CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif.; February 25, 2007- After a 12-0 loss in their final game of the weekend vs. Nevada, Penn State sits at 3-6 on the year. Penn State next travels to the Florida Atlantic Tournament on March 2-4. A match-up with Columbia begins the action on Friday, March 2 at 1 p.m. and is followed by an 8:30 p.m. contest with host Florida Atlantic. The Nittany Lions play Bethune-Cookman on Saturday, March 3 at 1 p.m. before semifinals and finals conclude on Saturday night and Sunday, March 4.
Fresno State 1, Penn State 0
A fly out started Fresno State??s third inning and after a walk and a fielder??s choice, the Bulldogs had a runner on first with two outs. Mallory Perkins stole second base and then advanced on a wild pitch to make the situation a dangerous one for Penn State. The pitcher, Robin Mackin, singled through the left side to send the game-winning run across the plate
The Nittany Lions?? best chance to tie the game came in the top of the fifth inning. Sophomore Sam Hovanec (Pittsburgh, Pa.) started things off with a walk and was able to advance to second on a wild pitch. Third baseman Kayce Zielinkski (Arlington, Texas) reached on the inning??s first error giving the Lions runners at first and third base with no outs. Zielinski??s pinch runner, senior Kari Lucas (Centre Hall, Pa.), stole second. After a strikeout on the ensuing hitter, senior Jen Williams (Stillwater, Okla.) came up and reached on the second Fresno State error to load the bases. The chance came to an end after two more quick outs, and proved to be the best shot the Nittany Lions had to best the nationally-ranked Bulldogs.
Penn State scattered two hits over seven innings to Fresno State??s three. Junior Ashley Esparza (San Pedro, Calif.) took the loss with eight strikeouts, falling to 1-3 on the season.
Nevada 12, Penn State 0
In Penn State??s final game of the weekend, Nevada got a run each in the first two innings to jump out to a 2-0 start.
The Wolfpack took advantage of an early error in the bottom of the third inning to tack on three more runs- all unearned- on two singles and a double before the Lions?? defense could get the final out. By the end of the inning, Nevada led the Lions, 5-0.
Nevada recorded a seven-run fourth inning to put the Lions away with a final score of 12-0 in four and one half innings.