March 31, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
SCOUTING MICHIGAN
The No. 10 Wolverines enter the series 22-9 overall and 0-2 in Big Ten play after losses at then-No. 14 Northwestern and non-conference wins over Loyola Chicago. Amdanda Chidester leads Michigan in batting average (.408), hits (40) and RBI (25). With six doubles, thre triples and five home runs, she has maintained a slugging percentage of .648. Nikki Nemitz has proven to be a double threat at bat and in the circle as she closely follows Chidester with a .326 average and 18 RBI while keeping a low ERA of 0.93. She also strikes out an average of 10.24 batters per game.
The Wolverines have picked up notable wins against then-No. 4 UCLA, 7-4, then-No. 21 Fresno State, 3-1, then-No. 16 Louisiana-Lafayette, 9-1 (in six innings) and then-No. 12 Arizona, 4-0.
In addition, Nemitz has been named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week three times.
This will be the 48th and 49th meetings between the Wolverines and the Nittany Lions. In a series that began in 1992, Michigan holds the advantage at 7-40.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
Penn State enters the series 9-16 overall and 0-4 in Big Ten play after two losses to No. 10 Northwestern over the weekend. Senior center fielder Sam Hovanec (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and freshman third baseman Ashley Todd (Mill Creek, Wash.) lead the Lions with batting averages of .333. Desi Giordano (West Caldwell, N.J.) has accumulated 10 extra-base hits, seven of which are home runs for an impressive .636 slugging percentage.
Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.) has seen increased time in the circle, but her ERA of 5.27 is not reflective of her contribution to the team. Over the year she has struck out 76 batters in 83.2 innings of work, 19 of which went down looking. Her ability to move the ball has aided in her success of fanning 6.39 batters per seven innings.
Penn State has notable wins against then-No. 13 DePaul, 4-1, and then-No. 12 Arizona, 9-6. The win over the Blue Demons came at the NFCA Leadoff Classic as the Nittany Lions rallied in the sixth to plate four and never looked back. Jackie Hill (San Jose, Calif.) threw a one-hitter in the victory. More recently, the Lions upended the Wildcats of Arizona at the Judi Garman Classic with an explosive first inning as they drove in four runs with the help of a three run blast by Hovanec. Arizona threatened as the Wildcats brough the score to 4-5 in the fifth, but Penn State mimicked the success of the first inning in the sixth with four more runs as Giordano added a three-run shot of her own.
LAST TIME OUT
In the misty home opener at Nittany Lion field, Penn State dropped both games to No. 10 Northwestern over the weekend. The Lions found themselves up by one before a four-run fourth frame by the Wildcats and a solo home run in the sixth held the Lions at a disadvantage. Never the team to go down without a fight, Desi Giordano (West Caldwell, N.J.) blasted her seventh home run of the season in the bottom of the seventh to score Kayce Zielinski (Arlington, Texas) in the process. Unfortunately, the game ended with a strike out as Northwestern won the 5-3 decision.
Sunday's game turned out differently as the Wildcats poured it on with multiple home runs to take the game 10-0 in five innings. Senior first baseman Danielle Kinley (Carlsbad, Calif.) and junior left fielder Ashley Griffith (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) tallied the only two hits for Penn State on the day as the Lions lost their sixth straight game.
LAST TIME AGAINST MICHIGAN
Penn State closed out the 2008 campaign with two games against then-No. 6 Michigan. The first game was a marathon with 10 innings, but back-to-back home runs by Angela and Samantha Findlay gave the Wolverines a 2-0 win as Penn State went three and out in the bottom half of the frame.
The final game of the series saw two more home runs from the Wolverines as Dorian Shaw hit a two-run blast in the second and Samantha Findlay followed with a solo shot in the fourth for the final run of the day. Penn State matched Michigan's five hits on the day, but never got past third as the season ended in a 3-0 decision in favor of the Wolverines.
