Penn State softball (18-18, 5-5 Big Ten) swept Rutgers (16-24, 1-8) in a weekend series, finishing with a 15-11 win at home Saturday afternoon.

After forecasted weather forced some schedule adjustments, Penn State took both games of the Friday night doubleheader and then brought the brooms out Saturday afternoon, winning a high-scoring bid to secure the series sweep.

Game One

Penn State’s offense got to work quickly as Natalie Lieto reached on a single and Kaylie Walters drew a walk. With two runners on, Haylie Brunson cranked an RBI single that scored Lieto and moved Walters to third. Brunson reached second when Rutgers sent a throw home to try and catch Lieto but failed.

ribbie for HB! Offense is rolling early on!

B1 | 0 OUTS | PSU 1, RUT 0#WeAre | #NextStop pic.twitter.com/ag5AgaTe58

— Penn State Softball (@PennStateSB) April 4, 2025

After Brooke Klosowicz fouled out, Maddie Gordon plated Walters with an RBI grounder to shortstop, making it a 2-0 game.

The bats went silent for both teams for a handful of innings until Rutgers took the batter’s box in the top of the sixth inning, as Jillian Anderson reached base with a lead-off single, ending Maddy Volpe’s shot at a no-hitter.

Shortly after, Bailey Briggs drew a walk, and Baileigh Burtis advanced both runners with a successful sacrifice bunt. A sacrifice fly hit deep into left field by Riley Hwang allowed Anderson to tag up at third and make it home safely, making it a 2-1 ballgame.

Penn State drew three straight walks at the plate to begin the bottom of the sixth inning. With bases loaded and no outs, Madison Seidel put a grounder into play that Rutgers fielded and immediately made the throw to home for the force out. The Nittany Lions left the bases loaded after Jenna Nelson struck out and Lieto flew out, failing to add on crucial insurance runs late in the game for Volpe.

Stephanie Kraska started off a must-score inning for Rutgers with a lead-off single up the middle. After a foul out to put one away, Addie Osborne drew a walk to put two Scarlet Knights on the base path. Volpe struck out a batter looking to put two outs on the board but walked the next batter she faced to load the bases. A wild pitch from Volpe went flying over the head of Seidel, prompting Kraska to charge home in hopes of tying the game. Seidel corralled the ball and dove at the plate to tag the runner, dramatically ending the game in favor of Penn State, 2-1.

"PENN STATE WINS GAME 1 ON THE EFFORT FROM MADISON SEIDEL!"

Game 1 ends at the plate—Madison Seidel with the tag to win it for @PennStateSB #B1GSoftball pic.twitter.com/9q7j7CTHpF

— Big Ten Softball (@B1Gsoftball) April 4, 2025

Game Two

Abigail Britton took the bump for Penn State to begin the second game of the Friday night doubleheader. She set the tone for her dominant day of pitching early on, forcing a three-up, three-down of Rutgers batters and sending her squad to the plate.

Walters reached base on a sneaky bunt, but Klosowicz grounded into a double play, which ended the first inning.

After two more scoreless innings, Penn State drew first blood in the bottom of the fourth. The bases were loaded after Klosowicz drew a walk, Gordon notched a base hit, and Lieto got plunked. Michela Barbanente drew a walk that advanced everyone, scoring Klosowicz. Then, a wild pitch moved runners another 60 feet, including Maddie Gordon, who scored on the unforced error. Then, Seidel put the ball in play, which allowed Lieto to score and give Penn State a 3-0 lead.

Penn State records the third run of the inning on a fielder's choice!

E4 | PSU 3, RUT 0#WeAre | #NextStop pic.twitter.com/xPoFBbXJdn

— Penn State Softball (@PennStateSB) April 4, 2025

Rutgers’ offense continued to sputter, which quickly sent Penn State back to the plate at the bottom of the fifth, where Rick and Walter both found holes in the defense for a pair of singles. Brunson grounded into a double play, but Ricks safely made it to the third. Klosowicz then plated Ricks with a single to center field, adding to the 4-0 lead.

Burtis drew a lead-off walk at the top of the sixth, but Rutgers remained incapable of advancing its runners, as the next three batters failed to reach base.

The final at-bat for the Nittany Lions began with a groundout from Lieto, but Barbanente and Seidel reached base with hits immediately after. Nelson laid down a bunt to the pitcher and reached safely after a throwing error from the Scarlet Knights. Barbanente scored, and Seidel advanced to third in the chaos of the moment.

After another bunt from Ricks, the bases were loaded for Lydia Coleman, who cranked a single up the middle to plate Seidel and Nelson, extending the lead to 7-0. Brunson kept it going by doubling to left field to score Ricks and give Penn State a run-rule victory.

