No. 19 Michigan Sweeps Doubleheader over Penn State with Big Win in Game 2
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 19 Michigan Wolverines (27-5) beat the Penn State Nittany Lions (5-25) 12-2 in just six innings in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday at Beard Field.
In game one at the beginning of the day, Michigan won 10-0 (also in six innings), as PSU was held to just two hits the entire game.
The Wolverines got started early again in game two as Lou Allan continued her hot stretch, knocking a two-run double into the left field gap in the first inning.
It did not stop there, as Taylor Bump went deep with an opposite field two-run homerun to right to make it 4-0 as Michigan was able to capitalize on mistakes in location by Penn State starting pitcher Vanessa Oatley, who surrendered five hits in the first frame alone while Michigan batted around the order.
In the second, it was Bump again as she drove an inside off-speed pitch deep to left where it one-hopped off the wall to drive in another run and make it 5-0. Both Bump and Allan were consistent catalysts and have been thorns in the Nittany Lions’ side all series long.
Meghan Beaubien took the mound for the Wolverines. The lefthander’s combination of power pitching and deception proved consistent as the Nittany Lions struggled to figure out her stuff in the first few innings.
It was smooth sailing for the Wolverines pitcher until the third as Melody Coombs came up for Penn State with the bases loaded and one out.
Coombs ripped a ground ball on the third-base side, but it was Bump on the defensive end making a play as she stepped on the bag for the force out and rifled it over to first to get Coombs for the double play, allowing Michigan to avoid a dangerous chance for Penn State.
Lexie Blair would tack on another run for the Wolverines on a bloop single to center to make it 6-0 Michigan in the fifth. It has been a theme all series long that UM has been able to convert with runners in scoring position while the Nittany Lions have come up empty.
Penn State had another bases loaded situation in the fifth, and it was Coombs yet again, this time with two outs. Here, she was able to convert on a two-strike offspeed pitch that she drove into center field for a two-run single to make it 6-2. Beaubien flirted in and out of trouble all day, and that time, Coombs was able to make her pay.
However, that was all the Nittany Lions would get.
Michigan would add on six more runs in the sixth to make it 12-2. The inning was capped off by a three-run home run by Blair who crushed a pitch out of the middle of the plate deep over the right-field wall.
Beaubien finished off the Nittany Lions in order in the bottom of the sixth to finish the victory.
“I think [Michigan] just outplayed us in all aspects,” Penn State head coach Clarisa Crowell said. “It just wasn’t our day.”
Penn State has scored just three runs in the three games so far, being outscored 29-3 by the Wolverines offense.
This win marked the 39th straight for the Wolverines over the Nittany Lions. Penn State has not beaten Michigan since 2007.
The Wolverines and Nittany Lions will play on Sunday at noon. as the two teams will meet up for the fourth time to conclude the weekend series.
Andrew Field is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email aaf5329@psu.edu.
