After back-to-back no-hitters by the Penn State softball team's two freshman pitchers on Wednesday against St. Francis, things should get considerably harder this weekend.
The Nittany Lions (16-15, 2-2 Big Ten) will host conference foes Minnesota and Wisconsin in five games at Nittany Lion Field this weekend. The action begins with a matchup against the No. 24 Golden Gophers (24-11, 1-1) tonight at 6. The teams will square off again Saturday at 1 p.m., and the Lions will then host the Badgers (20-10, 3-1) in a doubleheader Sunday at noon.
"It's going to be a lot tougher," pitcher Missy Beseres said. "Minnesota's a good team right now, they've been winning a lot of games. They have a lot better hitters (than St. Francis)."
Beseres and teammate Tina Skelly each held the Red Flash hitless in Wednesday's double-header home opener, but the Lions expect to see more experienced hitters this weekend. The Gophers are led by senior left fielder Tammi Hays, a 2001 All-Big Ten selection currently hitting .402 with 23 runs scored. Junior right fielder Jordanne Nygren, also a all-conference selection last season, is batting .327 with 19 runs batted in.
Lions' head coach Robin Petrini opted to rest ace Marisa Hanson to give Beseres and Skelly some much-needed confidence entering the weekend. That means that Hanson will be seeing plenty of time on the mound as her team hopes for some crucial Big Ten victories. "The Big Ten is dog-eat-dog," Petrini said. "Minnesota and Wisconsin are in the thick of it, as I expect us to be. It's going to come down to one break here or there, that's going to be the difference in all these ballgames."
The Lions might need a few breaks as they face the Gophers' deadly tandem of pitchers, sophomore Piper Marten and junior Angie Recknor. Marten is currently 15-7 with a 0.83 ERA, while Recknor record stands at 8-4 while giving up 0.80 runs per seven innings.
The pitching competition will only be tougher Sunday, as the Lions will likely face Badgers' junior Andrea Kirchberg. The righthander was named co-Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for her efforts in three Badger victories against Purdue and Illinois last weekend. Kirchbauer is 12-8 on the year with a 1.34 ERA and has recorded 179 strikeouts in 130.2 innings.
Petrini said she is not as concerned about her team's chances this weekend given its strong offensive performance against St. Francis. The Lions tallied 19 hits and scored 17 runs in just 10 total innings of play on Wednesday.
"The victories are one thing, but hitting the ball as well as we did gives us confidence," Petrini said.
"That's almost as big, if not bigger."
