UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State softball team concludes its five-game home stand in a midweek doubleheader with the Colonials of Robert Morris University.
(Photo courtesy of Penn State Athletics)
The Nittany Lions and the Colonials will meet on the field Wednesday, Mar. 23 with first pitch slated for 5:30 p.m. from Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field.
SERIES HISTORY WITH ROBERT MORRIS
Penn State and Robert Morris have been pitted against each other on 10 occasions with the Nittany Lions holding the 6-4 advantage. Prior to the 2015 season, the series was tied at 4-4 but last year the Blue and White notched the sweep of the Colonials at Beard Field with a 2-0 victory in game one and a 9-1 six-inning win in game two, Mar. 25.
LAST TIME OUT WITH THE COLONIALS
Penn State completed the two-game sweep against Robert Morris used a combined 13 innings from a PSU pitching staff that gave up just one run on nine hits and struck out 11 Colonial batters. The Nittany Lions tallied 16 hits between the two contests and kept RMU to nine hits between the two games. Alyssa VanDerveer, Shelby Miller and Mollie Sorenson brought in a team-high two RBI each, while Marlaina Laubach and Macy Jones earned the wins in the circle for the Blue and White.
SCOUTING ROBERT MORRIS
The Colonials have struggled to start the 2016 season, posting a 6-21 overall record coming into the mid-week doubleheader with the Nittany Lions. Robert Morris is looking to end a four-game losing streak after falling in all four of its games at the Blue/Gold Challenge hosted by UNCG.
As a team, RMU is hitting .233 paced by Jordan Gurganus who leads the Colonials in six offensive categories including: batting average (.441), hits (41), triples (2), slugging percentage (.484), total bases (45) and on-base percentage (.447). Senior Ashley Gerhart has brought in a team-high 11 RBI for Robert Morris and is batting .269 with two home runs. In the field, RMU has committed 53 errors and has a .935 fielding percentage as a team.
The Colonial pitching staff combines for a 4.98 ERA with opponents hitting .312 on the season. Freshman Kaitlin Ellzy has seen the most time in the circle, tossing 85.0 innings and eight complete games on the year. Ellzy has been the pitcher of decision in all six of RMU’s victories and carries a 3.46 ERA with 48 strikeouts.
PENN STATE BOUNCES BACK FOR VICTORY OVER HOFSTRA
After dropping the first two games of the three-game series against Hofstra, Penn State exploded for 10 runs in game three to secure the 10-2 win over the Pride. The Nittany Lions (10-13) posted 11 hits on the afternoon to score 10 runs, one shy of a season-high, while being flawless on the defensive end of the ball. Hofstra (13-10) had four hits against five different Penn State pitchers and committed four fielding errors.
Senior Macy Jones extended her hitting streak to 13 games and notched her fourth multi-RBI game driving in two runs on a home run over the center field wall. Also seeing a multi-RBI game were Toni Polk and Lexi Knief, who each drove in two runs apiece. Senior Erin Pond went 3-for-3 at the dish with one RBI and both Mollie Sorenson and Rebecca Zieglernotched two hits for the Blue and White.
JONES EXTENDS HITTING STREAK TO 13 GAMES
Moving senior Macy Jones into the leadoff spot has proven to be a good fit for the Nittany Lions. Jones is currently on a 13-game hitting streak that reaches back to Feb. 27 against Yale. Since starting the streak, Jones has had five multi-hit game and four multi-RBI games. Furthermore, Jones has had three home runs, including two in the series against Hofstra and one in-the-park homer against UMASS.
ON DECK
The Nittany Lions open up Big Ten Conference play when they travel to Rutgers for a three-game series, Mar. 25-27. Friday’s game is slated for 3 p.m. against the Scarlet Knights, while game two is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday and the series will be capped off with a noon contest on Easter Sunday.
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