March 9, 2012
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Penn State baseball (2-10) extended its losing streak to five games with a 9-3 loss to the UAB Blazers on Friday afternoon. Senior Jordan Steranka (Pittsburgh, Pa.) recorded three hits (two doubles) in the loss.
In the bottom of the first, Patrick Palmeiro, the son of former Major League Baseball standout Rafael Palmeiro, slapped a base-hit to the opposite field to score Ryan Prinzing. Sophomore Zach Ell (Plains, Pa.) threw a nice ball into freshman catcher JC Coban (Boca Raton, Calif.), but Prinzing slid just under the tag to give the Blazers a 1-0 lead.
The Nittany Lions manufactured a run in the third inning. Steranka led things off with a double, his third of the year. Senior Joey DeBernardis (Lake Zurich, Ill.) moved Steranka over on a fly ball to center. Then with one out, senior Sean Deegan (Readington, N.J.) scored Steranka on an RBI groundout to tie the game at one.
The Blazers answered though, putting together a five-hit, four run fourth inning and a one-run fifth inning. Junior Neal Herring (West Chester, Pa.) relieved junior Cody Lewis (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) to start off the fifth inning. Herring pitched three innings of one-hit ball.
In the top of the eighth, Coban led off the inning with a walk. Then with two outs, Steranka doubled and Coban would score after an errant throw by the centerfielder. With Steranka on third, a wild pitch advanced him to home. UAB had the 6-3 lead at that point.
The Blazers added three in the eighth to make it 9-3.
Junior Dave Walkling (Nanaimo, Canada) made his return from Tommy John Surgery, pitching the eighth inning for Penn State.
Penn State returns for the second game of its series with UAB tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET. Junior John Walter (Haddonfield, N.J.) will make the start on the mound for the Nittany Lions.
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.