2024 Penn State softball report card: vs. Michigan State.

Penn State earned another Big Ten series win this weekend taking two out of three versus the Michigan State Spartans. Coach Clarissa Crowell earned her 100th win with the program, marking a tremendous turnaround since her arrival.

The Nittany Lions are now ranked 23rd in the country according to Softball America, three spots behind their Big Ten counterparts in Northwestern.

With four more Big 10 series left for Penn State before the Big 10 Tournament on May 8, it is clear they have established themselves as one of the top teams in the conference so far this season.

The weekend started off with a 10-0 run rule game ending in five innings, followed by a 6-3 victory on Saturday, and a 6-2 loss on Sunday.

Pitching: B+

The freshman ace Bridget Nemeth saw action in all three of the contests. Across nine innings of work, she allowed only two earned runs, eight hits, eight strikeouts and two walks. She also added to her leading Big Ten win tally (18) and collected her fourth save of the season.

Nemeth leads the Big Ten not only in wins and ERA (1.20), but also ties for the conference lead in saves and losses (one), while also being inside the top five for innings pitched and batting average against.

Mady Volpe pitched a combined eight innings on Saturday and Sunday, earning her eighth win of the season on Saturday. She came into Saturday's game in the second inning and went 4.1 innings only allowing three hits and zero runs to go along with five strikeouts.

On Sunday Volpe replaced Paige Maynard, going 3.2 innings allowing four hits and three runs, two of which were earned.

Maynard earned her fourth loss of the season (3-4) and pitched just one inning allowing three hits and three runs, two of which were earned.

Batting: B+

The Nittany Lions were hot with the bats in the first two games, with home runs from Maddie Gordon, Gaby Garcia, Liana Jones and Kaitlyn Morrison, but Jones’ second home run of the weekend was the only form of run support they got as a team on Sunday.

While 16 runs in the first two games including a mercy rule win are certainly deserving of an A+, the fact that they were only able to put up two runs on Sunday brings them down to a B+. Freshman Brooke Klosowicz showed out this weekend going 4-6 with two RBI and 2-2 in pinch-hit opportunities while recording a hit in each of the three games.

Coaching: A-

Coach Crowell made an unexpected move that we had yet to see this season, She called it a “Bridget Sandwich.”

In Game 2 she said the game plan was to have Nemeth start and no matter how she did, replace her once the Spartans’ lineup turned over.

Mady Volpe then came in and held down the fort for the next four innings, before going right back to Nemeth for the save.

Sunday’s game was a tough loss, but Crowell tried to make some adjustments, with pinch hitters and an early pitching change, but unfortunately, the bats just couldn't get going at the same time to bring any more runs home.

Defense: B-

Even though the two crucial errors did not make a difference at the end of the game, They did allow two more runs to come through for the Spartans.

But on Saturday, there were some huge defensive plays made that proved to be crucial in the win.

Liana Jones made a wonderful catch in centerfield in a clutch situation to prevent further damage.

An all-around team effort on a huge double play from a bunt that saw the entire defense step up as Emily Maddock reacted with cat-like reflexes scooping the bunt and quickly tossing to Gaby Garcia who made a great tag and throw to second, eliminating any sliver of hope the Spartans may have had.

Carson Schuler is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him please email cts5357@psu.edu.