| Matt Cavagnaro extended his hitting streak to 10 games and went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. |
- Box Score
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.; April 28, 2007 ?C Scott Gaffney??s (Westbury, N.Y.) three-run home run in the fourth inning gave Penn State some breathing room in extending a two-run lead to a five-run lead and Craig Clark (Phoenixville, Pa.) picked up his third win of the year and his second straight with a complete game performance as the Nittany Lions defeated Indiana 6-2 in the first game of Saturday??s doubleheader. The Nittany Lions improve their overall record to .500 at 19-19 and 11-5 in the Big Ten.
Matt Cavagnaro (Brightwaters, N.Y.) extended his hitting streak to 10 games by going 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and an RBI while Gaffney continued his hot hitting as of late with a 2-for-4 performance and three RBI. Rob Yodice (Staten Island, N.Y.) also went 2-for-4 and Brian Ernst (Boyertown, Pa.) went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs. Cory Wine (Stillwater, Okla.) also drove in a run.
Clark pitched his third complete game of the year, allowing six hits and two runs, both earned. He struck out four and did not walk any, the second straight game that he has not allowed a walk.
Penn State got a lead for Clark before he even took the mound as it got one run in the first. The Lions loaded the bases on singles by Cavagnaro and Gaffney and a one-out walk to Joe Blackburn (Sinking Spring, Pa.) and Cavagnaro scored on a sacrifice fly by Wine that was nearly carried all the way over the fence in right field by the wind. Instead, it was caught right at the fence.
The Hoosiers responded right away in the bottom of the first to tie it as Keith Haas led off by doubling to right center on the first pitch and after going to third on a fly out, scoring on a single by Andrew Means.
| Craig Clark pitched his third complete game of the season and picked up his third win of the year and his second straight, striking out four in seven innings of work. |
The Nittany Lions took the lead right back with two runs in the top of the second as Ernst singled and Garrett Field (Stillwater, Okla.) doubled with one out to put runners at second and third. Ernst trotted home on a ground out by Cavagnaro and then Field scored when Gaffney reached on an error by second baseman Evan Crawford, who had trouble digging the ball out of his glove on a short chopper off Gaffney??s bat.
Another ball off of Gaffney??s bat, this one much longer than his second-inning chop, gave Penn State a 6-1 lead in the fourth inning as Gaffney hit his second home run of the year, a three-run shot to right field. His home run followed a leadoff single by Ernst and a one-out error by first baseman Ben Greenspan that allowed Cavagnaro to reach. Gaffney followed that by depositing a 3-2 pitch over the right field wall and onto the IU softball field.
Indiana got one run back in the fifth as Chris Hervey doubled with one out, went to third on a fly out, and scored on Brian Lambert??s single to make it 6-2. That would be all the Hoosiers could muster up, however, as Clark helped himself by getting two double play balls in the final two innings.
Notes: Both of Gaffney??s home runs this year have been to the opposite (right) field??.Clark picked off his Big Ten-leading seventh baserunner, picking off the Hoosiers?? Brian Lambert at second base to end the fifth inning??.Blackburn reached base for the 14th straight game and the 25th time in his last 26 games??.Cavagnaro??s hitting streak is now the second-longest of his career??.Clark has not allowed a walk in his last 14.1 innings of work.