March 28, 2010
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State baseball team jumped out to an early lead and wouldn't look back as it closed out the home-opening series against Hofstra with a convincing 8-4 win on Sunday afternoon at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The Nittany Lions led 7-1 after three innings of play and used seven strong innings from freshman Neal Herring (West Chester, Pa.) for their ninth win of the season. Four Lions finished with multiple hits, led by sophomore Joey DeBernardis' (Lake Zurich, Ill.) eighth multi-hit effort in his last 12 games. The squad now looks ahead to a home-and-home series with Kent State beginning on Tuesday.
Herring threw seven innings, allowing only two earned runs on nine hits to improve his record to 2-1. DeBernardis has now recorded 20 hits in his last 12 games as he finished the afternoon 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.
Juniors Ben Heath (Huntersville, N.C.) and Bobby Jacobs (West Chester, Pa.) each went 2-for-4 as well while redshirt freshman Elliot Searer (Lewistown, Pa.) finished 2-for-3 with a run scored.
"We're playing our game, we're hustling and taking the extra base." said head coach Robbie Wine. "When you're going through a spell, you're playing to not make mistakes instead of attacking. That's what we did this weekend. We went after it, stole bases and weren't afraid to make an out at the next base instead of playing station-to-station."
Hofstra did take a brief lead when leadoff hitter Matt Prokopowicz opened the game with a double to left field. He later scored on an RBI groundout by Mike Walraven.
Penn State responded quickly with a pair in the bottom of the inning to take a 2-1 advantage. DeBernardis (Lake Zurich) scored the first run on an error when Hofstra first baseman Jared Hammer couldn't handle the throw on a double-play attempt. Jacobs then smashed a double to right field to bring in Heath.
The Nittany Lions increased their lead in the bottom of the second behind a two-run single from DeBernardis to plate Searer and senior Louie Picconi (North Merrick, N.Y.). Searer and Picconi had reached via a single and walk, respectively. Sophomore Sean Deegan (Readington, N.J.), who finished the game with two stolen bases, scored Penn State's fifth run via a balk while DeBernardis crossed the plate on an RBI double by Jacobs.
Penn State added a run in the bottom of the third when Picconi crossed the plate for a second time on an RBI single by Deegan.
Herring held Hofstra off the board for five straight innings until Scott A'Hara scored in the top of the seventh on an RBI groundout by Walraven. Walraven later scored on a single from Johnny Kenny while Watkins crossed the plate on an error, narrowing the Penn State lead to three.
Junior Mario Eramo (Houston, Texas) singled to start Penn State's seventh inning and later scored on Picconi's sacrifice fly, good for the 8-4 final.
After a road game at Kent State, the Lions return to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park to host the Golden Flashes on Wednesday at 6:05 p.m. Purchase your tickets today!
Season and individual game tickets are now available can be purchased online or over the phone. Please call 1-877-997-7453 or (814) 272-1711, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. for more information. Fans can also direct any additional questions or comments via phone, or by email (psubaseball@athletics.psu.edu).
Baseball camp information is now available. Call the Sports Camp Office at (814) 865-0561 or email them at SportCampInfo@outreach.psu.edu for more information.
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