In their first career Big Ten games, freshman pitchers Haylie Wagner and Sara Driesenga handled the event like veterans — calm, cool and collected.

This past weekend, the No. 20 Michigan softball team swept Penn State (0-3 Big Ten, 7-18 overall) in a three-game series, winning by scores of 11-2, 12-4 and 6-0.

Michigan (3-0, 21-9) was able to find a rhythm on the mound, but its pitching wasn’t the only story over the weekend: the Nittany Lions’ bullpen was, too.

While Driesenga and Wagner carried their matchups with poise, Penn State struggled to control its pitches, which led to several runs for Michigan. The troubles of Nittany Lions' bullpen gave confidence to the Wolverines' pitchers — they knew they could rely on their offense to maintain a lead.

“Anytime somebody gives you something for free, don’t you think it’s a good thing for yourself and not so good for the other team?” said Michigan coach Carol Hutchins. “They gave us a lot of free bases.”

The Wolverines certainly capitalized, with 22 hits in two games on the first day of play and a season-best 13 hits on Sunday. Michigan's success at the plate Sunday forced Penn State ace Lisa Akamine to throw 137 pitches.

Meanwhile, left-hander Wagner pitched a two-hitter while striking out three from the mound for Michigan in the first game of the series.

“At first, I didn’t think Haylie was her most confident self out there,” Hutchins said Saturday. “But she cleaned up (towards) the end.”

In the second game on Saturday, Driesenga, a right-hander, started off by striking out her first two batters. But after walking three, she was pulled in the middle of the third inning, having notched three strikeouts and allowed two hits.

“Sara came out strong and she looked great,” Hutchins said. “We took her out because bases were loaded and we still didn’t have anybody out, and we didn’t want to let (Penn State) get back in the game. I thought she pitched well, so it wasn’t a case where we didn’t think she could do it but at that point we just needed to mix it up.”

Mixing it up meant another appearance for Wagner.

“Haylie is our best pitcher that commands the zone and has the ability to get after the team, so I thought she was our best option,” Hutchins said.

When Wagner took over in the third, she struck out two more batters, bringing her total on the day to five, while allowing two more hits.

“We still gave up six runs on the day,” Hutchins said. “A little more than I’d like, (and) I told them that tomorrow is going to be the hardest day because you can (come) in overconfident and lose when we’re supposed to win.”

The Wolverines listened.

The offense found success, and Wagner pitched a two-hitter, didn't allow a run and struck out five. It was her fourth shutout of the season.

“(Today), my pitches were working,” Wagner said. “My spins were working and I just came out and I felt great. Better than yesterday. It was very relaxed and calming in the second day out there.”

Overall, the series helped Michigan get out of their offensive slump and solidified the freshmen-pitching powerhouse for the Wolverines.