University Park, Pa.; April 14, 2006 - Down to their final out with the bases empty and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Penn State Nittany Lions rallied to tie the game and send it to extra innings and in the bottom of the tenth, Jim Leitgeb's game-winning single with the bases loaded and no outs scored Matt Cavagnaro to send the Lions to a wild 10-9 win over Michigan State in the opening game of the weekend Big Ten series. Penn State pounded out 17 hits and scored 10 or more runs for the third straight game, the first time since 2000 that they have scored 10 or more runs in at least three consecutive games.
In the bottom of the ninth, after the first two hitters made outs, left-handed hitting Travis Laird pinch hit for righty James Spinelli against the right-handed reliever Mike Monterey for the Spartans. After going in the hole 0-2, Laird battled back to a 2-2 count and after fouling off several pitches, poked a bloop single into left field and then advanced to second when the throw back in from left got away from the cutoff man for an error on Spartan left fielder Kyle Day. Laird then scored on Garrett Field's single to left that fell just in front and off the glove of a charging Day. Field stole second but was stranded there when Brian Ernst flied out to end the inning.
Penn State escaped a disaster in the top of the tenth as reliever Gary Amato worked out a bases loaded jam by getting Alan Cattrysse to fly out to left with two out and end the threat. Then, in the bottom of the tenth, Cavagnaro drew a leadoff walk, following by an intentional walk to Scott Gummo after Cavagnaro had stolen second. Lance Thompson then singled off the glove of the pitcher to load the bases and Leitgeb then ended it with a single up the middle, giving the Lions their second come-from-behind win of the year and the week, following last Sunday's win over Iowa in come-from-behind fashion.
The game featured a combined 33 hits, seven errors, nine pitchers, and eight walks. Five Nittany Lions had multiple-hit games, led by Thompson (3-for-6) and Cory Wine (3-for-4). Leitgeb and Ernst each went 2-for-6 while Field was 2-for-5. Spinelli and Field each had two RBIs apiece.
Michigan State scored first on an RBI single by Adam Tripp in the first inning but also had a man cut down at the plate to end that frame as the next hitter after Tripp, Cattrysse, singled to center and Field misplayed the ball for an error, letting the ball get behind him. He recovered, however, and threw to Cavagnaro, who fired to Spinelli to nail Tripp at the plate.
The Spartans added another run to take a 2-0 lead in the third as E.J. Daws singled to lead off and two outs later, scored on a single by Cattrysse. The Nittany Lions would claw back, however, taking the lead with a four-run fifth inning. After Wine singled in between the first two outs of the inning, Field doubled him home and that was followed by an RBI single by Ernst, an RBI double by Cavagnaro, and an RBI single by Gummo for a 4-2 lead.
That lead would be short-lived, however, as the Spartans added three more in the sixth, all of which were unearned due to an error by Wine at first. With one out and a runner on first, Wine allowed a grounder to get under his glove, putting runners at the corners. That was followed by an RBI single by Tony Clausen and another single by Oliver Wolcott that loaded the bases. After a nice diving catch by Spinelli on an attempted squeeze bunt, leadoff hitter Troy Krider doubled home two more runs for a 5-4 MSU lead.
Penn State would answer right back and tie the game at five in the bottom of the sixth as Wine doubled home Scott Gaffney, who had singled with one out. Michigan State then took an 8-5 lead in the seventh as PSU starter Alan Stidfole left after giving up a leadoff single to Day. Day stole second as reliever Aaron Markowitz entered and then went to third on a strikeout with the ball getting away from the catcher and the only play being at first to get the out. Day scored on a single by Cattrysse and then Ryan Basham followed with a two-run homer to left.
That lead would also be short-lived as the Nittany Lions answered right away with three runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at seven. Gummo drew a one-out walk and eventually scored when Leitgeb singled but Spartan shortstop Krider was unable to come up the ball cleanly, letting it get behind him and allowing Gummo to scoot home after holding up at third on the bouncing ball. After a walk to Wine loaded the bases, Spinelli single home two more runs to tie up the game.
Matt Ogrodnik worked a scoreless eighth inning, the 13th time in his last 14 appearances that he has not allowed an earned run. Amato then came on for the ninth and allowed the go-ahead run to score on an RBI single by pinch hitter Sean Walker before inducing an inning-ending double play off the bat of Wolcott, setting the stage for the bottom of the ninth and tenth innings.
For the Spartans, Krider and Cattysse each were 3-for-4 to lead the team at the plate. Amato picked up his team-leading fourth win of the year, all in relief, by pitching two innings, allowing three hits and three walks. Starter Stidfole went six full innings, allowing a season-high 10 hits and six runs, only three of which were earned. He struck out seven and walked just one. Monterey took the loss for Michigan State, falling to 3-5 while allowing five hit s and two runs in his 1.1 innings of work.
The teams will play a doubleheader tomorrow beginning at 1:00 p.m.
Notes: Penn State has now scored double digit runs for three straight games, the first time that has happened since April 4-7 of 2000. Ironically, the third straight game in that stretch was vs. Michigan State, with the first two being against Cornell....The last time the Nittany Lions scored in double digits in four straight games was in 1997....Every member of the Penn State starting lineup had at least one hit for the second straight game....With his 3-for-4 day, Wine is now 14-for-his-last-32 (.438)....Sophomore righty Seth Whitehill, a native of nearby Bellefonte, will get his first Big Ten start in Saturday's second game.
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