UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – After leading Penn State softball to a 32-22 record this season, head coach Clarisa Crowell was named the 2022 ECAC Softball Coach of the Year Thursday by the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Senior pitcher Bailey Parshall was named All-ECAC honorable mention, as well.
The Nittany Lions improved their win total by 25 games from 2021 to 2022, which is the biggest turnaround in NCAA Division I. Penn State reached the 30-win mark for the first time since 2016 and the 13th time in program history.
With a 13-10 record in Big Ten Conference play, Penn State finished above .500 in Big Ten Conference play for the seventh time in program history (30 seasons – does not count 2020 COVID season), and first time since going 14-9 in 2016. In addition, the Nittany Lions' 13 Big Ten wins are third most in program history. Penn State claimed at least one win in every Big Ten series for the first time in program history since the Big Ten returned to three-game series in 2012 and second time overall (2003).
Among the other accomplishments for the 2022 Nittany Lions, Penn State earned its first win over Michigan since 2007 and was the squad's first ranked road win since Feb. 10, 2017. With a sweep of Purdue, Penn State recorded its first Big Ten series sweep since 2016 (Maryland).
Penn State registered 12 shutouts on the season, the most by a Nittany Lion squad since the 2008 team had 13 shutouts. At the plate, the Nittany Lions' 75 doubles ranked tied for second in program history, while their 43 home runs rank third in program history.
Parshall led the way by earning NFCA All-American third team honors to go along with first-team All-Big Ten accolades. Parshall is just the fifth NFCA All-American in program history. She was dominant in the circle for the Nittany Lions, posting a 22-9 record with a 1.68 ERA and nine shutouts in 212.1 innings.
Junior catcher Cassie Lindmark collected NFCA All-Region third team and All-Big Ten second team laurels. Lindmark provided immediate pop for the Nittany Lion lineup, hitting .400 from the leadoff spot with a .508 on-base percentage. She is the sixth Nittany Lion (seventh occurrence) to hit .400 in a season and ranks tied for sixth on the program's single-season charts.
Additionally, senior catcher Ally Kurland was selected first-team CoSIDA Academic All-District. She tied the school record with 18 doubles and ranked second in program history with 16 home runs on the year. Senior outfielder Lilia Crouthamel collected Big Ten All-Defensive team honors after a stellar season in the field.