UNIVERSITY PARK – Powered by five home runs in the game and an eight-run home half of the third inning, the Penn State softball team roared out of the gates in its Big Ten Conference series-opening matchup with the Maryland Terrapins, taking the lid-lifting contest by a 13-5 differential in five innings of play Friday from Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field.

The long ball was the story of the game for PSU on Friday, with the Blue & White setting a team season-high in single-game home runs with five in the contest. Penn State surpassed its previous season-best mark of four set during the team’s last home series against Wisconsin on March 21. The Blue & White blasted five home runs for the first time since accomplishing that feat in a historic 23-0 drubbing of the Fairfield Stags during last year’s record-setting offensive campaign, with the 2025 squad combining to launch five homers in a game on March 7. The Nittany Lions finished the day with 13 runs on just eight hits, crossing into double figures in the run column for the 11th time this season and improving to 11-0 overall when doing so.

With the series-opening win in hand, Penn State moved back to .500 in Big Ten Conference competition at 5-5 in league play, simultaneously improving to 24-12 overall this year. In defeat, Maryland drops to 13-21 overall and 1-12 in conference contests. In the all-time series between the two programs, Penn State picked up its 28th win in the 45th meeting, improving to 28-17 against the Terrapins since the squads first met in the 1999 campaign. Penn State will go for its fourth consecutive series win over Maryland on Saturday, with the programs set for a twin bill in Happy Valley to conclude the Big Ten Conference weekend set.

A trio of Nittany Lion freshmen led the way in what was a dominant all-around offensive performance from the Blue & White, with left fielder Breanna Hanik highlighting the corps with a 2-for-3 showing that included a pair of runs scored, five RBI and both hits coming in the form of home runs. Hanik, a native of Oak Lawn, Illinois, mustered her second multi-homer outing in the 2026 campaign, with both of those coming at home on Beard Field. Hanik also mustered the third five-plus RBI outing of the year, tying for the 10th-most in a single game in school history and bashing five RBI for the first time since Jordan George did so against Wisconsin on March 21. Hanik becomes just the second Nittany Lion in program history to have two multiple-home run showings in a freshman campaign, joining current teammate and infielder Allison Oneacre.

On the topic of Oneacre, the Alpharetta, Georgia, native contributed her 10th multiple-hit outing of the 2026 campaign with an unblemished 3-for-3 day in the batter’s box. Oneacre booked a single, double and home run in the game and finished with a pair of runs scored in addition to two RBI. Freshman first baseman Gabby Gradishar pelted the first grand slam home run of her collegiate career in the back-breaking eight-run home half of the third, with the Champion, Ohio, native finishing the game with a 1-for-1 final line that included two runs, four RBI on the grand slam and pair of walks drawn. One final home run came off the bat of junior second baseman Michela Barbanente, who put the Nittany Lions in run-rule territory with a solo blast in the bottom of the fourth to help close things out.

In the pitcher’s circle, freshman left-hander Brevyn Kellepouris earned the start and went 1.1 innings, scattering five hits with two earned runs allowed across nine batters faced. Junior righty McKenna Young threw the next 1.2 and earned the winning decision as PSU’s pitcher of record in the third frame. Young allowed a hit and unearned run in the contest, improving to 9-3 overall in the 2026 campaign to lead the Penn State pitching staff in total victories. Sophomore right-hander Abigail Britton and junior northpaw Bridget Nemeth each helped close things out with 1.0 innings of work apiece.

The game started relatively quietly, with neither team managing to work its way onto the scoreboard in the opening inning. Maryland tallied twice in the top of the second, and PSU answered in the home half with a bases-loaded walk from Barbanente to make it a one-run game. Maryland tacked on another score in the top of the third, but Penn State answered back with one of its biggest innings of the year moments later. Oneacre led off the bottom of the third and immediately got things going with a single up the middle. Junior designated player Jordan George kept the frame alive by reaching on a Terrapin fielding error that saw runners on the right side, and freshman shortstop Kalli Karwowski came in to run for George at first base. Junior right fielder Cara Bohner drew a walk on five pitches in the next plate appearance, and Gradishar entered the batter’s box with a prime opportunity shortly thereafter. The rookie took the first two pitches to the tune of a 2-0 count and smacked her first collegiate grand slam over the fence in left center to break the game open for the Blue & White. Following a Maryland pitching change, senior catcher Madison Seidel drew a walk, and Hanik promptly added two more runs to the board with a line-drive homer to left. A strikeout put two down, but a four-pitch walk from junior infielder Brooke Klosowicz and an ensuing two-run moon shot from Oneacre closed out an eight-run inning that featured three Penn State homers.

