Nittany Lions feast on IU, team sees record fall to 7-23

In the buildup to the Big Ten Network’s inaugural softball broadcast, televising the game between IU (7-23) and Penn State (25-10) Sunday, the Hoosiers were anxious to show the nation what they are all about.\nAfter No. 6 Michigan defeated the Hoosiers on Friday and Saturday, IU’s eyes were set to prey on the Nittany Lions in Sunday’s doubleheader. \nThe first pitch of the doubleheader was scheduled for 10:36 a.m., but the skies opened up, causing a three-hour rain delay. After the stormy weather disappeared and the grounds crew worked diligently on the field, Penn State devoured IU in both contests, 7-1 and 6-1. \nPitching was the signature element for Penn State on Sunday, as the Nittany Lions held IU’s offense to only six hits altogether, three in each game. As a result, IU scored only two runs as 13 Hoosier runners were left on base.\nIn the first game, Penn State surged behind pitcher Ashley Esparza, who struck out seven batters from the mound and only gave up three hits.\n“We are really capable of hitting that kind of pitching,” IU coach Stacey Phillips said. “Penn State traveled from West Lafayette and played very well here, but we didn’t adjust to their stuff out there.” \nPenn State presented inevitable obstacles for Phillips’ team by capitalizing on IU’s fielding mishaps.\nMonica Wright, the junior pitcher on the Hoosiers’ staff, allowed eight hits amounting to seven runs in game one. Freshman pitcher Sara Olson, who pitched all of game two, gave up all Penn State’s six scored runs and 10 walks but recorded a season-high six strikeouts. \n“(Penn State) came to take somebody down, and we were the ones,” Phillips said. “They came in hungry and their players really did a nice job.”\nThe second game of the Big Ten clash turned out to be the icing on the cake for the Nittany Lions, which saw pitcher Jackie Hill nearly throw a no-hitter. IU senior first baseman Tory Yamaguchi broke the ice in the bottom of the sixth inning belting her 36th career home run over the left field fence. The solo shot was her 91st career RBI, which is sixth all-time in the IU softball record books. \nAs one of the team captains, Yamaguchi said the weather was a huge element that the team couldn’t overcome. \n“It was a long day and mentally strenuous for us,” Yamaguchi said. “We pulled the tarp about six times today and we just came out flat.”\nPenn State’s play and the miserable weather deteriorated IU on all fronts of the game, but the Hoosiers don’t believe a drought is in the forecast in the near future. Sophomore left fielder Kelli Ritchison said the Hoosiers are going to remain optimistic and will learn from their mistakes. \n“We’re going to keep practicing hard and get better each and every day,” Ritchison said. “We’re going to come out strong on Tuesday against Kentucky and turn these outcomes around.”