Timely hitting, strong pitching and manufacturing runs have been the calling card of the National League for many years.

Yesterday, the Penn State softball team looked like they had been playing in the National League East for years. The Nittany Lions (29-20, 8-8 Big Ten) shut out Kent State (26-16, 14-7 MAC) 2-0 and 4-0 at KSU Softball Field.

In game one, the Lions played small ball to score their runs. Mandy Nuxoll had a leadoff single and advanced to second on a Megan Humphrey sacrifice bunt. Kelley Galigher then singled home Nuxoll to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. The Lions were at it again in the fourth inning when Jackie Dabrowski started the inning with a single and was sacrificed over to second by Destinie Chavez. The very next batter, Erica Greenberg, singled home Dabrowski with a single to center.

Junior Marisa Hanson (13-8) shutdown the Golden Flash's lineup, allowing just three hits en route to her fifth shutout of the season. Hanson has come on strong since she broke both sides of her jaw less than two weeks ago. Penn State softball coach Robin Petrini said she is close to 100 percent.

"Our main concern is getting her enough calories into her system," Petrini said. Hanson cannot eat solid foods due to her jaw being wired shut.

In the second game of the doubleheader, sophomore Shana Riggleman (10-3) won her fifth straight decision with a three-hit shutout. Those five victories have come over the past 10 days.

The first run for the Lions was scored again with some timely hitting by Greenberg. After first baseman Erin Norton reached base on an error, and was sacrificed to second, Greenberg slugged a two-out single to center field. Humphrey doubled home an insurance run in the fifth inning and capped the day with a two-run homer over the right field fence. Humphrey finished the day with three RBI's. Petrini said that she was very pleased with her team's performance. The Lions will face another Ohio team, Ohio State, this weekend in a two-game series that has Big Ten tournament ramifications. If the Lions sweep the ninth-place Buckeyes they lock up the last spot in the playoffs over Northwestern. If the Lions split against the Buckeyes they will need Illinois to take at least one game from Northwestern in their series.

"We are ready to go into the Big Ten weekend and see what happens," Petrini said.