Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1454229
M A R C H 2 0 2 2 6 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M OLYMPIC SPORTS B ailey Parshall threw the Penn State softball team's first perfect game in 17 years, shutting down Florida In- ternational in a 7-0 victory Feb. 18 at the Panther Invitational in Miami. Parshall, a senior from Belle Vernon, Pa., finished with 11 strikeouts and didn't allow a baserunner in seven innings of work. She struck out FIU's Makayla Gar- cia swinging for the final out of the game, touching off a celebration outside of the visitors' dugout. It was the fifth perfect game in the pro- gram's history and the first since Missy Beseres shut down Saint Francis in March 2005. The Nittany Lions were off to a 6-3 start heading into a Feb. 25 doubleheader at Georgia Tech, and Parshall was a major part of their early season success. One of three pitchers to see action in Penn State's first nine games, she was 3-1 with 46 strikeouts and a 0.82 ERA. The six wins that PSU has amassed so far are only one fewer than the team recorded all last year. The Nittany Lions went 7-34 as they transitioned to a new coaching regime, with Clarisa Crowell taking over the program after eight sea- sons at Miami (Ohio). Crowell had predicted in early February that the Lions would be able to extract some positives from last year's perfor- mance, using the struggles as the founda- tion for a more successful 2022 season. "Last year as a coach, I learned how resilient my team is," she said. "We are carrying this into the new year, and we are going to be a better team overall through our experiences together." Olympic Sports Roundup WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: The Lady Lions broke an eight-game losing streak with an 83-76 victory over Nebraska on Feb. 17 at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Cornhuskers were leading by 13 points, 68- 55, early in the fourth quarter, when Penn State went on a 15-0 run to take its first lead since the opening minutes. Junior guard Shay Hagans was fouled on a fast-break layup and hit the ensuing free throw to put the Lady Lions up by two, 70- 68, with just over six minutes to play. Penn State never trailed again. "I'm just really, really proud of them, every single one of them," coach Carolyn Kieger said after watching her team improve to 10-15 overall and 4-11 in Big Ten play. "We needed this. We needed this in a big way. … I'm really proud of their toughness. We've been preaching toughness all year, and they showed it." Junior guard Makenna Marisa paced Penn State with 22 points, six rebounds and eight assists, while senior guard Kelly Jekot hit four of her five three-point attempts and finished with 13 points. In early February, Marisa was one of 17 play- ers named to the watch list for the Dawn Staley Award, which is presented by the Phoenix Club of Philadelphia to the most outstanding guard in the country. Through 25 contests, Marisa was second in the Big Ten with a scoring average of 22.4 points per game. MEN'S VOLLEYBALL: Fourth-ranked Penn State ran its streak of straight-set wins to five with a sweep of Saint Francis on Feb. 19 at Rec Hall. Senior outside hitter Brett Wildman had 13 kills and posted a .524 hitting percentage, while se- nior setter Cole Bogner had 41 assists in the vic- tory, which improved the Nittany Lions' record to 10-3 overall and 5-0 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. "I think the respect we gave to Saint Francis — because they've beaten the same teams we've beaten in the EIVA — paid off for us big time," coach Mark Pavlik said. "We played at a very high level all match long." The Nittany Lions' victory was their sixth in a row. The winning streak began on Jan. 29 with a 3-2 triumph over third-ranked Long Beach State at the Battle of the Bigs in Long Beach, Calif. It continued with a sweep of visiting Princeton on Feb. 4 in the teams' EIVA opener, followed by sweeps of George Mason, Harvard and Sacred Heart leading up to the match against Saint Francis. WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY: Penn State completed its regular season with a 2-0 shutout of RIT on Feb. 19 at Pegula Ice Arena. Junior forward Rachel Weiss scored for Penn State, and sophomore forward Kiara Zanon added Parshall retired all 21 batters she faced in Penn State's 7-0 shutout of FIU at the Panther Invitational in Miami on Feb. 18. PHOTO BY ERIC ESPADA/PENN STATE ATHLETICS Pitcher Perfect Senior Bailey Parshall makes history for the Penn State softball team MATT HERB | MATT@BLUEWHITEONLINE.COM