Klosowicz’s Career Day Highlights Saturday Split at NFCA Leadoff Classic – Penn State

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Sophomore third baseman Brooke Klosowicz crushed her first collegiate home run and tallied a quartet of hits on the day, as the Penn State softball team booked a split of Saturday’s doubleheader at the NFCA Leadoff Classic from the Eddie C. Moore Complex. Penn State earned its first win of the 2025 season via a 9-1, six-inning rout of the Kennesaw State Owls, and dropped a 6-1 defeat to the No. 24 Mississippi State Bulldogs in the nightcap.

Following Saturday’s action in sunny South Florida, Penn State’s overall season record moved to 1-3, with PSU securing its first victory of the campaign against the Owls. Kennesaw State dropped to 0-4 on the season following its own twin-bill against a pair of Keystone State rivals in Penn State and Pittsburgh. Mississippi State booked a pair of wins on the day, rising to 3-1 overall this season following results against Bethune-Cookman and PSU. The Blue & White picked up a win in the sixth all-time meeting with KSU, rising to 5-1 all-time against the Owls while dropping to 2-6 against Mississippi State following the eighth meeting in program history in Clearwater.

Klosowicz, a native of Johnsburg, Illinois, hit .500 on Saturday afternoon with an eye-popping 1.250 slugging percentage following a 2-for-4 day at the dish with a home run, four RBI, a run scored and a pair of sacrifice flies. Klosowicz’s dinger against Kennesaw State marked the first of her collegiate career, with the Penn State infielder leading the offensive effort in the first Nittany Lion victory of 2025. Elsewhere in the lineup, sophomore outfielder Michela Barbanente had a career day with an .833 on-base percentage thanks to a trio of walks and a 2-for-3 performance at the plate to lead all Penn Staters in that statistic. Freshman outfielder Natalie Lieto impressed in her first pair of collegiate performances, going 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored, a hit-by-pitch and a triple en route to a 1.000 slugging percentage.

In the circle, Penn State called on a pair of impressive performances from veteran pitchers to carry the Blue & White through its second day of the 2025 season. Senior right-hander Mady Volpe paced the pitching staff with 8.2 innings of effort, allowing zero earned runs while holding a pair of opponents to just three hits and a .107 batting average. Volpe additionally contributed a quartet of punchouts after earning the start against Kennesaw State and closing things out against MSU. Senior southpaw