gradishar aboard while Hanik was put out at second base. George entered the game to pinch hit for Karwowski and drew a walk that saw the bases loaded once again. Nemeth entered the lineup to hit and drew an RBI walk that scored Lieto, but a fielder’s choice and runner’s interference call saw George put out while the bases remained juiced. An RBI hit-by-pitch drawn by Oneacre made it a one-run game through two innings of work. NU 4, PSU 3
T3 | Donahey and Kelsey Nader mustered back-to-back singles to open the top of the third inning, and a single down the third-base line from Izzy Cunnea brought Donahey around and Nader to third. An RBI grounder from Teagan McCue plated Nader and advanced Cunnea, and Medina drew a walk just before being called out for leaving first base early on a steal attempt. With two outs on the board, Nieto drew a walk, and Kaylie Avvisato mustered an RBI infield single to score Cunnea. NU 7, PSU 3
T4 | Robinson doubled to right center, and Donahey reached second via a fielding error in the Penn State outfield, bumping Robinson over to third. Nader logged an RBI ground out to second base, plating Robinson and moving Donahey to third. Cunnea mustered an RBI bunt single moments later to bring the second score aboard, unearned. NU 9, PSU 4
B4 | George drew a leadoff walk, and Karwowski re-entered the game to run for her at first. A pair of consecutive flyouts made it a runner on first with two down, but Oneacre kept the inning alive with a single up the middle, advancing to second on the throw while Karwowski moved to third. Seidel drew a walk to load the bases, and an RBI walk drawn by Gradishar closed out PSU’s scoring on the afternoon. NU 9, PSU 4
T5 | Nieto drew a leadoff walk, stole second and reached third on a Penn State throwing error. Avvisato booked a hard-hit single in the infield to plate Nieto moments later. Raye singled to center to make it runners on the right side, but a popup put an out on the board. Donahey recorded a bunt single to load the bases, and Nader lifted a sac fly to right to score Avvisato. A double steal saw Donahey reach second and Raye come aboard, and a double to right-center from Cunnea closed the day’s scoring out with an RBI that plated Donahey. NU 13, PSU 4
UP NEXT
Penn State softball wraps up its three-game Big Ten Conference weekend series against the Northwestern Wildcats this Sunday, April 12, as the Blue & White prepare for an 11 a.m. (ET) start in the program’s Family Day and Bark in the Park matchup from Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field. The game 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.
The 2026 Penn State softball season is presented by Highmark.