TALLAHASSEE, Fla.; March 12, 2004- The Nittany Lion softball team (7-14) lost a 2-0 decision to Florida A&M (16-15) Friday night to end their first day of pool play at the Florida State Invitational.

Ruby Nugent doubled to being the first inning for the Lady Rattlers, who were the home team by coin flip. Florida A&M put two runners on when Raven Rushton reached first base on an error. After Rushton stole second, both Nugent and Rushton scored on a broken pick-off attempt at third that included two Nittany Lion errors on the play. Penn State got out of the inning after a strikeout and a groundball to first, but trailed the Lady Rattlers 2-0 at the end of the first inning.

Florida A&M starter Monique Mattingly ended up no-hitting the Lions, and despite four stranded baserunners, Penn State failed to put any runs on the board. Starting pitcher Marisa Hanson (Victoria, Texas) threw eight strikeouts in the loss, falling to 3-7 on the year.

Penn State matches-up with North Carolina Saturday morning at 10 a.m. followed by a noon meeting with St. Louis to conclude pool play at the Florida State Invitational for the Lions. Penn State will then have bracket play games both Saturday night and Sunday. Opponents and times will be determined at the end of pool play.

 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 F Penn State 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Florida A&M 2 0 0 0 0 0 x 2