| Pitcher Alan Stidfole retired the first 12 Hawkeye batters, but the Nittany Lions fell to Iowa on Friday, 6-1. The teams continue their four-game set with a doubleheader today at 1:00 p.m. For more photos from Friday's game, click here. |
University Park, Pa.; April 7, 2006 - After not allowing a hit through the first four innings, Penn State starter Alan Stidfole gave up three runs in the fifth inning and Iowa would score three more runs later in the game as the Hawkeyes topped the Nittany Lions 6-1 in the opening game of the weekend Big Ten series. The game was also Penn State's home opener.
Penn State, which had been 70-8 in home openers since the 1924 season, scored first with a first inning run. Lance Thompson drew a two-out walk and scored when Scott Gummo crushed a hanging breaking pitch out to left center for an RBI double. The ball just missed being a home run, short hopping the fence. From that point, however, Penn State would have only seven baserunners for the remainder of the game and mounted only one more series scoring threat.
Stidfole retired the first 12 batters of the game and Iowa was hitless through the first four and a third innings before he ran into some trouble in the fifth. He hit leadoff hitter Ben Geelan with his first pitch of the inning before getting a pop out. Then, Wes Freie singled to right and Kevin Hoef walked to load the bases. Geelan scored on a sacrifice fly to left by Jason White. After another walk to reload the bases, Nate Price worked a two-run single to right after fouling off several pitches to give the Hawkeyes a 3-1 lead.
Iowa added one more run in the sixth inning to go on top 4-1 as Geelan was once again plunked, this time with one out. He came around to score on a two-out RBI double by Freie. T he Hawkeyes had four baserunners in the seventh inning but were unable to score as one was thrown out at the plate on a ground ball with the infield in. Stidfole was pulled in the seventh with Scott Kelley and Matt Ogrodnik finishing the inning for the Nittany Lions. The Hawkeyes scored two more run in the eighth but they were unearned runs as they benefitted from two Penn State throwing errors. The runs scored on a wild pitch and on one of the throwing errors.
Penn State's only other scoring threat came in the eighth inning as it loaded the bases after the first two out had been made. Iowa starter Luke O'Loughlin was pulled after loading the bases and reliever Scott Brune came on to get Thompson to ground out to end the inning in what was a close play at first base.
O'Loughlin got the win after throwing seven and two-thirds innings and allowing just four hits and one runs. He walked four and struck out four. Stidfole gave up four hits and four runs while walking two and striking out five in dropping to 1-2 on the year.
The teams will continue their four-game weekend series with a doubleheader tomorrow beginning at 1:00 p.m.