(Photo Courtesy of Penn State Athletics)
TEMPE, Ariz. – The Penn State softball team closed out the Kajikawa Classic on a high note, posting a dominant 6-1 victory over the Seattle Redhawks on Sunday morning at the Tempe Sports Complex. The win moves the Nittany Lions to 3-2 overall, marking the best start to a season since 2010.
Freshman pitcher Marlaina Laubach (Northampton, Pa.) registered her second win of the year to remain perfect at 2-0 and pitched her first complete game as a Nittany Lion. Laubach allowed just four hits and notched four strikeouts against the Redhawks.
Sophomore Macy Jones (Ashburn, Va.) turned in a game-high three hits, going 3-for-3 at the plate with two runs and two RBIs while freshman Kristina Brackpool (Valencia, Calif.) finished 2-for-3 with her first hit and first homerun with the Blue and White, notching three RBIs.
Penn State got on the board early once again, registering its first run of the contest in the second inning. Jones ripped a double to center field to get on base and was brought in by Brackpool, who sent a single to right field for her first RBI.
Seattle tied things up in the third with their only run of the game. Brianna Guerro brought Isabella Geronimo home on a fielder’s choice to knot the game up at one run apiece.
The Nittany Lions took over in the fourth inning, notching three additional runs. A Jones single to center field drove in freshman Mary Ward (Greencastle, Pa.) and Brackpool’s two-RBI homer sent Jones across the plate, bringing the count to 4-1.
PSU extended its lead to 6-1 in the fifth, earning runs from sophomore Lexi Knief (Ramsey, N.J.) and senior Alyssa Sovereign (La Canada, Calif.). Sovereign doubled into center to pull in Knief and was brought in by a Jones single to right field.
Laubach went perfect in the final three innings to keep the Redhawks at bay, leaving the final score at 6-1.
The Blue and White return to action next weekend, traveling to Baton Rouge, La. for LSU’s Tiger Invitational. The Lions open the five-game stretch with a non-conference matchup against Big Ten foe Northwestern on Friday at 11 a.m. PSU will also face LSU and George Washington over the three-day competition.
