For any fan that expects an exciting softball game to entail loads of offensive production, Saturday's contest between the Penn State women's softball team and Northwestern would be sure to disappoint.

But if excitement is interpreted as a scoreless pitching duel that lasts until the final inning, then the game and its final pitch was anything but a letdown.

After the Wildcats saw another leadoff hitter ground out in the bottom of the seventh, they managed to register just their second hit of the game with a single. Then, with one on and one out, Northwestern's Garland Cooper made solid contact and sent a two-run walk-off homer over the leftfield fence, giving her team the 2-0 victory.

"It's frustrating to lose a game like this," Penn State women's softball coach Robin Petrini said.

That loss, combined with a 4-1 defeat on Friday and a 6-1, 11-6 sweep of Michigan State yesterday, split the weekend for Penn State.

Ranked last in the Big Ten in team batting average, the Nittany Lions (18-25, 4-8 Big Ten) have often had to rely on solid pitching and defense to remain competitive in games. On Saturday, it was junior pitcher Shana Riggleman's turn to fill that gap for Penn State. Riggleman held Northwestern to just one hit through the first six innings, while the Lions were struggling at the plate. And with the same confidence that Grady Little had in Pedro Martinez in last year's game seven of the American League Champion Series, Petrini chose to let her starter go another round with the Wildcats.

"Shana did a great job for us," she said. "There was no question [of taking her out]."

But the final blast closed out the sweep for Northwestern in the two-game series and knocked the wind out of the Lions in the same blow. Their one consolation though, was that the last two games of the weekend were to be played against the worst pitching crew in the conference.

"[In the previous two games] we just weren't putting the ball in play and we weren't making [the Wildcats] make plays," sophomore center fielder Leigh Murray said after yesterday's doubleheader against Michigan State. "[Today] everybody was just making clutch hits and hitting early in the count, which is definitely important when you're trying to get the pitchers on their heels."

And atop the mound, the Spartans were far back on their heels. The Lions took advantage of the vulnerable pitching and sent in a total of 17 in yesterday's doubleheader. While doing so, they earned 24 hits and two more tallies in the win column.

Led by six RBI from senior shortstop Barbie Pierce, Penn State split the weekend at 2-2 with 6-1 and 11-6 victories against the Spartans.

"Winning these two games is big. It's huge," Petrini said. "Once we started to score, then we just kept scoring. The offense was explosive today."

But the coach also made sure to credit more than just the Lions' offense for yesterday's wins.

In the top half of yesterday's doubleheader, Petrini showed her confidence hadn't waned in Riggleman. Starting on the mound, the junior gave up only one run and played all seven innings.

"The pacesetter for today was Shana. She set the tempo for the whole day by giving us that first win," Petrini said.