STATE COLLEGE, Pa.; May 4, 2000 -- The Penn State softball team will honor its 2000 senior class prior to the team's regular-season finale against Ohio State Sunday at 12:00 p.m. at Nittany Lion Field. This year's senior class includes pitcher Jaci Kalp (Greensburg, Pa.), shortstop Terra Pracht (Hawthorne, Calif.) and third baseman Leah Toth (Pottsville, Pa.).

Kalp will wrap-up her career at Penn State as one of the top pitchers in the program's history. The right hander is the school's all-time career-leader in wins (48) and strikeouts (515) and broke the Penn State single-season strikeout record this season with her current total of 174. Kalp enters the weekend in need of one more win to tie the school-record for most wins in a single season (17) which was set last year by current junior Tanis Ambelang (San Jose, Calif.). The Greensburg, Pa., native leads the pitching staff with a 16-7 record, nine complete-game shutouts and an ERA of 1.61. Kalp has a 3.71 grade point average in kinesiology and is a GTE Academic All-America candidate.

Pracht has been a mainstay at shortstop during her career as a Nittany Lion. She had a remarkable streak of 115 straight starts at shortstop snapped on Feb. 26 vs. Texas Tech when she opened the game as the Lions' designated hitter. Last season, Pracht was selected by the Penn State coaching staff as the team's most valuable player after leading the squad with a .347 batting average and 23 RBI. She is hitting .271 this season and has started 42 of the team's 47 games. The Hawthorne, Calif. native has a 3.49 gpa in Marketing and is a GTE Academic All-America candidate, having earned Academic All-District honors in 1999.

Toth has been used mostly as a pinch hitter during her senior campaign after missing a majority of last season due to a severe knee injury. The Pottstown, Pa., native has appeared in 15 games this season either as a pinch hitter or as a defensive replacement at third base.

Penn State is 32-15 overall and 10-5 in Big Ten play and on the verge of breaking into the national rankings, earning the No. 26 spot in this week's USA Today/Coaches Top 25 poll. The Lions, who have already clinched a berth in their second consecutive Big Ten Tournament (May 11-13), close out the regular season this weekend at Nittany Lion Field when they host Ohio State in a two-game series. The Lions and Buckeyes play Saturday at 2:00 p.m. with the finale Sunday at 12:00 p.m.

Coach Robin Petrini's squad is three victories away from tying its school record win total of 35, set last year, when the Lions were 35-22.