March 11, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Penn State baseball (3-11) snapped its six-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory over the UAB Blazers on Sunday afternoon. Senior Jordan Steranka's RBI single in the top of the ninth put the Nittany Lions in in line to pick up the win. The Pittsburgh native also hit a two-run homer in the game.
Freshman Casey Kulina (Hummelstown, Pa.) entered the game in the ninth inning and got in a bases loaded jam with nobody out. The freshman turned in a gutsy performance and struck out the side to pick up the save. Sophomore Steven Hill (Colleyville, Texas) had arguably the best start for a Nittany Lion starter this season, as he went 7.2 innings, giving up three earned runs. Hill fanned three batters and did not walk anybody. Sophomore Greg Welsh (Holland, Pa.) came in to relieve Hill and picked up the win.
With two outs in the top of the first and sophomore Steve Snyder (West Chester, Pa.) on first, Steranka walked and Novak ripped a single up the middle to score Snyder. Penn State had a 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the first.
The Blazers would counter in the first and second inning. Patrick Palmeiro of UAB hit an RBI double to deep centerfield to tie the game up at one. Then in the second inning, a homerun by Ryan Ussery gave the Blazers a 2-1 advantage.
In the top of the fourth, Novak chopped his second base-hit of the game into centerfield to get things started. After Novak reached second base on a sac bunt by junior Luis Montesinos (Miami, Fla.) and junior Matt Paradise (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) walked with two outs, freshman JC Coban (Boca Raton, Fla.) nudged a ground ball to the shortstop. With Novak running to third, the shortstop attempted to get him on the force. However, the ball went past the third baseman Palmeiro, allowing Novak to score on the error.
In the top of the fifth inning, senior Sean Deegan (Readington, N.J.) reached first base on an infield hit. Then with one out, Steranka lifted a two-run shot over the right field fence to give Penn State a 4-2 lead.
Penn State nearly turned a triple-play in the fifth inning. With a runner on third with nobody out, Paradise fielded a ball at third and Penn State successfully converted a 5-4-3 double play. The runner left third and made a nice slide around Coban, who caught the ball thrown by senior Joey DeBernardis (Lake Zurich, Ill.), at home. UAB cut Penn State's lead to 4-3 on that play.
The Blazers would tie the game up at four on a base-hit to left field. The bases would be loaded with just one out, but Hill forced a big 4-6-3 double play ball to abruptly end the inning. The Lions and Blazers were tied at four.
Snyder led things off with a single in the top of the ninth. Snyder would advance on Deegan's sac bunt. Steranka then came through in the clutch, ripping a single up the middle to give the Lions a 5-4 lead.
Student season ticket sales for the 2012 season will begin on March 12 and continue through March 16 at the HUB, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. each day. Season tickets are just $20 and each student that purchases them will get a Penn State Baseball three-quarters sleeve t-shirt, tickets to 19 home games, a free hot dog and soda at Friday home games and two batting practice sessions with the team.
Follow Penn State baseball on Twitter: www.twitter.com/psubaseball.