Feb. 20, 2010

Box Score

SAN DIEGO - After a weather delay shuffled Saturday's action, Utah State was topped by Penn State, 6-1, in the second day of action at the San Diego State Campbell-Cartier Classic.

The Nittany Lions are under the leadership of longtime head coach and former Aggie softball player Robin Petrini, the starting shortstop for USU's 1980 and 1981 National Championship teams. The win was Petrini's 400th career win.

The Aggies were supposed to play two games Saturday but rainy, windy conditions in San Diego forced the tournament schedule to re-schedule. USU was scheduled to play Western Kentucky later Saturday but that game was cancelled.

USU is now 1-1 in tournament play after upsetting defending national champion and current No. 1 Washington on Friday, 7-4. With Saturday's loss, the Aggies are now 5-2 overall. Penn State improves to 2-1 in tournament play and 5-3 overall.

The Nittany Lions hung three on the board in the bottom of the second, taking advantage of three hit batters and a walk by USU freshman pitcher Mandy Harmon, before getting relieved by freshman Shelbi Tyteca. The big blow came in the form of a two-run double by Cassidy Bell, PSU's lone hit of the inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, PSU scored three more runs, one scoring after a wild pitch, the second on a sacrifice fly and the third after a triple by Bell, who scored on a single by Ashley Griffith.

Utah State scored its lone run of the game in the top of the fifth. Freshman second baseman Tina Ferguson led off the inning getting hit by a pitch and moved to second on a Harmon single to left. Senior shortstop Rachel Evans followed with an infield single to load the bases and senior right fielder Emily Reilly drew a walk for an RBI to bring home Ferguson before the threat was thwarted by a pop up and a strikeout. It was Reilly's fourth RBI in USU's seven games this season after only eight batted in last year.

Senior hurler Stacey Ellingsworth struck out three batter in two innings in relief of Tyteca.

Harmon, Evans and junior left fielder Joreigh Landers had USU's three hits, while sophomore third baseman Kelley Kaneshiro had her six-game hitting streak halted, going 0-for-3. Landers improved her team-leading average to exactly .400.

The Aggies will conclude tournament action on Sunday, taking on host San Diego State at 1:30 p.m. (MT).