Game Three

Unlike their first two outings of the series, the Scarlet Knights roughed up Volpe with a hot start at the plate to start game three.

Anderson smacked a leadoff double, LA Matthews drew a walk, and Briggs singled through left field to load the bases. Burtis pushed a fly ball deep to centerfield, allowing for Anderson to tag up from third and trot home for an early 1-0 lead. Kraska drew a walk to reload the bases for Georgia Ingle, who knocked an RBI single through the left side of the infield to score Mathews and Briggs, pushing the lead to 3-0.

Penn State pulled Volpe off the mound, opting to go with Jiselle Hernandez instead. Sierra Hoekstra gave the new pitcher a warm welcome to the game, cranking a double to left center that allowed Osborne and Ingle to score. Gaelen Kelly fouled out to end the five-run inning for Rutgers.

Trailing big already, the Nittany Lions attacked their at-bats with urgency, as Ricks doubled to start it off. Walters followed that up with a bunt down the third baseline that put her on first and plated Ricks after an errant throw.

In the blink of an eye, Burnson cut the lead to 5-3 with a two-run homer to left center. Klosowicz and Gordon drew a pair of walks to restock the bases. The girls successfully pulled off a double steal, moving runners to the left side of the bags for Lieto, who plated them both with a base hit up the middle to tie the game up 5-5.

DOUBLE DIGIT DINGERS FOR HB

B1 | 0 OUTS | RUT 5, PSU 3#WeAre | #NextStop pic.twitter.com/Xhl3Xsjryq

— Penn State Softball (@PennStateSB) April 5, 2025

Rutgers picked up in the batter’s box where they left off, as Anderson notched another lead-off single. Matthews sent an RBI double to left field that scored Anderson to take back a 6-5 lead. Burtis tripled to right, scoring Matthews, but was left stranded after back-to-back groundouts from Rutgers hitters.

Ricks was plunked to start the bottom of the second with Walters joining her on the basepath after a single. Brunson grounded out but advanced both baserunners. Klosowicz doubled to right, scoring Ricks and Walters to tie it up at 7-7. Gordon reached third after an errant throw to first, allowing Klosowicz to score in the ensuing commotion. Barbanente grounded out to short, but Gordon was able to make it home unearned to give Penn State a 9-7 lead at the end of the second frame.

Lydia Spalding came in to pitch for Hernandez at the top of the third, and the move proved to work as Rutgers had its first scoreless trip to the plate on the day.

Penn State took the plate with momentum surging. Coleman lit the match with a single to left, and then Ricks blew it up with a two-run bomb to extend the 11-7 lead. The shot to right field tied a program record for single-season homers.

PROGRAM.
RECORD.
TIED.

53 HOMERS IN 2025.#WeAre | #NextStop pic.twitter.com/2qsTNV9Z0D

— Penn State Softball (@PennStateSB) April 5, 2025

With two outs, Klosowicz smacked another ball over the fence to make it a 12-7 ball game.

Both squads went silent offensively in the fourth inning, but after Britton came in for Spalding to start the fifth, Rutgers scored after a fielding error from the Penn State infield allowed for Hoekstra to make it home.

Up 12-8, Penn State did not let off the gas, as Brunson and Klosowicz notched a pair of base hits to begin the bottom of the fifth frame. Gordon doubled to right field, scoring Brunson and moving Klosowicz to third. The Penn State offense had become an avalanche, as Barbanente cleared the bases with a single through the left side of the infield to break the game open at 15-8. Lieto joined Barbanente on base with a base hit of her own. With no outs, the runners executed a double steal to advance into scoring position, but they were left stranded at the end of the fifth frame.

Briggs smacked a leadoff double for Rutgers and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Kelsie Riggan plated Briggs with a double to left field. Riggan was then brought home by Osborne, who pushed a ball deep to left field for an RBI double to cut down the 15-10 lead. Hoekstra brought in another run with a single that fell at the feet of three Penn State defenders to make it 15-11.

Penn State failed to add any insurance runs during their final trip to the plate in the bottom of the sixth frame, but Rutgers was unable to close the remaining gap, ending the game 15-11.

Takeaways

• Volpe and Britton remained in control of the Rutgers lineup throughout the Friday night doubleheader. The duo combined for 13 strikeouts and allowed just four total hits.
• During the third game of the series, Penn State broke its single-season record for home runs after Klosowicz hit Penn State’s 55th home run ball of the season over the fence.
• Penn State’s offense took a step in the right direction this weekend, scoring 25 runs across three outings.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will remain at home for a matchup with Saint Francis at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8 for their annual Cancer Awareness game. Folks can watch on BTN+.