Charlottesville, Va., Mar. 22, 2002 - The Penn State softball team exploded offensively on the first day of the Hoo's Who Tournament in Charlottesville, Va., Friday night. The Nittany Lions recorded a school-record 22 hits in the 10-0 rout over Wright State in game two to complete the sweep. PSU took game one by a score of 4-1. Penn State improves to 10-11 on the season while the Raiders drop to 4-10.
The Nittany Lions also had four home runs over the course of the two games and three in game two. Junior Megan Humphrey's (San Diego, Calif./Mount Carmel) home run in the second inning of game one gave the Lions a 2-0 lead they would never relinquish. A solo home run by Humphrey in game two pushed the Penn State lead to 5-0 in the sixth inning of game two. Junior Jackie Dabrowski (Lafayette Hill, Pa./Whitemarsh Plymouth) hit a home run in the second inning of game to, giving the Lions a 2-0 advantage early on. Sophomore Erica Greenberg (Irvine, Calif./Calvary Chapel) keyed a five-run seventh inning, hitting her first-career home run and driving in a career-high three runs.
In game one, Humphrey and Dabrowski were responsible for all four of the Nittany Lions' runs. After Humphrey's homer in the second inning, Dabrowski singled over the shortstop's head two drive in two more in the third inning.
Sophomore Marisa Hanson (Victoria, Texas/Victoria) had another solid performance in the pitching circle to garner the victory. She pitched five scoreless innings and struck out two and walked just two batters. She improves to 5-4 on the season. Game two began the same way as game one, as the Lions' took a quick 2-0 lead in the second inning with just one swing of the bat courtesy of Dabrowski. However, the game would end much differently, as the Lions went on to score eight more runs, including five in the top of the seventh inning to put the game out of reach. Every Nittany Lion in the lineup got a hit, including freshmen Steph Viola (Minersville, Pa.) and Gloria Yablonsky (Hazelton, Pa./Hazelton) who posted their first-career hit in a Penn State uniform. Viola, Humphrey and senior captain Jennifer Tripken (Middletown, N.Y./Minisink Valley) all went 3-for-4 at the plate to lead the team to victory.
Redshirt freshman Shana Riggleman (Seaford, Del./Seaford) earned her second win of the season, throwing five shutout innings. She also posted three strikeouts. Freshman Missy Beseres (Golden Valley, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) closed out the last two innings to combine with Riggleman for the shutout victory, limiting the Raiders to three hits.
Penn State will take on Drexel on day two of the Hoo's Who Tournament in Charlottesville, Va. The doubleheader was rescheduled for 12 p.m.
