April 26, 2008
Champaign, Ill. - Penn State continued its hot hitting in its series with Illinois, scoring at least 10 runs for the third straight game and this time getting just enough pitching as the Nittany Lions swept Saturday's doubleheader with a 10-7 victory in game two. The win is Penn State's eighth in its last nine games and its ninth win in its last 11 contests. Its gives the Nittany Lions a 2-1 edge in the series and moves Penn State to above .500 in league play for just the second time this season at 10-9. Penn State was also 2-1 in the Big Ten after sweeping Ohio State on Saturday in the first conference weekend of the year.
The Nittany Lions scored 10 runs for the third straight game despite being outhit 13-10. T.J. Macy, making just his third start of the year and his first Big Ten start, turned in a decent performance that enabled the Nittany Lions to build an early lead, as he kept the Illini off the scoreboard for the first three innings during which the Lions were able to build a 4-0 lead. For the game, he went five innings, allowing 10 hits and four runs. He struck out two and walked three to pick up his second straight win and his first in Big Ten play.
The offense for Penn State remained potent for the third straight games. In this game, the attack was more spread out than in previous games, as only two Nittany Lions recorded multiple hits but eight of the nine members of the starting lineup recorded at least one hit and seven different Lions recorded at least one RBI. Wes Borden led the way with a 2-for-3 performance, driving in one run and scoring three times. Rick Marlin went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run while Landon Nakata, Rob Yodice and Cory Wine each knocked in two runs apiece, Nakata's on a two-run home run, his third of the year.
For the second time in three games, the Nittany Lions scored in their first at-bat, once again pushing across one in the top of the first. Just as in Friday's game, it was Borden acting as a catalyst at the top of the order as he was hit by a pitch, stole second, went to third on a groundout and scored on Joe Blackburn's sacrifice fly.
Cory Wine knocked in two more runs in game two, giving him seven RBI in the Saturday doubleheader. |
Penn State extended it to a 4-0 lead in the second as it strung together three hits, including two doubles. Wine started the scoring rally by drawing a one-out walk. Marlin followed with an RBI double down the right field line to plate Wine. After a groundout advanced Marlin to third, he scored on Picconi's double down the right field line and Picconi then came home on Borden's single to right, which extended his hitting streak.
Illinois broke through for a pair of runs in the fourth as Ryan Hastings hit a two-run homer to right center after Aaron Johnson had doubled with one out.
Just as Illinois had done whenever Penn State scored in Friday's game, the Nittany Lions answered right back in the top of the fifth, putting up a four-spot to take an 8-2 lead. Borden grounded a one-out single through the right side and that was followed by Nakata's blast, a two-run shot to left field. After the second out was made, Yodice drew a walk and went to third on a single by Ernst. Both runners scored on Wine's double to left.
The Illini crept back within four with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth, getting an RBI single from Joe Bonadonna and a sacrifice fly by Brandon Wikoff. Bonadonna was caught stealing at third base for the second out of the inning, which ended up being a big out as the Illini loaded the bases on back-to-back singles by Johnson and Hastings and a walk to Daniel Webb after Wikoff's sac fly. But Macy got John Schlichter to foul out to Yodice on his final batter of the game. Yodice made a diving catch to end the inning and strand the sacks full.
T.J. Macy won his first Big Ten decision, going five innings and allowing four runs. |
But just as they had in the previous inning, the Nittany Lions answered the Illini's score as they plated two more runs in the sixth with a big two-run, two-out double by Yodice down the right field line with the bases loaded being the big hit off reliever Nick Chmielewski, who had relieved starter Phil Haig to start the inning. Haig went five innings and allowed seven hits and eight runs, all earned.
Paul Cianciolo relieved Macy in the sixth and stranded Illinois runners on the corners in working a scoreless sixth. A pair of errors helped the Illini score three runs in the seventh, but only one was earned off Cianciolo as Penn State committed two errors in the frame.
Penn State, which is now guaranteed at least a split and at least a .500 record in Big Ten after this weekend, will go for the series win tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. (ET). Mike Lorentson is expected to take the hill for the Nittany Lions.
Notes: Borden has now hit in 14 straight games....Ernst has now hit in seven straight games....Wine's errorless streak ended in the bottom of the seventh as he committing an error. He had gone his last 34 straight games and his last 315 straight chances without committing an error....Penn State has now scored 10 or more runs in three straight games after scoring that many runs just five times previously all year....The last time Penn State scored 10 or more runs in three straight games was from April 9-14 in 2006, when they scored 11, 12 and 10 runs against three different opponents: Iowa, Duquesne and Michigan State.... Ernst recorded his 212th career hit, tying him for sixth place on the all-time career hits list at Penn State with Jared Sadlowski a(1994-97).