| Brian Ernst went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI to lead the Penn State offense in the Monday win over Michigan State. |
- Box Score
EAST LANSING, Mich.; April 16, 2007 ?C Penn State pounded out 13 hits, including three each by Joe Blackburn (Sinking Spring, Pa.) and Brian Ernst (Boyertown, Pa.), and Rick Marlin (Orlando, Fla.) drove in five runs to lead the Nittany Lions to a 10-4 over Michigan State on Monday afternoon in the series finale. The win gives Penn State three wins out of the four games in the series, the first Big Ten series win for the Nittany Lions since the second weekend of the 2005 season at Northwestern.
Blackburn and Ernst each went 3-for-5 and both scored three runs as well. Marlin went 2-for-3 with the five RBI with two runs and also reached base in four of his five plate appearances. Scott Kelley (Arlington Heights, Ill.) also went 2-for-3 and knocked in a trio of runs. Paul Hawkins (Glen Hope, Pa.) picked up the win in relief as he pitched two innings and allowed just two hits and one run in relief of starter Scott Gaffney (Westbury, Pa.), who did not pitch long enough to qualify for a win. Matt Ogrodnik (Saltsburg, Pa.) pitched the final two and two-thirds innings, entering the game with the tying run on base, to pick up his second save of the year. Penn State improves to 12-18 overall and an even 5-5 record in the Big Ten.
Penn State manufactured a pair of runs to get on the scoreboard first in the top of the second. With one out, Ernst lined a single to right center. Marlin followed by drawing a walk. Kelley then blooped a single just inside the right field foul line to drive in Ernst and send Marlin to third. Louie Picconi (North Merrick, N.Y.), getting just his third start of the year, then laid down a squeeze bunt and Marlin slid just under the tag to make it 2-0.
Michigan State cut the lead to one run in the bottom of the second as they got a one-out RBI single from Sean Walker that drove in Eli Boike from third with the bases loaded. Gaffney was able to escape further damage by getting a ground ball to third to throw out a runner at the plate on the force and then got a fielder??s choice grounder to second to end the inning and strand the bases full.
| Caption: Paul Hawkins picked up his first win of the year with two solid innings of relief. |
The small ball approach led to two more runs for the Nittany Lions in the third inning to extend the lead to 4-1. With one out, Blackburn reached on an infield single when his grounder to short took a hop over the shortstop. Mike Deese (Roswell, Ga.) then slapped a single through the right side on a hit-and-run to send Blackburn to third. Ernst then executed the second successful squeeze bunt of the day, pushing the bunt down the first base line to score Blackburn and getting himself a hit out of it when the Spartan second baseman was late in covering first. Marlin then drew his second walk of the game to load the bases and Kelley followed with a sacrifice fly to right to score Deese for his second RBI of the game.
The Spartans hit some rockets in the bottom of the fourth to pull back within one run at 4-3. They benefited from another bad hop to begin the inning as Boike??s grounder to Picconi at second bounced up and hit him in the chest, bounding away for a gift single for Boike. Dennis Jones then drove a fly to right field that Marlin came in on but had it go over his head and up the hill to the fence in right field for a triple that scored Boike. Jones then scored on a sacrifice fly by Evan Friedland.
Michigan State threatened again in the fifth, putting runners at first and second with one out but reliever Hawkins came on to retire the final two hitters, striking out Jones and getting Friedland to ground out. Hawkins also worked a 1-2-3 sixth inning, needing just nine pitches to set down the side. After that, Penn State added two more in the seventh inning as Marlin hammered a long double all the way to the fence in left to score Blackburn and Ernst, who had both singled, to make it 6-3.
After getting the first out of the inning in the seventh, Hawkins gave up consecutive hits to Kyle Day and Justin Potes, the latter of which was a double by Potes that scored Day to make it 6-4. Matt Ogrodnik was then brought on for his Big Ten-leading 16th appearance of the year and gave up line drive hit off the glove of Deese at third before getting two fly outs to end the inning and preserve the two-run lead.
The Nittany Lions once again added to that lead in the top of the eighth as Marlin came up with another big knock, a bases-clearing triple to drive in three runs with the bases loaded. A pair of walks and a double by Blackburn had loaded the sacks with no outs off relief pitcher A.J. Dunn, who was making his third appearance of the weekend. Kelley then drove in his third run of the afternoon with a single through the right side to plate Marlin to make it 10-4.
Penn State will begin a six-game homestand on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. against Mount St. Mary??s at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Freshman Kayle Sickler (Troy, Pa.) is scheduled to make his collegiate debut with a start in that game. After that, Penn State will host Northwestern next weekend in a weekend that will also feature the Alumni Reunion and Celebration Weekend.
Notes: The win for Hawkins was the third of his career and the first since he got the decision in a win over Duquesne on April 12th of last year??.Marlin??s five RBI were a career high, as were Kelley??s three RBI.