March 6, 2012
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Penn State baseball (2-8) dropped the opening game of a two-game set to Mississippi State on Tuesday night by a score of 7-3. Despite taking an early lead, the Nittany Lions were unable to hang on against the 23rd-ranked Bulldogs.
In the top of the first, sophomore Steve Snyder (West Chester, Pa.) started things with a leadoff walk. Junior Elliot Searer (Lewistown, Pa.) then advanced Snyder to second and reached first on an error by the pitcher on a bunt attempt. Senior Sean Deegan (Readington, N.J.) followed with another bunt, where the pitcher chose to throw to third. Snyder reached safely and the bases were loaded. Senior Joey DeBernardis (Lake Zurich, Ill.) grounded into a double play, but Snyder scored to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.
The Bulldogs answered in the bottom half, as Wes Rea got things started with an RBI double. The Bulldogs catcher Mitch Slauter then was credited with an RBI groundout to give Mississippi State a 2-1 lead.
In the top of the second, junior Luis Montesinos (Miami, Fla.) extended his hit streak to two games with a leadoff single. Freshman JJ White (Lansdowne, Va.) earned his first career hit with a single slapped the other way. With runners on first and second, walks by sophomore Zach Ell (Plains, Pa.) and Searer scored Montesinos to tie the game at two.
The Bulldogs doubled their runs in the second inning, getting two more. Penn State added another tally and inched closer in the third inning. DeBernardis and senior Jordan Steranka (Pittsburgh, Pa.) reached on singles. Junior Ryan Clark (Westerville, Ohio) would drive in DeBernardis to make the score 4-3 in favor of the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State strung together three hits in the eighth to add three more runs and up its lead to 7-3.
Penn State returns to Dudy Noble Field tomorrow for the finale of a two-game set with the Bulldogs. First pitch is slated for 7:30 ET.
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.
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