The crowd at Nittany Lion field watched intently as a ball was hit foul into the home dugout and screamed directly toward outfielder Gina Bianchini.

Just as the ball was about to hit her Bianchini did an incredible split in midair and the ball sailed directly under her. The crowd murmured in amazement at the feat they had just witnessed.

Unfortunately for Bianchini and her fellow teammates it was one of the only athletic plays she has been able to make during a game all season.

Bianchini has been sitting with her teammates in the dugout for all but four games this season and will not return to the lineup until next season. It is not because she doesn't posses the physical gifts to play on the team. In fact, she has been called one of the best pure athletes to ever put on a Penn State softball uniform.

The reason she has not been in the lineup is that she has been injured and will forego the end of this season to keep her two years of eligibility.

It was Feb. 17. The Lions were playing in their first tournament of the season and were facing Texas A&M in College Station, Tex. It was the sixth inning and the bases were empty. Aggie pitcher Amy Vining wound up and threw the ball toward the plate. To the horror of the Lions the ball hit Bianchini square on her ulna, a bone that is up near the wrist.

"When it first happened I was happy because I got on base," Bianchini said. "As I started down the line I realized I couldn't move it. It was cold so I thought I was fine and that it was just swelling up. I didn't think I broke it"

She was evaluated while the team played extra innings against the Aggies and it was determined that she had broken the bone. She would have to miss about eight weeks of action.

"When I actually heard it, I was in College Station and I still didn't believe I would be out for the entire season," Bianchini said.

The Lions came home and the team physician reevaluated Bianchini. He told them the same thing.

"When he said that to me I immediately thought redshirt," head coach Robin Petrini said. "She is such a great player and to take out six to eight weeks of a season that is basically only 10 to 12 weeks long, it's just not fair."

There is a good reason why the team would not want to waste an entire year of Bianchini's career. Coming into this season she had only two years of experience, but in those two years she proved to be a major cog in the Lions' offensive machine.

As a freshman, Bianchini made an immediate impact on a Penn State squad that would be the first in school history to notch at least 30 wins since 1988. Bianchini led the Lions in runs scored and was second in both batting average and stolen bases.

As dominant as her first year at Penn State was, it would only be a prelude to what she would accomplish in her sophomore season. Last season she earned honors as first team All-Big Ten and second team All-Great Lakes Region. Bianchini used her impressive speed to swipe a team record 42 bases, good enough to lead the entire Big Ten. Her 0.75 stolen bases per game ranked ninth in the entire nation.

Bianchini also led the team in runs scored last season and placed third in a Lions lineup that had six players bat above .300. She came into this season tied with current senior co-captain Karen Gulini for second all time in stolen bases with 70.

"When I think of her I think of intensity," senior co-captain Colleen Kersey said about Bianchini. "I'd say that and speed. Her and Karen are dangerous on the base paths"

In the beginning of the season it looked as though Bianchini would destroy the marks that she had last year. After the first four games she was batting .600 and had scored three runs. Petrini said that the team lost much when Bianchini came out of the lineup.

"You lose her enthusiasm for the game," Petrini said. "She's great on the bases, steals 40 bases a year, she hits over .300 and she runs things down in the outfield."

Even though she has not been able to play on the field Bianchini has still been helpful to the team. Gulini said that Bianchini has almost taken on a coaching role in the dugout and that she is constantly in the game.

Bianchini will be back next season to head a Lions team that will lose eight seniors. She said that she thinks she will be back to her old tricks next season.

"I see myself picking up right where I left off," Bianchini said. "That's what I hope to do. I'll hopefully pick up where I left off, help the team win, get to another regional and get back to winning."

Big Ten opponents take note: Enjoy the rest while you can.