May 14, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Down six runs in the fifth inning, the Penn State baseball team's six-run rally to tie the game was not enough as the Nittany Lions fell to No. 21 Minnesota, 7-6, on Thursday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
The Golden Gophers put a run on the board in the top of the ninth after the Nittany Lions evened the score at six apiece in the eighth. Michael Kvasnicka scored the winning run when Nick O'Shea zipped a grounder to third baseman Jordan Steranka (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who threw an errant throw past first baseman Cory Wine (Stillwater, Okla.).
With Purdue's victory over Illinois earlier in the afternoon, Penn State has been eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. The Boilermakers and Michigan are vying for the final spot in the first neutral tournament in over 15 years.
Bobby Jacobs (West Chester, Pa.) went 1-for-3 with two RBIs, and Mike Deese (Roswell, Ga.) drove in two RBIs for the Nittany Lions.
Steranka crushed a ball off the right field seats for his team-leading six home run of the season.
Blake Lynd (Deer Park, Texas) led all Nittany Lion hitters with two base hits.
In 3 2-3 innings of work, Paul Cianciolo (Charleston, S.C.) kept the Big Ten-leading Golden Gophers at bay during the Penn State comeback. The righthander allowed one earned run in relief and recorded four strikeouts.
David Lutz (West Chester, Pa.) took the loss for Penn State, despite not allowing an earned run. Lutz gave up one hit in an inning pitched.
Minnesota jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the fifth lead after chipping away at starter T.J. Macy. Doubles by Kyle Knudson and Kyle Geason brought home three of the six Golden Gopher runs. The lone run charged to Cianciolo was tallied on a balk call with a runner at third base.
Penn State responded in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the lead in half at 6-3. Ryan Boonie (State College, Pa.) reached first of three times in as many innings to lead off. An error by Geason put Rick Marlin (Orlando, Fla.) on base, and Jacobs sent the first Penn State run home on a double to left. Deese found open real estate in left with a drilled single to add two to his RBI total.
During Penn State's next set of at-bats, Steranka led off with a deafening home run that sailed over the 18-foot wall in right and off the seats. After Marlin's team-leading 12th double moved Boonie to third, Jacobs sacrifice flied to make it a one-run game.
Cianciolo picked up a ground-out double play to leave the Gophers scoreless in the seventh.
The Nittany Lions tied it up in their turn in the seventh when Landon Nakata (Honolulu, Hawai'i) reached on an error and scored on a wild pitch by Austin Lubinsky.
Lutz relieved Cianciolo with two outs in the eighth and pitched into a pop-out to eventually make it a stalemate going into the ninth.
Minnesota had its first lead-off runner reach since the fifth inning when Kvasnicka lined a single to center.
The two teams return to action at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Friday at 6:35 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.