March 8, 2009
STANFORD, Calif. - A late surge in the sixth and seventh wasn't enough as Penn State fell to Illinois State 5-4 in Saturday's night cap of the Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic. The Nittany Lions are now 7-7 on the season while the Redbirds improve to 8-8. Senior center fielder Sam Hovanec (Pittsburgh, Pa.) connected for her second home run of the day scoring three in the process.
The Redbirds did some significant damage in the second inning. With two outs, Jessie Buker hit a double to the left center wall and later scored on a wild pitch. Becca Baltikas walked and although Kara Nelson struck out, she reached first on another wild pitch. A double by Niki Stansell cleared the bases giving Illinois State three runs in the inning before a ground out to short retired the Redbirds.
Illinois State threatened to score again in the third as Abby Olson made it around to third base. She took the opportunity to take home on another passed ball, but freshman catcher Danee Collett (Orange, Calif.) connected with junior first baseman Jackie Hill (San Jose, Calif.) to make the tag.
The Nittany Lions got their first hit of the game as senior second baseman Kayce Zielinski placed a single in left field with two outs. The inning ended with a pop up to second.
Passed ball continued to plague the Nittany Lions in the fourth as Buker went from first to third and then crossed the plate on the next pitch. Later in the fifth, ISU had the bases loaded and one out, but the Nittany Lions settled in and caught the second out at home before junior pitcher Kimi Wong (Goleta, Calif.) fanned Buker for the third to prevent another run from scoring.
Penn State posed a scoring threat in the top of the sixth with two on and two outs. Then senior center fielder Sam Hovanec (Pittsburgh, Pa.) stepped up to the plate and fired her second home run of the day over the left field wall to score three runs and get the Nittany Lions right back into the game. The inning ended on a foul out to right field.
The Redbirds extended their lead in the bottom of the sixth when Casey Gorrell fired a single up the middle to score Baltikas with two outs. Abby Olson then walked to load the bases again for Illinois State, but Hill delivered the strikeout to minimize the damage.
With two outs in the top of the seventh, Hill ripped a double to left center and junior left fielder Ashley Griffith (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) followed to reach first on a crucial error. Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.) then fired a single to score Hill and advanced to second on the throw. Unfortunately, the inning and the game ended on a ground out to second base.
Akamine took the loss falling to 3-3 in the circle.
The Nittany Lions will return to the diamond for the conclusion of the Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic Sunday at Noon ET to face the Aztecs of San Diego State. Fans can follow the action live via Gametracker at www.GoPSUsports.com.