Feb. 23, 2008
Coach Wine's postgame podcast interview (mp3)
High Point, N.C. - Mike Wanamaker, a junior college transfer making his first appearance as a Penn State Nittany Lion, pitched six innings, allowing just five hits while striking out five and escaping a pair of jams without any damage and All-American candidate Drew O'Neil recorded his first save of the year as Penn State won its first season opener since the 2002 season with a 4-2 win over High Point on Saturday. The game was the first of a doubleheader on Saturday after Friday's game was postponed.
Joe Blackburn went 3-for-3 with an RBI while Brian Ernst went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Nittany Lions at the plate. Mike Deese added a solo home run to the efforts as seven of the nine Penn State position players recorded a hit. Penn State outhit the Panthers 10-9.
Wanamaker escaped the first major jam of the year in the first, getting out of a bases-loaded no outs jam without allowing a run. High Point loaded the bases with a leadoff seeing-eye single, a walk and then a hit batsman. But Wanamaker came back to strike out the next two hitters and then retired Max Fulginiti on a ground ball to first.
Penn State put its first two on in the second as Blackburn led off with a single for the first Penn State hit of the year and Cory Wine followed with a single of his own. But Deese popped out on a bunt attempt and Rick Marlin grounded into an inning-ending double play.
In the third, Wanamaker escaped another jam as he gave up a single and a double with one out, putting runners at second and third. He struck out Billy Alvino, however and then got Randy Schwartz to ground out to end the threat.
The Nittany Lions then struck first on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth. Leadoff hitter Landon Nakata got a gift double when Panther center fielder Robby Kuzdale lost his fly ball in the sun and overran it, allowing it to drop behind him for a double. Nakata stole third on Rob Yodice's strikeout and then scored on Blackburn's long sacrifice fly to deep center.
Brian Ernst drove in a run and went 2-for-4. |
Deese made up for his pop out on the bunt in the second inning in the top of the fifth when he gave the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead with a solo home run to left field that hit off the bottom of the scoreboard just the 370 sign. The home run was just the second of Deese's Penn State career, as he hit just one round tripper last year after transferring in from Young Harris College.
After the Nittany Lions and Wanamaker escaped a leadoff error to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Nittany Lions took advance of High Point's first error of the game to leadoff the seventh and compounded into two more runs to take a 4-0 lead. Marlin led off with a pop up down the right field line that was dropped by second baseman Jeff Cowan, allowing Marlin to scamper down to second base. He scored on Scott Kelley's single down the left field line to make it 3-0. Kelley was then sacrificed to second by Lou Picconi and he scored on Brian Ernst's single up the middle.
Wanamaker left after the sixth inning and after being given the 4-0 lead, Paul Hawkins entered the game in the bottom of the seventh. He gave up a one-out double to Pablo Rosario and then advanced him to third by committing a balk. Rosario scored on a groundout to cut the Penn State lead to three, 4-1.
Then, in the eighth, Hawkins ran into a little trouble again. After getting the first two outs of the inning, he gave up a three straight singles to Fulginiti, Alfie Wheeler and Eric Marion that produced another run and put runners at the corners. O'Neil then entered and needed just one pitch to get out of the inning as he got Rosario on a weak grounder to second.
O'Neil then worked a 1-2-3 ninth, getting three ground outs to pick up his first save of the year.
Game two of the doubleheader is scheduled to start at 3:15 p.m.
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