After winning five of their last six games, the Nittany Lions softball team has lost its last four games in a row. Two of the losses came against number one-ranked Michigan, while Penn State fell two more times to Longwood. To make matters worse, the women will have to dwell on their losses just a little bit longer, as today’s doubleheader against Ohio State has been postponed until May 11 due to weather.

What happened between the lines of game one against Michigan was different than the events of game two, but the scoreboards told the same story: 5-4 loss.

In game one, the game went into the seventh inning tied 4-4. In the top of the inning, Michigan was able to take the lead, and Penn State couldn’t make a comeback in the bottom of the seventh. Jackie Hill pitched a complete game, and while she lost, only gave up two earned runs. The other three came as a result of three Nittany Lion errors in a game where they could afford none.

Game two opened right where the first game left off, with Michigan scoring three runs in the top of the first inning, and Penn State answering back with two runs in the bottom. The bats got quiet for much of the rest of the game, aside from a two run inning by Michigan in the fourth. Penn State went into the bottom of the seventh down three runs, but couldn’t quite come from behind, scoring only two runs.

Unfortunately for the softball team, their bouts with number one ranked Michigan didn’t lead into a set of games that were much easier. With a record of 30-11 coming into Sunday’s games, Longwood was no pushover.

Game one saw the return of extra innings, something Penn State has gotten very used to this year. Hill threw all eight innings, giving up only five hits and three earned runs. Yet the Nittany Lions had three more costly errors, and Longwood was able to score three runs in the top of the eighth to win 5-3.

The second game of the doubleheader didn’t go any better. Despite a four hit, three run outing by Lisa Akamine, Penn State could not get on the board and were shutout 3-0. They are now just above .500 with a record of 23-21.

The team’s next games are this Saturday at 5:00 p.m. and Sunday at 12:00 p.m. at home against Big Ten rival Purdue. Sunday’s game will also be televised on the Big Ten Network.