Pennington got off to a blazing start as she helped lead No. 7 Valdosta State to a 4-0 record at the Gulf Shores Invitational in the season's opening weekend. The senior went 8-of-12 (.667) from the dish, drew two walks, slugged 1.250, reached base at .667-clip with one double, two home runs and five RBI, while scoring eight of VSU's 28 runs for the weekend. Pennington had at least one hit in each of the four games, while going 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and three runs scored against Spring Hill. She also registered a 2-for-3 outing with two runs scored, a home run and one RBI in a 3-1 victory over No. 5 North Georgia on Sunday. Pennington opened the season going 1-for-2 and scored twice in a 7-3 victory over No. 4 and defending national champion West Texas A&M.