Linda Shepard Fires Shutout, Lifts Penn State New Kensington Over Schuylkill, 2–0

Linda Shepard Fires Shutout, Lifts Penn State New Kensington Over Schuylkill, 2–0

New Kensington, Pa. – Behind a dominant complete-game shutout from senior Linda Shepard, Penn State New Kensington blanked Penn State Schuylkill, 2–0, in a crisp, two-hour contest at home.

Shepard was in full command from the first pitch, scattering just three hits over seven innings. She struck out two, walked only one, and needed just 74 pitches to finish the job. The right-hander faced 27 batters—exactly the minimum—thanks to a tidy defense and two double plays that helped keep Schuylkill off the base paths.

The scoring came in small bursts. In the bottom of the fourth, Shepard helped herself in a big way, blasting a solo home run to left—her second in as many games—to give New Kensington the lead. An inning later, Piper Zufall added some insurance with an RBI single that scored Olivia Waldrop, who had reached earlier on a fielder's choice.

Though Schuylkill starter Emma Crisswell was solid in defeat—going the distance with eight strikeouts—her offense couldn't solve Shepard's steady command and efficiency. The visitors mustered just three singles, all harmlessly scattered, and failed to move a runner past second base all afternoon.

Zufall led the offense with two hits and an RBI, while Kali Barnett chipped in a double and a walk. Despite a quiet day from the top of the lineup, New Kensington did just enough at the plate and played error-limited defense to secure the win.

Penn State New Kensington Stats

Batting

• Hits: 7 (Zufall 2, Barnett, Shepard, Velasquez, Kotch, Moore)

• Runs: 2 (Waldrop, Shepard)

• RBIs: Shepard (1), Zufall (1)

• Extra-Base Hits: Barnett (2B), Shepard (HR)

• Walks: 2 (Barnett, Patterson)

• Strikeouts: 8

Pitching

• Linda Shepard – 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR (Win)

• Total Pitches: 74 (51 strikes)

Fielding

• Errors: Barnett, Rivera