STATE COLLEGE, Pa. –  Penn State took the series from Rutgers softball on Saturday with the Lady Lions prevailing 4-2 in game one and coming from behind to take game two 4-3.
 

Penn State 4, Rutgers 2

STANDOUT STATS

• Fifth-year senior Hailey Hoklotubbe went 2-for-3 with a run scored, while sophomore Payton Lincavage and graduate student Gabrielle Callaway each logged a hit and RBI.
• Rookie Kayla Bock went 1-for-3 with a double.
• Sophomore Ashley Hitchcock was the Scarlet Knight starter tossing 4.0 inning with three strikeouts. Graduate student Izzy Berouty pitched the final two innings striking out a pair of Lady Lions and allowing only one hit.

THE RUNDOWN

• The Lady Lions took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second as Ally Kurland sent the ball over the fence in left-center.
• The Scarlet Knights, however, cut their deficit in half on their trip to the plate. Taylor Lane reached first off a bad throw and rounded the bases thanks to Lincavage going down the left-field line for a double.
• Penn State threatened to add to the lead in the bottom of the third, but Rutgers kept the run off the scoreboard catching Livingston trying to take home.
• Kurland's second home run came with two outs in the fourth down the right-field line to give PSU a 3-1 advantage.
• Just like the last time, Rutgers answered with a run of their own at their following at bat. Hoklotubbe led off reaching first on a bunt and came home off a Callaway single to center.  Anyssa Iliopoulos collected a base hit with the next at bat but the Lady Lions caught Callaway at the plate trying to score the tying run.
• The Lady Lions added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth capitalizing off a bases-loaded situation. A miscue at second with two outs allowed Penn State to add an unearned run.

Penn State 4, Rutgers 3

STANDOUT STATS

• Graduate student Izzy Berouty threw 5.1 innings not allowing a PSU hit until the fourth inning. Altogether she allowed three hits and one run.  
• Sophomore Payton Lincavage went 2-for-3 in game two with a run scored.
• Freshman Megan Herka and fifth-year senior Hailey Hoklotubbe were both was 1-for-3 in the nightcap. Herka collected an RBI, while Hoklotubbe registered a run.
• Freshman Lauren Punk also scored her first collegiate run.

THE RUNDOWN

• Rutgers went ahead 2-0 in the top of the third. Hoklotubbe led off with a single to right and advanced to second off a sac bunt from Kiana Workman. The fifth-year Scarlet Knight then beat a pair of tags stealing second and then home to put RU up 1-0. Callaway added the inning's other run with a double to center.
• Herka drove in Payton from first with a double to right-center in the fourth to extend the Scarlet Knights' lead to 3-0.
• The Lady Lions got onto the scoreboard in the fifth off a Lilia Crouthamel RBI single to left.
• PSU did damage in the bottom of the sixth scoring three runs on three hits. The Lady Lions loaded the bases for Michelle Leone to add a run off a single to center. A Crouthamel double off the left field wall put PSU ahead.

KNIGHT NOTES

• Lincavage hit .385 during the Penn State series, leading Rutgers with five hits on the weekend. She collected a double and two runs scored.
• Hoklotubbe batted .333 with a trio of hits and two runs scored. She also added a pair of stolen bases.

SATURDAY DOUBLEHEADER HIGHLIGHTS

 

UP NEXT

Rutgers returns home to the Rutgers Softball Complex to welcome Wisconsin for a four-game series beginning Friday, April 16.


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