Penn State is Lights Out in the Penn State Invitational

University Park, Pa. - The Nittany Lions beat Binghamton 15-5 after five innings on Sunday to close out the Penn State Invitational.

Penn State hosted four teams from across the area: Lehigh, Canisius, Cornell and Binghamton this weekend and was stellar across the board. The blue and white took home five straight wins.

This is the first time in the season that Penn State played at Beard Field after being on the road since Feb. 9.

It was Penn State’s offense that shined. The Nittany Lions crossed the plate 51 times throughout the weekend, including having two 11-run innings: one in their opener against Lehigh and one in their closer against Binghamton.

In Penn State’s game against Binghamton, it was in control from the start.

With a 2-2 count, leadoff batter Kaitlyn Morrison was hit by a pitch and would be the first baserunner of the game. After that, it would be chaos for the Bearcats.

Penn State recorded eight hits in the inning, including a Haylie Brunson three-run home run to right center and a Maddie Gordon two-run home run to left.

Brunson said the momentum was contagious.

“It doesn’t matter if we are up by 10, down by 10. We are going to put up some runs,” she said.

Brunson had a stellar day at the plate. She went 4-4, had five RBIs and was only a triple away from a cycle.

The Bearcats were able to fight back with four runs in the top of the second which led to Lydia Spalding taking over the circle for Mady Volpe.

Penn State kept up the pressure and added four more runs to the scorebook, including Amanda Mack’s first career home run. The blue and white then forced Binghamton to a must-score top of the fifth and in just three batters, the game was sealed.

This was the second time in the weekend that the Nittany Lions run-ruling their opponents, with the first on Friday against Cornell.

Penn State head coach Clarisa Crowell said she was proud of how the team fought on Sunday.

“Offensively, we just went off and had a day…a lot of quality at-bats and I’m really happy about that,” she said.

After the powerhouse first inning, the game came down to the little things.

Binghamton stranded five base runners compared to Penn State’s two. The Bearcats also struggled against Spalding, going just 2-12.

The Nittany Lions finished off the day with 15 hits to match their 15 runs. They were also clean in the field and had no errors.

“The biggest thing is just us being able to execute a plan,” Crowell said.

Penn State moves on to an in-state rival when they travel to the University of Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The team will then come back home for seven straight home games, to close out March.

Allie Wenskoski is a second-year student studying broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email amw7637@psu.edu.