BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Penn State softball third baseman Maddie Gordon knocked out three hits, including two home runs, and drove in six runs in the Nittany Lions heart stopping 14-13 victory over Indiana in Bloomington on Friday, March 21.
Indiana, though, brought a relentless offense to the doubleheader on Saturday, March 22, and won both games and the weekend series over the Lions.
On Friday, Gordon’s three hits were part of a Penn State 18-hit, 14-run attack that in the end was just enough to get past the Lady Hoosiers.
Gordon got the Lions off to a fast start with home runs in both the first and second innings to spark the Lions out to a 7-3 lead.
Her homer in the first inning was a two-run shot with Brooke Klosowicz on base, and then she smashed a grand slam in the second inning with Klosowicz, Haylie Brunson and Meagan Ricks on base. Natalie Lieto also homered for the Lions in the second inning as they took a 7-0 lead going into the bottom of the inning.
But Indiana scored three runs in the second, third and fourth innings to go ahead 9-7 with three innings to play.
In the fifth, Penn State got RBI hits by Ricks and Klosowicz and scored four runs to forge back into the lead, 11-9.
The Hoosiers immediately tied it with a two-run home run by Brianna Copeland, and the teams headed down the stretch knotted in an 11-11 tie.
Finally, Penn State got RBI hits by Ricks, Haylie Brunson and Lieto in the top of the seventh and then survived a two-run rally by the Hoosiers to take the game, 14-13.
In the Hoosier seventh, the first two batters walked, and Copeland drove both of them in with a double down the left field line.
Now with the tying run on second base, PSU pitcher Jiselle Hernandez got two consecutive ground outs and a fly out to end the game and give her team its 14th win of the season.
For the Lions, Gordon was 3-for-4 with two home runs, six RBIs and a walk, while Klosowicz also had three hits with an RBI and Brunson with 3-for-5 with an RBI double and two runs. Lieto had two hits and two RBIs.
The Saturday doubleheader was not as productive for the Lions.
In the first game, Indiana scored three runs in the first inning and then single runs in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth on the way to a 7-5 win over the Lions.
Penn State scored three runs in the top of the fifth on hits by Brunson, Klosowicz and Lieto to draw to within 5-4, but Indiana would still score twice more and then hold off PSU to take the win.
In the nightcap, it was all Indiana as the Hoosiers knocked out 14 hits and took a five-inning, 17-4 win.
Indiana broke out to a 9-4 lead after three innings and then settled the matter with eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning for a 17-4 lead.
For Penn State, Gordon and Coleman both had two hits, and Brunson had three RBIs on a second-inning home run. Gordon also homered for the Lions, her eighth, but Indiana would go on to break open the game with 16 runs in the second, third and fourth innings.
The loss set the Lions record at 14-16 for the year so far and 2-5 in the Big Ten.
Coming up will be games against Oklahoma State and Georgia Tech at a tournament in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, March 29 and Sunday, March 30. That will be followed by home games against Bucknell on Tuesday, April 1, and a home Big Ten series against Rutgers on Friday, April 4, Saturday, April 5 and Sunday, April 6.
