April 1, 2012
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Penn State baseball (8-18, 2-4) closed out the weekend with a season-high 16 runs and 19 hits in a 16-6 victory over the No. 19 Purdue Boilermakers on Sunday afternoon. The Nittany Lions belted four homeruns and had a seven-run third inning.
Penn State's hitters had a huge day at the plate. The first four batters in the Nittany Lion lineup collected a total of 11 hits and drove in 10 runs. Senior Sean Deegan started it all with leadoff homerun to begin the game. Senior Jordan Steranka (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had four hits and drove in three runs. Senior Joey DeBernardis (Lake Zurich, Ill.) tied his career-high in RBI with five and belted a two-run homer in the seventh inning. Sophomore Steve Snyder (West Chester, Pa.) drove in two runs and had three hits as he made his second start of the season in the No. 2 spot.
The bottom of the order put together a great performance as well. Sophomore Alex Farkes (Boston, Mass.) had a three-hit performance and two RBI, which included a massive home run in the eighth inning. Freshman Aaron Novak (Ambler, Pa.) belted his second homerun of the season as well. Junior Elliot Searer (Lewistown, Pa.) collected two hits and a had a great game defensively in the field.
Sophomore Steven Hill (Colleyville, Texas) picked up his first win of the season as he went 6.2 innings, giving up four runs, three of which were earned. He walked just one batter and struck out three.
In the top of the first inning, Penn State got things going immediately. Deegan crushed leadoff a homerun over the right centerfield fence to give the Nittany Lions an early 1-0 lead. Penn State was not finished though, as DeBernardis scored on an RBI double by Steranka to give the Lions a 2-0 lead. After Novak walked, Farkes drove him in with an RBI single. Penn State took a 3-0 lead into the bottom half of the inning. Purdue's scrappy offense would take advantage of some miscues in the bottom of the first. An error, walk and hit batter would lead to two Boilermaker runs.
The Lions answered right back in the second inning, adding another three spot. Searer got things going with leadoff single. After Deegan reached on an error, Snyder bunted the runners to second and third. DeBernardis drove both runs in on an RBI single down the leftfield line to give the Lions a 5-2 advantage. After DeBernardis advanced to second on a wild pitch, Steranka drove him in on an RBI double down the right field line. Penn State had a 6-2 lead.
The big inning came in the third. Penn State sported a season-high seven run inning and collected six hits. Searer and Farkes stood on first and second with one out. Deegan singled to right field to load the bases. A single by Snyder through the left side would give the Lions an 8-2 lead. After Deegan scored on a fielding error, Steranka doubled again to give Penn State a 10-2 advantage. The big blast came from Novak, who hit a three-run shot over the left field fence. Penn State exited the top of the third with a 13-2 lead.
Purdue would add runs in the fourth and the fifth inning, but the Lions would still maintain a 13-4 edge.
After a quiet three innings for Penn State, DeBernardis put the Lions up 15-4 with a two-run homer in the top of the seventh. Then in the eighth, Farkes followed up with his second homer of the season, as he cleared the left field netting that stands about 25 feet high and 10 feet beyond the wall. Penn State led 16-4.
Penn State is back in action on Tuesday as it travels to Kent State for a 3 p.m. contest with the Golden Flashes.
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