Penn State softball (30-11, 9-5 Big Ten) lost in both games of a double header to the Ohio State Buckeyes (23-17, 5-9 Big Ten). The Nittany Lions fell 16-8 in game one and 1-2 in game two on Tuesday afternoon.

The Nittany Lions were propelled by a six-run inning in game one, but it wasn’t enough to combat the Buckeyes.

How It Happened

Game One

Ohio State dominated on offense in the first inning for game one. The Nittany Lions found themselves down 3-0 early in the game as Sam Hackenbracht of Ohio State hit a home run with two runners on base. After another walk, Nittany Lion head coach Clarisa Crowell made the decision to switch pitchers from Bridget Nemeth to Mady Volpe. The Buckeyes continued their offensive momentum with another home run from Kristen Eppele with two runners on base again as Penn State found itself down 6-0 to end the first inning.

The top of second remained quiet for the Nittany Lions. Kaitlyn Morrison opened the hitting for the Nittany Lions with a single and later advanced to second with a Haylie Brunson single to right field. Unfortunately, the Nittany Lions were not able to advance to home as the score remained 6-0 going into the bottom of the second. However, Penn State saw positives on the defensive side during the bottom of the second with the Buckeyes going out in order as the score remained 6-0 in favor of Ohio State.

The Nittany Lions saw offensive success during the top of the third inning as Liana Jones capitalized on an Ohio State fielding error, leading to a Maddie Gordon score.

However, Ohio State responded with a score of its own thanks to a McKenzie Bump home run to make the score 7-1 during the bottom of the third inning. The score remained 7-1 going into the fourth inning.

The fourth inning was totally dominant in favor of Ohio State. The Buckeyes capitalized on a Penn State fielding error, leading to a Kortokrax score and Hackenbracht advancing to third. Hackenbracht was later able to advance to home with a base hit from Bump. Ohio State continued to score on offense with a triple from Eppele, and Eppele then advanced home with an RBI from Kaitlyn Farley. At the end of the fourth inning, the score was 12-1 in favor of the Buckeyes.

Penn State found major offensive life in the fifth inning. Gaby Garcia got on base and later scored for the Nittany Lions with an RBI from Audree Mendoza. With Garcia’s run, the score stood at 12-2 in favor of Ohio State. The Nittany Lions then scored again as an RBI from Michela Barbanente led to a Brunson run as the score stood at 12-3. As the bases were loaded, a huge grand slam from Maddie Gordon resulted in the score jumping to 12-7.

Penn State opened with a new pitcher as Lydia Spalding took to the mound. Ohio State responded quickly to Penn State’s offensive push with a run of its own from Taylor Heckman thanks to an RBI from Kortokrax. Heckman’s run was the sole score for Ohio State in the fifth inning as the Nittany Lions took over on defense and closed out the inning and the score stood at 13-7.

Penn State continued on offense with a Garcia home run to make the score 13-8. Garcia’s run was the sole score for the Nittany Lions as the Buckeyes took over on offense. Ohio State found success on offense in the sixth inning with a triple from Farley leading to two more runs for the Buckeyes. Tegan Cortelletti ended the game with an RBI that sent Farley home as the Buckeyes hit the run rule. The final score of game one was 16-8.

Game Two

Penn State opened game two with a Gordon run thanks to an RBI toward right field from Gaby Garcia. The score going into the bottom of the first was 1-0 in game two.

Ohio State was dormant on offense, resulting in the score staying 1-0 going into the second inning.

Both Penn State and Ohio State were silent in the second inning, and the score remained 1-0 going into the third.

Penn State opened the third inning with a double from Maddock, but the score remained 1-0 at the midpoint in the third inning. Ohio State remained scoreless through the third inning.

Morrison opened with a single for Penn State in the fourth inning, but Penn State failed to find home plate at the top of the fourth inning. The score remained 1-0 going into the bottom of the inning. Ohio State remained dormant on offense as the score stayed the same going into the fifth inning.

Both the Nittany Lions and the Buckeyes remained dormant in the fifth inning as the inning went scoreless for both teams.

Penn State didn’t score in the sixth inning. Ohio State had a big play as Bump hit a single that allowed pinch runner Skylar Limon to advance to second. A huge hit from Eppele allowed Limon to score, tying the game at 1-1. Penn State was able to close out the inning after allowing the run with the game tied going into the final inning.

The Nittany Lions found themselves scoreless yet again in the seventh inning as Kortokrax caught a fly ball from Gordon and quickly threw it to first to get Barbanente out for a Buckeye double play. Barbanente had a big play on defense from left field as she threw the ball all the way to home plate to get Farley out who was going for the game winning run. With a walkoff double from Kortakrax, Heckman scored the game winning run as the second game closed out 1-2.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to take on the Badgers in a three-game series starting at 6 p.m. on Friday, April 19. The game can be streamed on BTN+.