WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Penn State softball fell to the Purdue Boilermakers in the final game of the 2023 regular season, dropping a 2-1 decision Sunday afternoon at Bittinger Stadium.
 
Penn State earned the seventh seed in the Big Ten Conference Softball Tournament, the league office announced shortly after Sunday's competitions went final. The Blue & White will open the tournament in the first round against the 10th-seeded Michigan Wolverines on Wednesday, May 10, at 2:30 p.m. (ET). All Big Ten Tournament matchups will be played at Eichelberger Field on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Penn State has finished in the top half of the conference standings in consecutive seasons, also earning the seventh seed in the 2022 tournament.
 
The Nittany Lions move to 30-15 overall in the 2023 campaign and drop to 11-11 following the loss at Purdue. Penn State finished the Big Ten regular season with a .500-or-better record for the second straight season and accomplished that feat for the first time since the 2005 and 2006 teams did so. With the win, Purdue ended its season with a 23-30 overall record coupled with a 6-17 mark in Big Ten Conference play. 
 
Penn State's pitching staff and defense put together a dominant effort, registering five one-two-three innings in the contest. Fifth-year lefty pitcher Bailey Parshall went 6.0 innings and yielded just two hits during her time in the circle. She allowed only one earned run in the game, walking one Boilermaker batter against nine convincing strikeouts. Fifth-year right-hander Kylee Lingenfelter closed the game out, pitching 0.2 innings while being saddled with the loss.
 
PSU's defense played yet another spotless game behind its two pitchers, its fourth error-free game in the last five contests in addition to its second consecutive errorless game. On the offensive end, the Nittany Lions saw a solid outing from junior right fielder Liana Jones, who flexed her extra-base abilities with a double in the top of the fifth inning. Senior shortstop Kaitlyn Morrison also booked her fifth-straight game with an RBI, registering a sac fly in the top of the first that brought senior left fielder Maggie Finnegan home.
 
Despite the final result, things went well early for the Blue & White, as Finnegan opened the game with a swinging strikeout but reached first base after a dropped third strike by the Boilermaker catcher. Finnegan then stole second and advanced to third after a sacrifice bunt by junior third baseman Emily Maddock. Morrison stepped into the box and cranked a sac fly to left field, allowing Finnegan time to complete her journey home to give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 advantage.
 
Purdue managed to get a pair of baserunners on in the home half of the first, but the Penn State defense managed to escape the jam unscathed. From that point forward, each pitching staff and defense locked into an intense battle. Parshall worked five straight one-two-three innings and recorded a whopping nine strikeouts in that span. On the other side, Purdue's Alexa Pinarski managed to keep the Nittany Lion attack at bay long enough to leave the door open for her offense. The Boilermakers tied the game with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh and took the series finale with a walk-off single five batters later to finalize the 2-1 win.
 
TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS
Bailey Parshall | 6.0 IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 9K
Liana Jones | 1-for-2, 2B
Kaitlyn Morrison | SAC Fly
 
KEY INNINGS
T1 | Maggie Finnegan opened the game with a swinging strikeout but reached first base after a dropped third strike by the Boilermaker catcher. Finnegan then stole second and advanced to third after an Emily Maddock sacrifice bunt. Kaitlyn Morrison stepped into the box and cranked a sac fly to left field, allowing Finnegan time to complete her journey home. PSU 1, PUR 0
 
B7 | Alex Echazarreta hit a solo home run to center field to tie the game. A pair of Boilermakers grounded out, but Emilee Cox extended the inning with a walk. Kyndall Bailey came in to pinch run for Cox at first and advanced to third after a Bella Bacon single. Olivia McFadden walked it off by singling to shallow center, driving Bailey in. PUR 2, PSU 1
 
UP NEXT
Penn State softball awaits the first round of the 2023 Big Ten Conference Softball Tournament against the 10th-seeded Michigan Wolverines on Wednesday, May 10, with first pitch slated for 2:30 p.m. (ET). The four-day tournament from Eichelberger Field on the campus of the University of Illinois is slated to begin on Wednesday, May 10 and conclude on Saturday, May 13, with all 11 games set to air nationally on Big Ten Network.
 
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State softball. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion softball team on Facebook at /pennstatesoftball as well as Twitter and Instagram @PennStateSB.