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| Craig Clark pitched spectacular, throwing 7.1 innings and equaling his season-high in strikeouts with eight but three runs in the eighth inning led Minnesota past the Nittany Lions 3-2. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; March 30, 2007 ?C Despite an outstanding performance by starting pitcher Craig Clark (Phoenixville, Pa.) and the Nittany Lions taking a 2-0 lead into the top of the eighth inning, Penn State was not able to hold the slim lead as Minnesota scored three runs in the eighth inning, the last one coming off reliever Matt Ogrodnik (Saltsburg, Pa.) and then held on for a tight 3-2 win over Penn State in the Big Ten opener on Friday night.
A record crowd of 1704 was treated to a pitchers?? dual between Clark and Minnesota??s Ethan Vogt. Clark went 7.1 innings, allowing only four baserunners up until the eighth. He allowed only four hits and two runs while equaling his season high with eight strikeouts. He walked just two and for the second straight game, picked off the opposing leadoff hitter off first base in the top of the first after walking him. Vogt was equally outstanding, going eight innings and allowing just five hits and two runs while striking out four and walking three.
Penn State scratched across its first run in the bottom of the third as Joe Blackburn (Sinking Spring, Pa.) drove home Matt Cavagnaro (Brightwaters, N.Y.) with a two-out double to right center. Cavagnaro, who went 3-for-4, had singled with one out and advanced to second on Brian Ernst??s (Boyertown, Pa.) groundout. After that, Vogt walked both Cory Wine (Stillwater, Okla.) and Rick Marlin (Orlando, Fla.) to load the bases but then came back to strike out Rob Yodice (Staten Island, N.Y.) to end the inning with Penn State leading just 1-0.
In the sixth, Yodice put a charge into the record crowd by hitting the first collegiate home run at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, a shot the cleared the 375 sign in right center field to give Penn State a 2-0 lead. There would only be one more Penn State baserunner for the rest of the game after the home run, however, on a two-out double by Cavagnaro in the seventh.
In the top of the eighth, pinch-hitter Jeremy Chlan grounded a one-out single through the hole on the right side on a 3-2 pitch. Pinch hitter Jeff DeSmidt then grounded a single through the left side to put runners on first and second. That ended the day for Clark and the reliever Ogrodnik was brought on. Sporting a 0.90 ERA coming entering the weekend, Ogrodnik had leadoff hitter Matt Nohelty lay down a bunt that came back to him, he fielded the ball cleanly, looked at third but then elected to go to first, where his throw was too late to catch the speedy Nohelty. A walk to the next hitter, Dan Lyons, forced in a run to make it 2-1. Ogrodnik then struck out the Big Ten??s leading hitter, Mike Mee on three straight pitches. He then nearly got out of the inning without further damage but Ernst came up just short on a diving attempt to catch a sinking line drive to center by Nate Hanson and he trapped the ball, giving Hanson a two-run single to give the Gophers a 3-2 lead. Ogrodnik then retired the next hitter and got the side in order in the ninth.
Vogt set down the side in order in the eighth, getting a couple of hard hit balls right at his fielders and then Josh Oslin earned his Big Ten-leading fifth save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Penn State will look to bounce back tomorrow with a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 1:05 p.m. Ryan Stobart (Barrington, Ill.) will take the hill for the first game while Seth Whitehill (Bellefonte, Pa.) will start game two.