Penn State softball (19-10, 0-4 Big Ten) failed to get its first conference win as it fell 5-4 to Big Ten rivals Wisconsin (15-10, 1-3 Big Ten) in the first game of the three-game series.

How It Happened

Freshman MacKenzie Duncan started on the mount for the Nittany Lions under the floodlights. After allowing hits from the first two batters, head coach Clarisa Crowell used her first mound visit. After a quick break, the freshman forced a pop-out and struck out the next two batters. Cheers and applause from the crowd erupted as two badgers were left stranded on base.

The Nittany Lions couldn’t get anything on offense from the first inning. The Badgers opened the second inning by getting two on base via a hit-by-pitch and a walk. The Badgers capitalized this time with a line drive towards center field, bringing in the first run of the night. The next pitch was hit deep to center field, only a few inches from leaving Beard Field as it bounced off the wall to make it 2-0. This was Duncan’s last pitch of the night, as McKenna Young was brought in to replace her. The Wisconsin native was able to get the third out of the inning, leaving the defecit at 2-0 going into the bottom of the second.

In the top of the third, the Badger’s defense forced a double play and caught another Penn State batter looking. The Penn State defense came back on the field and returned the favor. With runners in scoring position, Wisconsin sent a ball into left field. Frankee Flesher caught it off the hop and fired it back towards home. Madison Seidel made a nice catch at the plate and tagged the runner out at home. One more strikeout from Young sent the crowd and Penn State dugout into a frenzy.

The bats for Penn State finally arrived in the third inning. After Natalie Lieto was hit by a pitch, Michela Barbanente crushed a ball deep to left. The ball bounced off the scoreboard of Beard Field to equalize. Brooke Klosowicz came up next and swung at the first pitch, a double that landed in the warning track. Momentum was growing with every at-bat for Nittany Lions. Allison Oneacre hit a home run that went over the score board in left field to make the score 4-2 as the third inning ended.

Wisconsin responded with a deep shot of their own, bringing in a run on what was Young’s last pitch of the night. Brevyn Kellepouris was brought in and delivered the final out, once again stranding badgers on base. The Nittany Lion defense continued to perform when the pressure was on. No hits were recorded for the Nittany Lions in the fourth.

Kellepouris struck out two before a Wisconsin hit deep to right tied the game at 4. A nice play at short stop made sure that the score stayed tied to send the game to the bottom of the fifth. The Nittany Lions hit a pair of singles to get runners scoring position. Klosowicz sent a line drive inches over the outreached glove of the second basemen. One runner was brought home, but the second runner was called out at the plate. The runner was less than a second too late of the throw towards home, much to the disbelief of the home crowd as boos came roaring in towards the umpire. The fifth inning came to an end with Penn State leading 5-4.

A Wisconsin home run with one out saw them tie the game up in the top of the sixth. Two more balls came flying deep center field, but Lieto was there to make the catches seem easy. In the bottom of the sixth, Penn State was not able to get anything more than a single.

In the top of the seventh, the Badgers were able to take back the lead after a sacrifice-fly to center field. With runners in scoring position with two outs, a Wisconsin batter hit a ball right back to the pitcher. Sophomore Abigail Britton was able to snag it quickly out of the air before any more harm was done. On the offensive side, Penn State opened with a tightly contested single.

Wisconsin challenged the call on the field of the runner being safe, but it was upheld. With zero outs and a runner on first, Penn State was able to get one more on after a walk. Two outs remained when a ball was hit right to the Wisconsin third baseman. She grabbed it off the ground, stepping on third base she fired the ball across the infield. The throw came just in time to get the final out of the game, ending 5-4.

Takeaways

• Penn State dropped to 0-4 in conference play after a one-run loss, showing a struggle to close out tight games against Big Ten opponents.
• Penn State’s offense continues to play best with momentum on their side. It scored four of its five runs in the third inning.
• Brooke Klosowicz continues to impress. The junior from Illinois went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI, creating offense and setting the tone at the top of the batting order.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions play the second game of the three-game series against the Badgers tomorrow, March 21. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Beard Field.