Penn State Softball - July 23, 2009

Penn State (11-1) battled the Cornell Big Red (6-7), not to be confused with the cinnamon-flavored chewing gum. As storm clouds gathered around the National Mall (again), Penn State looked to make a statement with only two games left in the regular season.

Dave "Fruitful" Kranich kicked off the contest in style by making a sliding catch. The highlight play was quickly added to his Wikipedia page. Mimi Franz also made a nice play behind the plate. Coach Lyle "Lutz" Yablonsky came to the plate batting left-handed, and promptly knocked over Cornell's second basewoman with a hard grounder. This was followed by a Kranich single, a Steve "The Stud" Scheiner double, and a Kevin "The General" Ripp triple off the outfielder's glove. In the second inning, pitcher Will "Wheels" Portugal made a nice play, showing off the form that had won him 16 straight Gold Gloves. In the bottom of the inning, a hit by Brandon "Jigga What" Shaffer scored Mike "Journey Tribute" Band.

Penn State continued scoring intermittingly, despite the efforts of Cornell's senior citizen third baseman who may or may not have actually been Brooks Robinson. Scheiner hit a big fly. Pamela Klein Spicciati contributed a key hit. Joel Shadle tripled and scored. Fran "Fracture" Krylowicz also whacked a two-run triple, showing Coach Lutz was wise to substitute Krylowicz for Megan "V Factor" Krause. Krylowicz scored on the RBI hit by Ryan "PBR" Bowers. Meanwhile, Cornell struggled to score, thanks in part to a falling catch by Craig "Nickname Pending" Fritz.

However, since Penn State has to make every game interesting, they allowed Cornell back into the game in the final inning. With the clouds overhead threatening to burst, and lightning coming ever closer, the Nittany Lions were ready to pack up and run to the bar. Cornell took the opportunity to mount a furious rally in the final inning. The Average Sized Red had the tying run at the plate and steam coming out of Coach Lyle's ears, but the Nittany Lions were finally able to record the final out.

FACT: Cornell alumni include E. B. White, author of children's classic "Charlotte's Web". If Charlotte the Spider were at this game, her web would read: Penn State 9, Cornell 7. But she wasn't at the game because she died at the end of the book and it was really really really sad!!!!!! Also, Penn State has one game left before the tournament.

This writeup brought to you courtesy of Andy "Some Pig" Kilmer.