STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (May 13, 2003) - Penn State baseball fans got a treat in the team's final home game of the season as the Nittany Lions pounded out 24 hits to beat Villanova 23-8 in a 3 hour, 17 minute marathon Tuesday at Beaver Field.

Twelve different players joined the hit parade, seven collected at least two hits each and five players had at least two RBI. The 23 runs are the most ever scored by any team at Beaver Field and the most scored by Penn State since beating Cornell 26-4 on Apr. 4, 2001 in Ithaca, N.Y.

The Nittany Lions evened their record at 24-24 overall and they are 15-13 in the Big Ten. Penn State is back at .500 for the first time since Apr. 5, 2002 when it was 11-11.

Freshman Lance Thompson (Houtzdale, Pa.), who was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI, tied a team record with three doubles in the game. All three doubles came in his first three at-bats. Ten players have accomplished the feat with teammate Matt Harter (Centre Hall, Pa.) being the last player to do it on Mar. 29, 2003 at Purdue.

The Wildcats took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI fielder's choice by Brian Newbold. But the Nittany Lions scored three runs in the second inning, five in the third, nine in the fourth, one in the fifth and five more in the seventh to complete the scoring.

Thompson started it in the second inning with a lead-off double. He moved to third on a ground out by senior Mike DeRenzo (Murrysville, Pa.) and he then scored on a wild pitch by Mark Rocca. Senior Zack Smithlin (Fair Lawn, N.J.), who was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and five RBI, added a two-run double to make it 3-1.

Thompson plated sophomore Clint Eury (Butler, Pa.), who was on first base, with his second double in the third inning. Thompson scored on a throwing error by Rocca, Harter had a sacrifice fly, sophomore Mike Milliron (DuBois, Pa.) had an RBI single and Smithlin had an RBI double to account for the five runs in the third inning.

Fifteen batters came to the plate for Penn State in the fourth inning, with the first 11 reaching base by either a walk or a base hit. Eury, who is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week, had an RBI single, DeRenzo had a two-run single, Harter had an RBI double, freshman Derrick Barr (So. Williamsport, Pa.) had a two-run single while sophomore Colin Runt (State College, Pa.) and Harter both walked with the bases loaded. Three Villanova pitchers combined to give up nine runs on six hits and three walks in the inning.

Junior Brett Showalter (Waynesboro, Pa.) had a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to score a run in the fifth inning.

The Nittany Lions added five more in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly by Smithlin, a three-run home run by senior Wes Reohr (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) and an RBI single by sophomore Arin Gelletly (Clarksville, Md.).

Freshman Alan Stidfole (Duncannon, Pa.) pitched the first three innings to pick up his first career victory. He gave up just one run on one hit and struck out two before leaving the game after he reached a pre-determined pitch count.

Sophomore Matt Carroll (Philadelphia, Pa.), freshman Steve Cline (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) and senior Kevin Damiano (Mt. Airy, Md.) pitched the rest of the way as Penn State tried to keep all pitchers on a low-pitch count with the Big Ten playoffs looming.

Damiano picked up his first save after pitching the final three innings. Runt, Thompson, DeRenzo, Milliron and Smithlin had three hits each while Eury and Gelletly had two each.

The Nittany Lions will conclude their regular season with a four-game set at Michigan State Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday's 7:00 p.m. game will be played at Oldsmobile Field, which is the home of the Lansing Lugnuts, a Class A Affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.

- Nittany Lions Baseball -