April 25, 2010
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COLUMBUS, Ohio - Strong pitching from sophomore Ryan Ignas (North Wales, Pa.) coupled with another offensive outburst led the Penn State baseball team to a 14-6 win at Ohio State on a rainy Sunday afternoon. The victory gave the Nittany Lions' (17-22, 4-8 Big Ten) their first-ever road series win against the Buckeyes. Junior Ben Heath (Huntersville, N.C.) hit his third home run of the series and 15th of the season to pull within two of the Penn State single-season record while senior David Lutz made his 76th career appearance to tie the school's career mark. Penn State returns home on Tuesday for a 6:35 p.m. contest against La Salle.
In the process, the Lions handed Ohio State its first Big Ten series loss of the season. Leading 4-3 in the seventh, Heath gave the Lions some breathing room with a leadoff home run to left field. That sparked a seven-run inning to give Penn State an 11-3 advantage. The junior catcher is now tied for third in school history with 15 home runs and within two of tying the program's single-season record. He finished the afternoon 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored.
A day after redshirt freshman Elliot Searer (Lewistown, Pa.) had a five-hit game, freshman Steve Snyder (West Chester, Pa.) recorded a career-high four, going 4-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore Jordan Steranka (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was 2-for-6 with two RBI and three runs while sophomore Sean Deegan (Readington, N.J.) went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run.
Two significant on-base streaks were also extended as Heath has now reached base in 26 consecutive games and Searer in 20 straight.
Lutz's 27th appearance of the season and third of the weekend was a historic one as it tied the Penn State career appearance record held by Jeff Emerich. He is also within two of tying the single-season school record of 29.
Ignas made his ninth start of the season and impressed through 5.1 strong innings. After shutting out the Buckeyes through the first four innings, he gave up a single run in the fifth and sixth innings. In total, he allowed only two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts for his third win of the season.
Penn State took advantage of two Ohio State fourth-inning errors to plate three unearned runs for a 3-0 advantage. After Snyder led off with a single, Steranka hit what looked like a double play ball to shortstop. Tyler Engle misplayed the ball however, without recording an out on the play. Heath followed with a grounder to third which got through to score Snyder. Sophomore Joey DeBernardis (Lake Zurich, Ill.) then hit a single to left to score Steranka and make it 2-0. Deegan rounded out the scoring with a sharp two-out single up the middle to plate Heath.
A two-out single by Heath in the fifth scored Steranka from third to make it 4-0.
Ohio State started to chip away at the lead in the bottom of the inning when a Michael Stephens single drove in Zach Hurley to make it 4-1. Cory Rupert then made it 4-2 with a solo home run to left field in the sixth.
The Buckeyes pulled within 4-3 in the seventh behind a Dan Burkhart sacrifice fly, but the Lions answered in a big way in the seventh, with the first nine hitters reaching base and a total of seven runs crossing the plate. Heath led off the inning with a home run to left field, his third in the last two days and 15th of the season. After DeBernardis was hit by a pitch, Eramo followed with his second home run in as many days, a two-run shot to make it 7-3.
Penn State went on to add four more to take an 11-3 lead. Searer drew a bases loaded walk to make it 8-3. Snyder and Steranka each followed with an RBI single while Heath hit a sacrifice fly to right for the Lions' 11th run.
The Lions added three more in the ninth while the Buckeyes answered with three of their own, good for the 14-6 final.
The Nittany Lions return to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park for a midweek contest against La Salle on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. They remain home to conclude a seven-game homestand with consecutive weekend series against Michigan State and Iowa. 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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