| Rick Marlin went 2-for-3 with the only Penn State RBI of the game in game two. |
- Box Score
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.; April 28, 2007 ?C Indiana??s Matt Bashore scattered nine hits and allowed just one run to Penn State and he also stranded the bases loaded with the tying run at second in the seventh inning as the Hoosiers snapped Penn State??s seven-game winning streak with a 3-1 win over the Nittany Lions on Saturday in the second game of the doubleheader. Penn State won game one 6-2.
The Nittany Lions had baserunners in every inning but Bashore was able to escape trouble several times with only allowing one run. He struck out four and walked three and also induced a pair of double play balls. Ryan Stobart (Barrington, Ill.) had one of his better starts of the year but has handed the hard-luck loss as he allowed only six hits in six innings. He allowed the three runs, two earned and struck out three and walked two.
Indiana took a 1-0 lead in the second inning as a string of four straight singles produced a run. The Nittany Lions benefited from a baserunning mistake by the Hoosiers that saw a runner get thrown out for overrunning second base on the RBI single for the second out of the inning and then Stobart limited the damage by striking out leadoff hitter Keith Haas with runners at the corners to end the inning.
The Hoosiers made it a 2-0 lead in the third inning as they benefited from an odd play. Andrew Means singled up the middle with one out. With Jon Fixler at the plate, Means broke for second and the pitch got away from Joe Blackburn (Sinking Spring, Pa.), who did not chase the ball right away, apparently thinking the ball was dead because a balk was called in the middle of Stobart??s delivery. The ball was not dead, however, and Means scooted down to third what was scored a passed ball. He then scored on Fixler??s ground out.
After having a runner thrown out at third in the first and stranding the bases loaded in the second, Penn State finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth as Rick Marlin (Orlando, Fla.) singled in Blackburn to make it 2-1 but the inning ended when Jim Leitgeb??s (Elkton, Md.) hard shot down the third base line was snagged by Tyler Cox, who started an inning-ending 5-5-3 double play.
Fixler made it a two-run lead again as he hit a solo home run to lead off the sixth inning. In the seventh, Penn State made a rally, getting a one-out single by Landon Nakata (Honolulu, Hawaii) and then consecutive two-out infield singles by Scott Gaffney (Westbury, N.Y.) and Cory Wine (Stillwater, Okla.) to load the bases but the game ended when Blackburn??s deep fly to center was hauled in by Means just short of the fence.
Nakata went 3-for-3 out of the ninth spot in the order while Marlin was 2-for-3 with the RBI. No Indiana player had more than one hit, however Fixler drove in two of IU??s three runs.
Penn State still will have an opportunity tomorrow to win its third consecutive Big Ten series for the first time since 2000 tomorrow when the teams wrap up the series at 1:00 p.m.
Notes: Cavagnaro extended his hitting streak to 11 games, just one short of tying his career best??.With a win tomorrow, Penn State will also win three straight Big Ten four-game series for the first time since 1996, as the three-series win streak in 2000 included an abbreviated three-game series??.Penn State has now played six straight games without committing an error??.Gaffney made one of the best defensive plays of the year to end the fourth inning and rob Brad Henke of a hit as he went to his right to field a ball in the hole and from mid-air, threw a near strike to Wine at first to record the out.