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Nittany Lions Outslugged By Ohio State in Series Finale
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (May 9, 2005) - Every time the Penn State baseball team scored a run, Ohio State answered. It made for a very frustrating weekend as the Buckeyes completed a four-game sweep with an 11-6 defeat of the Nittany Lions Monday at Beaver Field.
Penn State (24-21, 10-14 Big Ten) has now lost four straight games for the first time this season. Ohio State (28-15, 11-10) has won eight consecutive games and 10 of its last 11. The Nittany Lions will try to get back on track when they play host to Duquesne 3 p.m. Wednesday at Beaver Field. The game is FREE for all to attend. The non-conference game can also be heard live on State College's ESPN Radio WMAJ 1450 AM, and a link to listen will be available at www.GoPSUsports.com. Junior Lance Thompson (Brisbin, Pa.), who had a big three-run home run, sophomore Matt Lewis (Arnold, Md.), and freshman James Spinelli (Berwyn, Pa.) had two hits each for Penn State. Junior Colin Runt (State College, Pa.) and sophomore Jim Leitgeb (Elkton, Md.) each had a base hit, scored two runs, and had a career high two walks in the game. As they did in every game of the series, the Buckeyes struck first in the top of the first inning. After a double play cleared the bases, Steve Caravati hit a solo home run to give Ohio State a 1-0 lead. But the Nittany Lions bounced right back in the bottom half of the first inning. Leitgeb walked to leadoff the inning, and then came around to score on Lewis' first single of the game. However, Ohio State answered back in the second inning, taking a 2-1 lead on an RBI groundout by Paul Farinacci. Penn State once again came back to answer the run in the bottom of the frame. Runt led off with a single, was bunted all the way to third base, and then came around to score on a groundout by Leitgeb. But the Buckeyes scored again in the top of the third inning to take the lead for good, this time on an RBI single by Caravati, who was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI in the game. Farinacci and Caravati broke the game open with RBI doubles in the fourth inning when Ohio State made it a 6-2 game. The Buckeyes jumped out 8-2 in the seventh inning after another costly error by Penn State. In total, starter Sean Stidfole (New Bloomfield, Pa.) gave up eight runs, but only three of them were earned due to four Nittany Lion errors on the day. Penn State cut Ohio State's lead to 8-5 in the bottom half of the seventh inning on a three-run blast by Thompson, his second of the season. That chased Buckeye starter Trent Luyster. Dan Barker gave up one run in 2/3 of an inning, and Rory Meister closed it out by pitching 2.0 scoreless innings. After Ohio State scored two runs in the eighth inning to make it 10-5, the Nittany Lions had a chance to get back into the ballgame after loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the inning. But they managed just one run on a sacrifice fly by Milliron. The Buckeyes tacked on an insurance run in the ninth inning to make it 11-6. For more information on Nittany Lion baseball, please visit Penn State's official athletic website at www.GoPSUsports.com. Ohio State 11
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