May 6, 2011
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Penn State baseball team had a rough night defensively as the Nittany Lions were charged with eight errors on the way to a tough 11-4 setback during a Big Ten battle against Iowa on a warm Friday evening at Duane Banks Field.
Two miscues in the first and three more in both the fourth and fifth aided three huge Iowa (17-26, 6-10 Big Ten) rallies as the hosts overcame a pair of early deficits on the way to the victory over Penn State (25-17, 7-9). The loss was the fourth straight for PSU, while the win marked just the second for the Hawkeyes in their last eight contests.
Sean Deegan led the Lion offense with a pair of hits and two runs scored. Ryan Clark also launched his fourth home run of the season, while Luis Montesinos extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single in the ninth.
In the top of the first, Penn State grabbed an early lead and opened the scoring just three pitches into the contest. Deegan got things rolling after blasting the first pitch of the game just inside the rightfield line for a leadoff double. Two pitches later, Montesinos yanked a ball to the right side trying to move Deegan to third. On the play, he got more than he was asking for as the ball squirted between the Iowa second baseman's legs and allowed Deegan to cruise around with the first run of the game.
The Hawkeyes wasted little time responding as the hosts plated three runs in the bottom of the inning. After Penn State flipped an impressive 4-6-3 double play on an attempted hit-and-run, Iowa stormed back with a two-out rally. Four straight hits, including RBI knocks by Tyson Blaser and Taylor Zeutenhurst, kicked off the surge before a Lion miscue allowed the third run to scamper home.
Two innings later, Penn State fired back with a two-run surge that knotted the game at three. Following another leadoff hit by Deegan, Jordan Steranka pumped an opposite field double into left center, which chased in a run. Later, after a single by Joey DeBernardis moved Steranka to third, Bobby Jacobs drove him in with a sacrifice fly to center.
Even at three, the Nittany Lions broke the deadlock in the top of the fourth. With one out, Clark worked ahead in the count and finally got a pitch right in his wheelhouse. With quick hands, he turned on the ball and jolted a blast to deep left that nearly put a dent in the Hawkeye statue situated well beyond the fence.
Holding their first lead since the opening frame, the Nittany Lions could not keep their advantage as the squad's defense struggled in the bottom of the fourth. Three infield miscues coupled with a pair of Iowa base hits allowed the Hawkeyes to plaster another three-run inning on the board to take a 6-4 lead.
One inning later, Iowa put the game away with four more unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth. Although lefty reliever Greg Welsh retired the first two batters and induced what appeared to be an inning-ending groundout, the ball found its way through the infield and gave the Hawkeyes new life. With a second chance, the hosts took advantage as Chett Zeise and Mike McQuillen poked back-to-back RBI hits that helped cap off the four-run surge.
Trailing 10-4, the Nittany Lions tried to respond but could not quite capitalize on decent opportunities in the sixth and eighth. During the first rally, Mario Eramo singled, Clark drew a walk, and Deegan was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Unfortunately, the Hawkeyes quickly worked out of the jam after getting a fly ball to right, which ended the threat.
Two innings later, after Iowa tacked on another run in the bottom of the sixth, Penn State put their first two runners in scoring position following a walk and a two-base error. Once again, the Hawkeyes escaped unscathed as the squad sent the next two batters down swinging before getting an inning-ending pop up to short.
Steven Hill (4-4) took the loss after surrendering six runs, but only two earned, over four innings of work. Jarred Hippen (3-5) picked up the victory as the reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week struck out six while allowing three earned runs over six frames.
During his time on the mound, Neal Herring had a nice outing for PSU as he retired all six batters that he faced, including three strikeouts. Overall, the Penn State bullpen worked four innings and allowed just one earned run, but Iowa's relievers matched them pitch-for-pitch and held the Lion offense in check.
The two teams will continue their series tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET. The game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
--PSU--