MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (May 26, 2004) Brandon Roberts hit a game-tying home run and then the eventual game-winning RBI as No. 3 Michigan handed No. 6 Penn State a disappointing 7-2 defeat in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament at Siebert Field.

The Nittany Lions drop to 28-28 on the season and will now face Michigan State, which lost 7-6 against Purdue, in an elimination game at 1:05 p.m. Thursday.

The game can be heard live on ESPN Radio WMAJ 1450 AM and a link to the broadcast will be available at www.GoPSUsports.com.

The Nittany Lions gave starter Sean Stidfole (New Bloomfield, Pa.), who was named to the all-Big Ten second team before the game, a 2-0 lead after four innings. But the Wolverines tallied one run in the fifth inning and another on a leadoff solo homer by Roberts to tie the game in the sixth inning.

Stidfole gave way to junior Josh Palm (Conneaut Lake, Pa.) with two outs in the seveth inning. Palm picked off Matt Butler to end the inning, but then ran into trouble in the eighth inning.

Chris Getz led off the frame by hitting a single to left field and then he stole second base. Roberts laced an RBI single to left-center field to give Michigan a 3-2 lead. A two-run double by Jeff Kunkel, a successful suicide squeeze by Brad Roblin and a hit by pitch with the bases loaded by Butler made it 7-2.

Penn State got its first two runners on base in the top of the ninth inning, but Derek Feldkamp retired the next three batters to end the game and pick up his sixth victory in relief of Paul Hammond. Feldkamp gave up just two hits and struck out two in 3.1 scoreless innings.

The Nittany Lions started the scoring in the third inning after freshman Jim Leitgeb (Elkton, Md.) reached on a fielder¡¯s choice. He moved to second on a single by senior Brett Showalter (Waynesboro, Pa.) and then scored on an RBI single by junior Michael Milliron (DuBois, Pa.).

Freshman Matt Lewis (Arnold, Md.) reached on an error with two outs in the fourth inning and came around to score on back-to-back singles by sophomore Colin Runt (State College, Pa.) and sophomore Derrick Barr (So. Williamsport, Pa.) to make it 2-0 Penn State.

Showalter and Barr had two hits each for the Nittany Lions and sophomore Scott Gummo (Tyrone, Pa.) walked twice. Stidfole gave up just two runs while scattering eight hits over 6.2 innings. He also struck out five batters.

Getz and Roberts had three hits each for Michigan.

For more information on Penn State baseball, please visit the official athletic website at www.GoPSUsports.com.

Penn State 001 100 000 2 8 1
Michigan 000 011 05x 7 13 1
Pitchers: Penn State S. Stidfole; Palm (7); A. Stidfole (8). Michigan Hammond; Feldkamp (6).
Win: Feldkamp (6-5). Loss: Palm (5-2). Time: 2:43. Attendance: 212.