Bianchini continued to ignore her inexperience yesterday, sparking a fifth-inning rally as her Lady Lions team swept the second game of a doubleheader against Ohio, 2-1. Penn State won the opener 6-0, ending the day with a 15-11 mark on the season.

Down 1-0 with just seven outs remaining, Bianchini started a two-out, fifth-inning rally with a single. The rookie center fielder promptly stole second base to put the tying run in scoring position.

Senior Terra Pracht followed with a single that dropped behind third base, scoring Bianchini to knot the tally at 1-1.

Penn State added another run later that inning and held on for the one-run victory.

According to Bianchini, the situation doesn't matter much to her.

"There's not any extra pressure when nobody's on," she said. "Even if somebody's on, I have to get a hit anyway."

Lions coach Robin Petrini said Bianchini's clutch-hitting isn't anything new.

"When people come through, you expect them to come through again," the third-year coach said. "Gina has come through before, so we expected her to do it again."

Bianchini finished the day 3 for 6 at the plate, scoring three of Penn State's eight runs and stealing five bases in the doubleheader. She improved her team-leading batting average to .440 in her first season of collegiate competition.

Penn State pitchers Tanis Ambelang and Jaci Kalp, winners of 13 games between them this season, handled mound chores once again, limiting the Bobcats to one unearned run in 14 innings of work. The two pitchers have now thrown more than 140 of Penn State's 173 innings played.

Despite the dependency on Ambelang and Kalp, senior Jodie Ricciardi said their strong performances don't go unnoticed.

"I don't think we take them for granted," Ricciardi said. "But we definitely expect a lot out from them.

"They were awesome tonight."

Along with the pitching staff, Ricciardi also played an important role in the sweep. The senior left fielder, batting leadoff, chipped in two hits and one RBI in the first game. She added her 16th stolen base to increase her career tally to 81, tops in Penn State history.

Other major contributors for Penn State were shortstop Terra Pracht (4 for 5 with one RBI and one run) and second baseman Allison Medellin, who delivered a two-out triple in the third inning of the opener to plate Bianchini and Pracht.

Petrini's running offense again controlled the basepaths, racking up 12 stolen bases on the day. With yesterday's total, Penn State now has 65 steals in just 26 games.

"Our forté is stealing bases," Petrini said. "We are going to steal on you."

Iowa is next on the Lions' schedule, traveling to Lady Lion Field for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday and a game starting at noon Sunday. The Hawkeyes hold a 23-2 all-time advantage over Penn State, but Petrini's troops went 1-2 against them last season. Ambelang posted a shutout in Penn State's lone win last season and the Lions lost 2-1 and 1-0 in the other two contests vs. the Hawkeyes.