Penn State softball (18-18, 2-4 Big Ten) and Saint Francis took one game a piece in their wild, back-and-forth doubleheader Wednesday at Nittany Lion Softball Park.

The Red Flash (15-21, 3-1 NEC) twice jumped out to early leads, but the Nittany Lions emerged victorious in the opener thanks to a walk-off homer from Toni Polk. Balls continued to fly over the fence and defensive miscues were a plenty in the second game, but Saint Francis emerged with a 17-13 win.

How It Happened

Game One

Penn State struggled mightily in the infield during that first inning, conceding just one hit but allowing runners aboard with walks and a pair of miscues. Saint Francis finally got on the board with two runs after an error at home, then tacked on two more after a Mikayla Bower single.

The Nittany Lions tacked on a run in the bottom half of the first, then closed the gap in the third with back-to-back doubles from Toni Polk and Claire Swedberg before Chelsea Bisi’s team-leading seventh home run of the season.

Saint Francis and Penn State traded two runs each in the next three innings, with the Nittany Lions keeping the game tied thanks to solo shots from Delaney Elling and Dani Fey.

After Penn State left a runner on third — the team’s fifth runner of the game left in scoring position — to end the seventh inning, Saint Francis took the lead in extras off a Jordan Frank solo homer. Dani Fey saved the Nittany Lions with a diving catch in center field to strand the Red Flash with the bases loaded and keep it a one-run game.

In the bottom half of the eighth, Melina Livingston got aboard with a single before Polk ended it with a bomb over the center field wall to end the game, 8-7 Nittany Lions, in walk-off fashion.

Game Two

Penn State got off to another slow start, going down 4-0 after the first two innings thanks to a couple of Red Flash hits, including a two-run homer from Sierra McKee.

The Nittany Lions fought back to tie the game in the bottom of the second with the bottom of the order bashing Mikayla Bower for three home runs from Destiny Weber, Dani Fey, and Melina Livingston.

Penn State’s atrocious fielding continued into the second game, though, racking up five errors in the third inning as the Red Flash tacked on nine runs.

Yet, the Nittany Lions still managed to make it a game again thanks to nine runs in the next four innings, including more blasts from Livingston, Toni Polk, and Chelsea Bisi. But Saint Francis always had an answer, leading by four heading into the last inning and holding off the Nittany Lions for the 17-13 win.

Takeaways

• This was by far the weirdest Penn State sporting event I’ve ever seen — not even sure where to begin. A four-run deficit late in that second game felt like a one-run game, but you felt that even if the Nittany Lions were to tie it, Saint Francis would always answer back with another couple of runs.
• Dani Fey’s struggled at the plate to begin the season, but she had quite the day against Saint Francis — hitting the first two home runs of her career, the first of which sent the game to extra innings. She also made a diving catch in center field that saved the team at least two runs and allowed Toni Polk to be in position for the walk off.

• 10 home runs in a two-game set is a crazy feat, but it was undermined by an even crazier 13 errors. The team’s already low fielding percentage dropped to .941, which is now No. 269 in the nation out of 295 teams.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions are on the road this weekend as Big Ten play continues against Purdue. First pitch Friday night is at 6 p.m., Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m., and Sunday at noon. All games will be streamed on BTN Plus.