UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (May 15, 2004) - Sophomore Sean Stidfole (New Bloomfield, Pa.) pitched 6.1 strong innings to lead the Penn State baseball team a 3-2 victory over Michigan State in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader at Beaver Field. But the Nittany Lion defense struggled in Game 2, committing three errors, as the Spartans came back to defeat Penn State 11-5. The loss in Game 2 was the first for the Nittany Lions in a Saturday home game. They are 7-1 in Saturday home doubleheaders and 12-2 in Big Ten doubleheaders. The two squads will wrap up this four-game series with a 1 p.m. contest on Senior Day Sunday at Beaver Field. The game will be carried live on ESPN Radio WMAJ 1450 AM and a link to the broadcast can be found at www.GoPSUsports.com. Penn State (27-23, 16-11) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning of Game 1 after sophomore Derrick Barr (So. Williamsport, Pa.) led off with a four-pitch walk. Sophomore Scott Gummo (Tyrone, Pa.) walked and senior Matt Harter (Centre Hall, Pa.) plated Barr with a two-out single through the left side. But the Spartans also took advantage of a leadoff walk to take the lead in the second inning. James Moreno was given the free pass from Stidfole to start the inning and then he moved to third base on a single by David Miller. Alan Cattrysse and Troy Krider delivered back-to-back two-out, RBI singles to make it 2-1 Michigan State. Junior Clint Eury (Butler, Pa.) started another Penn State rally in the third inning with a leadoff single and Harter followed by walking. RBI singles by freshman Matt Lewis (Arnold, Md.) and freshman Jim Leitgeb (Elkton, Md.) gave the Nittany Lions a 3-2 lead they would not relinquish. Stidfole retired seven straight batters after giving up the two runs in the second inning and he allowed just two hits afterwards. He gave up two runs on five hits, struck out six and walked just one to pick up his sixth victory. Senior Aaron Tressler (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa.), who was named the team's Charles Medlar award winner as the team's outstanding pitcher, gave up a leadoff double to start the second inning and his defense struggled behind him. Troy Krider laid down a sacrifice bunt, but was safe at first base for a single, after some miscommunication by the Penn State defense, to put runners on first and third with no outs. Tressler got Erik Morris to strike out and then appeared to have a doubleplay ball to second base, but Leitgeb's throw went into left field, allowing Miller to score and Krider to move to third base. Another error in the inning and a three-run home run by Ryan Basham made it a 6-0 lead for Michigan State. Basham's homer was just the second surrendered by Penn State pitching in the last 19 games. He hit his second home run of the game to make it 7-0 in the fifth inning. But the Nittany Lions wouldn't go quietly. Freshman Travis Laird (Conneaut Lake, Pa.) and Barr had back-to-back two-out singles in the fifth inning. Junior Michael Milliron (DuBois, Pa.) extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a two-run double to cut the lead to 7-2. Milliron's hitting streak is the longest by a Penn State hitter since Mike DeRenzo hit safely in 23 straight games in 2002. Penn State mounted another two-out rally in the sixth inning. Eury singled and was followed with two-out singles by senior Brett Showalter (Waynesboro, Pa.) and Leitgeb. Eury scored on Leitgeb's single. Laird then laced a two-run double down the rightfield line to cut the Michigan State lead to 7-5. That chased Spartans' starter Chris Toepper. Adam White came in the game ended the threat. Michigan State (29-22, 16-11) rallied for four more runs in the seventh inning to put the game out of reach. Cattrysse had a two-run single and Miller and Morris had RBI singles in the inning. For more information on Penn State baseball, please visit our official athletic website at www.GoPSUsports.com. Game 1 Boxscore Game 2 Boxscore
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