April 4, 2010
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Penn State baseball team hung tough early on, but a five-run Illinois sixth inning proved to be too much as the Nittany Lions went on to fall, 15-3 in the series finale on Sunday afternoon. Sophomore Sean Deegan (Readington, N.J.) hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning to even the score at three, but Illinois responded with 12 unanswered runs on its way to victory. Penn State (11-15, 1-2 Big Ten) now returns home to face Bucknell in a nonconference showdown on Tuesday before hosting Northwestern this weekend.
The Lions' four through seven hitters all recorded multiple hits, led by three from junior Bobby Jacobs (West Chester, Pa.) to tie a career-high. He finished 3-for-3 with a career-high tying two doubles along with an RBI and run scored. Junior Mario Eramo (Houston, Texas) went 2-for-4 with a double and run scored while junior Ben Heath (Huntersville, N.C.) finished 2-for-5 and Deegan was 2-for-4. In the process, Heath extended his career-high hitting streak to 13 games.
Deegan's fourth-inning home run tied the score at three, but a disputed call limited the damage. With no outs and Michael Glantz (Marietta, Ga.) at first base, the junior shortstop ran on the 3-1 pitch. Senior Louie Picconi (North Merrick, N.Y.) thought it was ball four and started walking to first. The umpire called a late strike and went on to call Picconi out for batter's interference. Instead of first and second with none out, there was a runner on first with one out.
A frustrating afternoon included 10 runners left on base. A number of golden opportunities went for naught, including in the second when the Lions failed to score on a bases loaded, one-out rally. Then with runners on second and third in the seventh, a sharp Deegan liner turned into a double play.
Freshman Neal Herring (West Chester, Pa.) battled through five strong innings before running into trouble in the sixth.
Aaron Johnson put Illinois on top quickly with a two-run home run in the top of the first to score Casey McMurray.
The Illini added a run in the third to take a 3-0 lead when Craig Lutes drove in McMurray with a sacrifice fly to center field.
The Nittany Lions put together an impressive three-run fourth to even the score at three. Jacobs had a bloop RBI double to score Eramo from second while Deegan followed with his first-career home run to score two.
Willie Argo's RBI single in the bottom of the inning plated Josh Parr from second to make it 4-3 in favor of Illinois.
Illinois added five more in the sixth for a 9-3 advantage. Pete Cappetta made it 5-3 with an RBI double to plate Lutes. Adam Davis followed with a two-run home run to left field to score Cappetta. McMurray went on to hit the second two-run home run of the inning to deep left, plating Giller for the six run lead.
The Illini added a single run in the seventh and five unearned runs in the eighth to round out the scoring.
The game will re-air on the Big Ten Network on Monday at 6 p.m. ET.
The Lions return to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. for a nonconference matchup with Bucknell. They then host Northwestern on Friday (6:35 p.m.), Saturday (2:05 p.m.) and Sunday (1:05 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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