Penn State softball (18-13, 1-2 Big Ten) opened up conference play by winning one matchup over Maryland throughout a three-game series.

While battling the elements this weekend, the Nittany Lions could not string together the wins to take home the series. The weekend consisted of some key opportunities for Penn State, but it wasn’t enough to fully take down the Terrapins.

Game One

After splitting the game between two days due to weather, Penn State won the first round of the series 2-1 in 10 innings.

The first six innings saw no score before a rain delay set in on Thursday. The action quickly picked up Friday afternoon when Mel Coombs scored in the top of the seventh. The Terps answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra innings.

Mel Coombs came through once again in the 10th inning when she blasted a home run over the scoreboard to secure a 2-1 win.

Missing in action: the ball Mel Coombs hit out of the park! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/fraBIuE0AM

— Penn State Softball (@PennStateSB) March 25, 2022

Game Two

The second game started immediately after the conclusion of the first on Friday, and Maryland evened its record against the Nittany Lions with an 8-3 victory.

The Terps went up 1-0 in the third inning with a home run from Mackense Greico and later capitalized on that by taking on seven more runs in the sixth inning.

Penn State tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh with a home run from Ally Kurland and two doubles from Amanda Mack and Cassie Lindmark, but the team’s efforts were not enough. Maryland comfortably walked away with an 8-3 win.

Game Three

In the last game on Saturday, Maryland won again — this time 6-4.

The game was knotted at zero until the second inning when sophomore Liana Jones hit her second home run of the season to put the Nittany Lions up 2-0. Maryland answered back with four runs in the top of the third. Penn State fired back once again to tie the score 4-4 in the bottom of the third.

Jones sends that ball all the way to Bellefonte! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/MfmmBEDrIr

— Penn State Softball (@PennStateSB) March 26, 2022

The Terps scored two again in the fourth, but nothing came from Penn State in the bottom of the inning. Attempting to hold off Maryland’s offense, star pitcher Bailey Parshall stepped into the circle in the fifth.

A few Nittany Lions were able to get on base in the sixth and seventh innings, but no runs came across the plate. Penn State dropped the game with a 6-4 final score.

Takeaways

• Winning just four of its home games last season, Penn State is off to a much stronger start with six home wins already. While the Nittany Lions had a losing record on the weekend, this is still a very strong indicator of how much the program has changed within a single year.
• Fielding errors are a consistent problem for this Penn State squad. On a good weekend like this, though, the Nittany Lions have shown they’re a tough team to topple when the errors are low and the fielding is consistent.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will host a single game against Bucknell on Tuesday, March 29.