MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (May 24, 2003) - The wear and tear of the Big Ten Baseball Tournament finally caught up with the Penn State pitching staff as the Nittany Lions' run ended with a 13-3 loss versus No. 2 Ohio State Saturday night at Siebert Field.

Penn State took third in the conference tournament after the season 29-28 overall and 17-15 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions finished over .500 for the first time since 2000.

They played every team in the tournament field and the pitching staff logged 43.1 innings over four days. Those numbers caught up with the Penn State staff as Ohio State hit four home runs on its way to advancing into Sunday's championship round against No. 1 Minnesota.

The Golden Gophers defeated Ohio State 5-4 earlier in the day to clinch a spot in the championship game.

Penn State starter Alan Stidfole (Duncannon, Pa.) took a scoreless game into the third inning, but he allowed Drew Anderson to reach on a fielder's choice, Christian Snavely walked and Caravati gave Ohio State (39-19) the 3-0 lead with a three-run homer.

Senior Kevin Damiano relieved Stidfole for his second appearance in as many days. Garrard led off the fourth with a solo homer. Damiano then gave up a double to Anderson, Snavely walked again and Caravati made it 7-0 with his second three-run homer of the game over the leftfield wall.

But the Nittany Lions showed they weren't going to go quietly in the fifth inning. Senior Willie Melendez (Cayey, P.R.) doubled, senior Zack Smithlin (Fair Lawn, N.J.) walked, senior Wes Reohr (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) walked and sophomore Clint Eury (Butler, Pa.) hit a two-run double down the rightfield line to pull Penn State within 7-2.

However, the Buckeyes padded their lead in the fifth inning with five more runs off the weary Penn State pitching staff. Jedidiah Stephen and Mike Rabin had RBI singles and Snavely hit Ohio State's third three-run homer of the game to make it 12-2.

Smithlin drove in Harter with an RBI single in the sixth inning after Harter reached on a fielder's choice and Melendez singled to put him in scoring position.

Freshman Steve Cline (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), who entered the game in the fifth inning, gave up an RBI double to pinch-hitter Terry Pettorini in the seventh inning to make it 13-3.

- Nittany Lions Baseball -