Box Score

Plymouth Meeting, Pa., May 16, 2006 ¨C Penn State took a two-run lead on a pair of solo home runs in the top of the seventh inning but Villnaova came back and scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh and held that lead for the remainder of the game to defeat the Nittany Lions 8-5 on Tuesday afternoon. The game was the final non-conference contest of the year for Penn State, which will wrap up its regular season this weekend with a four-game series at Ohio State.

Penn State starter David Bumstead, making just his second start of the year and his first appearance since April 12 against Duquesne, allowed the leadoff hitter to reach in each of the first two innings but was able to work around the baserunners without allowing any runs. In the third inning, he was not as fortunate, as leadoff hitter Kris Molloy drew a walk, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a one-out single to right by Craig Mirsky. One out later, Jeremy Hunt single to left and the ball got by Lance Thompson for an error, allowing the runners to move up to second and third. Joe Rosati then dumped a single into short left field, scoring Mirsky. Rosati then tried to go to second but was tagged out sliding into the bag just before Hunt crossed the plate, meaning Hunt's run did not count and the inning ended with the Nittany Lions trailing just 2-0.

The Nittany Lions got one run back in the top of the fourth. Thompson got the first Penn State hit of the day, a single to right with one out, and that was followed by a pair of walks being drawn by Aaron Greenfield and Brian Ernst. Thompson scored on a sacrifice fly by Cory Wine.

The Wildcats got that run right back in the bottom of the fourth, taking advantage of a misplayed fly ball by Ernst to score the run. A hit by pitch, a sacrifice, and a pair of singles loaded the bases for Villanova with one out. Reliever Steve Cline was brought in and the first hitter he faced, Ryan Arcadia, hit a shallow fly ball to right field that Ernst came in on and camped under, but had the ball bounce off his glove. He was able to throw to second to force the runner at first, avoiding an error on the play, but the runner at third scored to give Villanova a 3-1 lead. Travis Laird then made a diving catch come in on a shallow fly ball off the bat of Mirsky.

Penn State took advantage of a Villanova error to push across a pair of unearned runs in the fifth. With one out, Scott Gaffney dumped a single into right. Matt Cavagnaro then hit a slow ground ball to second that was booted by second baseman Derek Shunk, allowing Gaffney to go to second. Scott Gummo then grounded a single through the left side to drive in Gaffney and that was followed by Thompson's second single of the day that loaded the bases. Cavagnaro came home on the second Penn State sacrifice fly of the game, this one by Greenfield, tying the score 3-3.

The heart of the Nittany Lion order combined to give Penn State a two-run lead in the top of the seventh. With one out, Gummo retook the team lead in home runs with a solo shot to left that went just off the glove of Wildcat leftfielder Rosati and over the fence for his fifth round-tripper of the year. Thompson followed that blast by driving a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right field for his fourth homer of the year and a 5-3 Nittany Lion lead.

Villanova answered right back in the bottom of the seventh, taking the lead on a pair of two-out singles. Molloy broke up Cline's string of seven straight hitters retired with a bunt single to lead off the inning. He was then sacrificed to second, stole third, and scored on Mirsky's double to right center, cutting the lead to one and knocking Cline from the game. Scott Kelley entered and walked Derek Shunk and then gave up a single to Hunt, loading the bases. He was pulled in favor of Matt Ogrodnik, who made his 27 th appearance to tie the school record for most appearances in a season. He struck out the left-handed hitting Rosati on three straight pitches for the second out but then on a 3-2 to count, gave up a single up the middle to Joe Gillin, scoring two runs and giving Villanova a 6-5 lead. The Wildcats added one more with a single into shallow right by Frank Cirone.

The Wildcats added an insurance run to take an 8-5 lead in the eighth off the fifth Penn State pitcher of the game, Paul Hawkins. They loaded the bases on a pair on singles and a walk and the run scored on a sacrifice fly by Hunt.

Kelley took the loss for the Nittany Lions, his first decision of the year, to fall to 0-1. Thompson went 4-for-5 to lead the Nittany Lion offense while Gummo was 2-for-4.

Notes: Gummo's and Thompson's back-to-back home runs in the seventh marked the first time in over a year that Penn State hit consecutive home runs. Matt Lewis and Greenfield accomplished the feat vs. St. Bonaventure on March 29 of last year¡­.Thompson's home run also was his 213 th career hit, moving him into fifth place on the all-time Penn State hit list. He ended the game with 214 career hits and is now just five hits shy of moving into third place on the all-time list¡­.Ogrodnik's appearance tied him with Jeff Emerich for most appearances in a season. Emerich also pitched in 27 games in 1995¡­.Penn State ended the 2006 season with a 4-1 record against in-state schools.