With Penn State seemingly in control of all of the momentum, Maryland attempted to claw back into the contest with two scores in the top of the fourth inning, making it a 9-5 score through three-and-a-half frames. Managing a four-run lead heading into the bottom of the fourth, Penn State’s bats went back to work looking to close things out early on Friday. With a pair of outs on the scoreboard to start the home half of the inning, Gradishar and Seidel drew back-to-back walks just before Hanik walloped her second home run of the afternoon over the scoreboard in left field to plate three more runs. Needing just one additional score to put PSU in run-rule territory, Barbanente elected to handle things herself after a gritty eight-pitch at-bat, launching the contest’s final home run down the line to close out the 13-run Nittany Lion scoring outburst. Nemeth entered the circle in the top of the fifth hoping to close things out, working with her defense to produce an out with one runner on. A Terrapin lifted what looked to be a base hit into shallow center, but a herculean diving play from Lieto in center field opened the door for a game-ending 8-3 double play that closed Friday’s action out in 13-5 fashion in just five frames.

TOP NITTANY LION PERFORMERS

Breanna Hanik | 2-for-3, 2 R, 5 RBI, 2 HR, HBP

Gabby Gradishar | 1-for-1, 2 R, 4 RBI, GRAND SLAM HR, 2 BB

Allison Oneacre | 3-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR, BB

McKenna Young | 1.2IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 1BB, 1K, 9BF, 38TP, WIN

KEY INNINGS

T2 | With one out on the board, Zayda Rocke and Caroline Fox mustered back-to-back singles to place runners on the right side. Jaylee Williams sent a single to left center moments later to leave a pair on the right side of the infield while bringing Rocke aboard. Caitlyn Cornwell singled to juice the bases, and Bailey Murphy lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Fox. UMD 2, PSU 0

B2 | Lieto led off the bottom of the second inning with a single up the middle, but a fielder’s choice saw Bohner take over for her at first base. Gradishar walked just before a popout put two away, but a hit-by-pitch drawn by Hanik loaded the bases. From there, Barbanente watched four straight balls to draw an RBI walk that put a tally on the board for the Blue & White. UMD 2, PSU 1

T3 | With a strikeout on the board, Matti Benson reached first base via a Nittany Lion fielding error. Rocke walked to put runners on the right side, and a productive grounder from Fox bumped both Terps into scoring position. Williams sent a hard-hit RBI single toward the PSU third baseman, bringing Benson in for the unearned tally. UMD 3, PSU 1

B3 | Oneacre led off the bottom of the third and immediately got things going with a single up the middle. George kept the frame alive by reaching on a Terrapin fielding error that saw runners on the right side, and Karwowski came in to run for George at first base. Bohner drew a walk on five pitches in the next plate appearance, and Gradishar entered the batter’s box with a prime opportunity shortly thereafter. The rookie took the first two pitches to the tune of a 2-0 count and smacked her first collegiate grand slam over the fence in left center to break the game open for the Blue & White. Following a Maryland pitching change, Seidel drew a walk, and Hanik promptly added two more runs to the board with a line-drive homer to left. A strikeout put two down, but a four-pitch walk from Klosowicz and ensuing two-run moon shot from Oneacre closed out an eight-run inning that featured three Penn State homers. PSU 9, UMD 3

T4 | A leadoff popup put an out on the board early on, but Sammi Woods made her presence known moments later with a single up the middle. Mariah Penta took over for Woods at first on a 5-4 fielder’s choice, and Anna McGowan drew a walk on six pitches to put runners on the right side. Gracelyn Solarz pinch ran for McGowan at first, and a double down the left field line from Benson brought both Terrapin baserunners in to make it a four-run affair. PSU 9, UMD 5

B4 | With a pair of outs on the scoreboard to start the home half of the inning, Gradishar and Seidel drew back-to-back walks just before Hanik walloped her second home run of the afternoon over the scoreboard in left field to plate three more runs. Needing just one additional score to put PSU in run-rule territory, Barbanente elected to handle things herself after a gritty eight-pitch at-bat, launching the contest’s final home run down the line to close out the 13-run Nittany Lion scoring outburst. PSU 13, UMD 5

UP NEXT

Penn State softball wraps up its three-game Big Ten Conference weekend series against the Maryland Terrapins this Saturday, April 4, as the Blue & White get set to host a doubleheader from Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field. First pitch in the opening game of the day is slated for 11 a.m. (ET), with game two to follow approximately 35 minutes following the conclusion of game one. Both contests will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app on connected devices.