STATE COLLEGE, Pa., April 3, 2002-The Penn State softball team (16-15) defeated the St. Francis Red Flash (16-10) in both games of the doubleheader Wednesday night (9-0, 8-0). Freshman pitchers
Missy Beseres (Golden Valley, Minn.) and
Tina Skelly (Greensburg, Pa.) each threw complete no-hitters in the season home-opener. It is the first time in Penn State softball history that a team has had more than one no-hitter in a season.
In the first game, the Lions started off hot scoring three runs in the first inning. In the second inning, senior Jennifer Tripken (Middleton, N.Y.) hit a home run to straight-away center for her ninth home run of the year, giving the Lions a 5-0 lead. Junior Megan Humphrey (San Diego, Calif.) soon added another run when she hit a solo home run to center. On the defensive end the Lions were just as tough, keeping the Red Flash off the bases. Beseres tallied eleven strikeouts in her first home game as Nittany Lion. The contest ended in the fifth inning with a score of 9-0.
In the second game, the Lions were equally as tough, again allowing no hits in freshman Tina Skelly's first home start. Penn State scored two in the second inning and followed that up with three runs in the third inning. In the fourth inning Tripken hit her tenth home run of the season with a shot to left center. The score was 8-0 in five innings to end the game.
Penn State will face Minnesota on Friday, April 5, 2002 at 6 p.m. and then again on Saturday, April 6 at 1 p.m.
