| Joe Blackburn extended his hitting streak to eight games by going 2-for-4, including beating out an important infield single in the four-run ninth. |
- Box Score
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; April 20, 2007 ?C After watching a 3-0 lead turn into a 6-3 deficit in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, Penn State rallied for four runs in the bottom of the ninth, capped by Rick Marlin??s (Orlando, Fla.) game-winning single to score pinch runner Louie Picconi (North Merrick, N.Y.) from third as the Nittany Lions took the first game of the weekend series from Northwestern, 7-6. The win improves Penn State to over .500 at 6-5 in the Big Ten, the first time since the first weekend of last year that the Nittany Lions have been over .500 in league play.
A new record crowd of 2,232 watched the Lions complete their ninth-inning rally and the postgame fireworks show, topping the previous Penn State attendance record of 1,815 from April 24, 2004 in a Saturday doubleheader against Iowa. Another record crowd is expected to witness tomorrow??s doubleheader, which will also feature postgame fireworks.
Penn State jumped right onto the scoreboard in the first inning, playing small ball to manufacture a run to take a 1-0 lead. Matt Cavagnaro (Brightwaters, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and was sacrificed to second by Scott Gaffney (Westbury, N.Y.), who is second in the Big Ten in that category. Cavagnaro then scored on a single through the right side by Cory Wine (Stillwater, Okla.).
The Nits made it a 2-0 game in the fourth, putting together a pair of two-out hits to produce the run. With two outs, Brian Ernst (Boyertown, Pa.) slapped a double down the right field line and scored on a single to right by Marlin, the first of two RBI on the night for Marlin.
An RBI single to right by Joe Blackburn (Sinking Spring, Pa.) to score Gaffney, who had singled and stolen second, make it 3-0 in the fifth before Northwestern started its comeback. In the sixth, Tommy Finn, who went 4-for-4 for the Wildcats, led off with a double down the right field line. Aaron Newman then reached on an error before Jake Owens singled to center to drive in Finn. Nittany Lion starter Seth Whitehill (Bellefonte, Pa.) then retired the next three batters to avert further damage.
In the seventh, Whitehill allowed a single and hit a batter around the first out of the inning and was lifted in favor of Mike Lorentson (Springfield, Pa.), who gave up an RBI single to Finn and walked Newman to load the bases. He was taken out and Matt Ogrodnik (Saltsburg, Pa.) was brought in but Ogrodnik gave up a two-run single to Owens to give the Wildcats a 4-3 lead before retiring the next two hitters to end the inning.
The Nittany Lions were only able to get one baserunner in the seventh and eighth innings combined, while meanwhile the Wildcats added one more insurance run in the top of the eighth as they got a two-out RBI single from Finn off Paul Hawkins (Glen Hope, Pa.) to drive in Jim Grieco, who had drawn a two-out walk from Ogrodnik. They made it a 6-3 lead in the ninth as Antonio Mule singled into short left against a drawn-in infield to score Owens from third after he had doubled to lead off the inning.
The ninth inning had an ominous beginning as pinch hitter Landon Nakata drew a lead off walk but was picked off by Dan Schwartz, who began the ninth inning despite being over 140 pitches. The Nittany Lions did not let that get them down, however, as Jim Leitgeb (Elkton, Md.) singled up the middle and Cavagnaro followed with a double down the left field line to send Leitgeb to third. Schwartz was then lifted after throwing 155 pitches. Reliever Bo Schultz came in and issued a walk to Gaffney to load the bases and bring the winning run to the plate. Wine then popped out to first for the second out of the inning. Blackburn then hit a slow bouncer to second that Wildcat second baseman Caleb Fields charged but Blackburn barely beat it out at first for an infield single, scoring one run to make it 6-4. A wild pitch with Mike Deese (Roswell, Ga.) at the plate scored Cavagnaro from third to make it 6-5. Deese walked on four pitches to reload the bases and push the winning run to second in person of Picconi, who pinch ran for Blackburn after the wild pitch.
Rob Yodice (Staten Island, N.Y.) was then sent up to pinch hit for Ernst, who had been 1-for-4 on the evening and Yodice drew the fourth walk of the inning off the second reliever, Matt Havey, on a 3-2 pitch to force home Gaffney from third with the tying run. The third relief pitcher of the inning, David Jensen was then brought on to face Marlin, who took the second pitch he saw from Jensen down the left field line and just out of the reach of Owens at third for the game-winning hit.
Hawkins picked up his second straight win in as many Big Ten games, as he also picked up the win in the series finale against Michigan State last Monday. Hawkins threw one and a third innings, allowing three hits, one run and he struck out one. Whitehill turned in another solid performance in his starting role, throwing six and a third innings and allowing just four hits while striking out a season-high five. He allowed three runs, all of which came in his final inning and a third of work. He allowed just three baserunners in his first five innings.
Marlin and Blackburn led the way for the Nittany Lions offense with Marlin going 2-for-5 and Blackburn going 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to eight games. Both had two RBI as well.
Penn State will send Craig Clark (Phoenixville, Pa.) and Ryan Stobart (Barrington, Ill.) to the mound in tomorrow??s doubleheader, which will begin at 4:35 p.m. State Senator Jake Corman and Anthony P. Lubrano, whom Medlar Field at Lubrano Park is named after, are scheduled to throw out ceremonial first pitches. All baseball alumni will be honored on the field in a ceremony between games and the stadium will be officially dedicated as well. Another postgame fireworks show will follow the second game.
Notes: The head coach of the Penn State national championship men??s gymnastics team, Randy Jepson, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. He threw a strike to catcher Joe Blackburn??.Blackburn is hitting .514 (18-for-35) during his current hitting streak??.Hawkins has not allowed a walk in his last 10.1 innings??.Penn State moved up from sixth to fifth place in the Big Ten standings after the win.