UNIVERSITY PARK — ‘Get better every day’ — that is the motto of Penn State softball as it approaches the end of its 2017 season.
“Goals are always the same: Get better every day in everything we do,” Penn State head coach Amanda Lehotak said. ‘Classroom, softball, life, etc. If we strive to get better in everything we do, that will take care of the winning that we all want to do. We just want to win in all phases of life and sport.”
After suffering back-to-back losses against the visiting St. Francis Red Flash at Beard Field, the Nittany Lions bounced back in College Park to take two out of three from the Maryland Terrapins.
Penn State opened up the series in full-throttle fashion, winning 10-3 when all was said and done. Senior third baseman Shelby Miller led the way with four RBIs, and sophomore left fielder Tori Dubois launched a home run to take game one.
Game two went to the Terrapins, but the Nittany Lions fought as hard as they could to preserve a winning streak. Junior Jessica Cummings was in the circle and held her own in 10.2 innings of work, before allowing the walk-off hit to Maryland in the bottom of the 11th.
Penn State won the series finale 7-5, proving its fortitude and ability to come back. The Nittany Lions were down 4-0 until the top fourth when they piled on four runs to tie it, and then three more runs in the sixth to take lead.
With the regular season coming to a close, the Nittany Lions continue to fight hard and pull out all the stops against their opponents. At (22-29) overall and (8-12) in conference play, Penn State’s sights are set on the Big Ten tournament, which begins Thursday, May 11.
While the Nittany Lions are poised to have momentum carry over into the postseason, Lehotak said that the team missed out on its goal of winning the Big Ten regular season title.
When asked what was something Penn State softball hoped to accomplish, but did not, she said:
“Not winning the Big Ten regular season. I want that for my team, alumnae and the community. We believe we can win the tournament and we will give it our best shot next week.”
Currently sitting in ninth in the Big Ten, Penn State still has a chance to leave its mark on the conference with its final series against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
With Miller, Dubois, sophomore shortstop Toni Polk and redshirt sophomore center fielder Rebecca Ziegler at the helm, the Nittany Lions have the potential to claw their way through the toughest competition in the conference.
Dubois and Ziegler are both batting over .300 at the dish, while Polk is hitting .291 and Miller is swinging at .286. Dubois is enjoying an excellent breakout campaign while leading the team in runs scored, hits and home runs, and tied for second in RBIs.
Senior Marlaina Laubach and sophomore Madison Shaffer dominate from inside the circle with ERAs of 2.91 and 3.92, giving Penn State a well-rounded unit needed to compete and win in the Big Ten.
