Columbus, Ohio ¨C Ohio State scored three runs in the first inning and then broke open the game with a seven-run fourth and cruised to a 12-2 win over Penn State in the season finale for both teams on Sunday afternoon. The Nittany Lions finished their season with a 20-36 record and a 13-19 mark in the Big Ten, equaling the mark for conference wins from last year. Despite finishing with the same Big Ten record, the Nittany Lions finish the year in a tie for seventh place, one place higher in the standings than last year.

Going into the game on Sunday, the Nittany Lions still were alive for a berth in the Big Ten Tournament. They would have had to have won and have Michigan State defeat Illinois but as things turned out, neither happened, as Illinois topped the Spartans 10-2 to clinch the final spot in the tournament.

Ohio State started things off in the first by scoring three runs off of three very soft hits to take a 3-0 lead. Michael Arp and Matt Angle started the inning with a pair of infield hits. Eric Fryer grounded into a fielder¡¯s choice, putting runners at the corners. Ronnie Bourquin then hit a liner to short left that was right at Lance Thompson, but he apparently rushed in making the catch and getting off a throw to home and he dropped to ball for an error, allowing Arp to score. Adam Schneider then drew a walk to load the bases and then Jedidiah Stephen blooped a single into short right field that dropped about a foot inside the foul line to drive in two more runs before Clark set down the next two hitters to end the inning.

The Buckeyes added one more in the second to make it 4-0. With two outs, Penn State appeared to be out of the inning as Angle hit a high pop fly to shallow center field but all of the converging Nittany Lion fielders lost the ball in the sun and it dropped for a double. That was followed by another double, this one to right center by Fryer, which scored Angle but Fryer was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.

The sun also came into play in the top of the third inning, this time benefiting the Nittany Lions and allowing them to score their first run of the game. With two outs and Jim Leitgeb on first after drawing a two-out walk, Thompson hit a pop up on the infield that Stephen lost in the sun at shortstop. The ball dropped and hit off of Stephen¡¯s chest all the way into short right field, allowing Leitgeb to score and Thompson to get all the way to second for a double.

Another string of hits by Ohio State in the fourth inning broke the game open as the Buckeyes scored seven runs and knocked out PSU starter Craig Clark. With one out, Justin Miller grounded an infield single up the middle that Matt Cavagnaro knocked down but was unable to throw him out on. Arp then singled to center, putting runners at the corners. Angle doubled home Miller for the first run of the inning. Then Fryer grounded a ball past the drawn-in infield for a two-run single and Bourquin followed that up with a line drive home run over the right field wall to make it 9-1. After the second out of the inning was made, Stephen hit a ball to the gap in right center that Rick Marlin ran down but had the ball go off his glove as he tried to make a running catch. The play was ruled a double and Stephen came home to score on a triple by Jason Zoeller that dropped just inside the right field line and Zoeller also trotted home when the throw to third got past Scott Gummo, making it 11-1. Gary Amato was brought on to get the final out of the inning in relief of Clark.

Bourquin homered for the second time in the game to lead off the sixth inning, extending the lead to 12-1. Amato was lifted for Aaron Markowitz after allowing two more singles in the inning and Markowitz set down the side in order and also worked a scoreless seventh inning in his final collegiate appearance.

The Nittany Lions scored a single run in the eighth inning as Marlin had an RBI single to score Gummo, who had led off with a single and advanced to third on the first two outs of the inning. Steve Cline came on and pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Lions in his final collegiate appearance. All of the Nittany Lion seniors, with the exception of starting pitcher Alan Stidfole, who threw on Friday night, appeared in the game.

Leitgeb went 3-for-3 and reached base safely in all five plate appearances to end his season on a high note.

Notes: The assist by Laird in the bottom of the second was the 14th outfield assist of the year for the Nittany Lions. They had just four all of last year¡­.Thompson ended his career in fifth place on the all-time Penn State hits list with 217 hits¡­.There was a brief 10-minute delay in the middle of the seventh inning as home plate umpire Dave Smith had to leave the game for an undisclosed reason. The game continued with third base umpire Tom Kovacick taking over at home plate for the remainder of the game.