Penn State (1-4) traveled to Baton Rouge, LA for a season-opening tournament against No. 4 LSU, McNeese State, and Oklahoma State.

The Nittany Lions had a tough weekend against three NCAA Tournament teams from 2016, but did manage to snag their first win against a top five program since 2006 on Friday with an upset of the Tigers.

How It Happened

Senior ace Marlaina Laubach got the start in the circle Friday afternoon for the opener against McNeese State. Laubach managed to get through four innings untouched, but a three-run shot from Tori Yanitor broke the scoreless deadlock for the Cowgirls. Shelby Miller knocked a run in during the bottom of the fifth, but the Nittany Lions left runners stranded. McNeese tacked on one more in the seventh to win 4-1.

Penn State had its marquee moment of the weekend Friday night against No. 4 LSU. After trailing 1-0 after two innings, the Nittany Lions broke out in the third with five runs — including a pair of two-run singles from Toni Polk and Tori Dubois.

Miller added another run with a solo shot in the fourth and the Nittany Lions capitalized on a wild pitch to get their seventh run. Sophomore Madison Seifert pitched a complete game to hold on to the win 7-3.

The Nittany Lions’ bats went quiet Saturday afternoon against Oklahoma State. The Cowgirls scored one run in the bottom of the first off a single up the middle, but were contained through the rest of the game by Seifert. Penn State only tallied five hits in seven innings of play and couldn’t bring a runner around the bases as it fell 1-0.

LSU came back for revenge against Penn State’s slightly less experienced pitchers Jessica Cummings and Madison Shaffer. Between five runs in the first inning and eight runs in the third inning, the Tigers run-ruled the Nittany Lions 14-1 in five innings.

Penn State’s offense was also absent in the final game of the weekend as Seifert lasted five innings in her third start of the weekend. The Cowgirls put up three runs in both the fourth and fifth inning off just five hits and four errors to finish with a 6-0 win.

Player Of The Tournament

Madison Seifert | Pitcher | Sophomore

Despite a rough final outing against McNeese State, Seifert stifled two premier programs — getting a win against No. 4 LSU and giving up just one run against Oklahoma State.

What’s Next

Penn State heads to Atlanta for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge next weekend. The Nittany Lions will face Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech at the Yellow Jackets’ Shirley Clements Mewborn Field.