First PSUAC win for Coach Marlo

Penn State New Kensington Secures Opening Day PSUAC Victory Under Coach Marlo

Penn State New Kensington - 9, Penn State Du Bois - 5

The Penn State New Kensington softball team opened its PSUAC season with a strong 9-5 victory over Penn State Du Bois, marking Coach Marlo's first PSUAC win as a head coach.

Despite falling behind early, New Kensington displayed resilience and offensive firepower to take control of the game.

Game Recap: Penn State Du Bois took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning as Sienna Barnhart's RBI single brought in Jessy Frank. New Kensington quickly responded with Linda Shepard's RBI double, scoring Kali Barnett to tie the game at 1-1.

The third inning saw Du Bois reclaim the lead, plating three runs off a Makena Baney single, a Kelsey Stuart double, and a sacrifice fly by Audrey Walker, making it 4-1. However, New Kensington stormed back in the bottom half, with Olivia Waldrop's RBI double, another Shepard double, and an Antonia Velasquez RBI single evening the score at 4-4.

Du Bois momentarily edged ahead in the fourth on Jessy Frank's RBI double, but New Kensington answered back with Jaiden Patterson's sacrifice fly and a crucial RBI double from Barnett to put New Kensington ahead 6-5.

New Kensington extended the lead in the fifth when Shai Moore singled in Piper Zufall. Insurance runs came in the sixth, with Waldrop's sacrifice fly and Zufall's RBI single pushing the advantage to 9-5, sealing the victory.

Pitching Performance: Linda Shepard (W, 1-0) started for New Kensington, tossing three innings, allowing four runs on five hits, striking out two. Brookelyn Kotch came in relief and shut down Du Bois, pitching four innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts to secure the win.

Key Offensive Contributions:

• Linda Shepard: 3-for-4, 2 doubles, 2 RBI

• Kali Barnett: 1-for-2, 2B, RBI, 3 runs scored

• Olivia Waldrop: 1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI

• Antonia Velasquez: 3-for-4, 2B, RBI

• Piper Zufall: 1-for-3, RBI, run scored

• Shai Moore: 1-for-3, RBI

• Brookelyn Kotch: 1-for-4, run scored

With this win, Penn State New Kensington starts the PSUAC campaign strong, giving Coach Marlo his first conference victory. They will look to carry this momentum into the next matchup.