April 14, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State baseball (14-20, 3-5) snapped a modest two-game skid on Saturday afternoon by breaking out with a 14-run and 17-hit performance to top the Michigan Wolverines, 14-1. Penn State faces Michigan in the rubber game of the series on Thon Sluggers Day tomorrow at 1:05 p.m.
Sophomore Joe Kurrasch (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) had a great effort on the mound for the Nittany Lions. Despite walking seven batters, Kurrasch allowed just four hits and one earned run in seven-plus innings of work. The Nittany Lion seniors really stepped up on Saturday. Senior Joey DeBernardis (Lake Zurich, Ill.) went 4-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. Senior Jordan Steranka collected three hits and two homers to go along with five RBI in the victory. Sean Deegan (Readington, N.J.) had three hits and one RBI in the leadoff position.
The scoring started in the bottom of the first for the Nittany Lions. With sophomore Steve Snyder (West Chester, Pa.) on base, DeBernardis tripled to left field to score Snyder and give the Lions a 1-0 lead. The big inning came in the second. With runners on first and third, junior Elliot Searer (Lewistown, Pa.) laid down a beautiful bunt to score freshman JJ White (Lansdowne, Va.). DeBernardis would hit an RBI single later in the inning, which was then followed by a three-run shot from Steranka over the left centerfield wall. Penn State had a 6-0 lead.
The Lions would strike again in the fourth and fifth inning. An RBI double by DeBernardis would give Penn State a 7-0 advantage. Despite Michigan scoring a run in the top of the fifth, the Nittany Lions responded in the bottom half. An RBI triple by freshman JC Coban (Boca Raton, Fla.) would put PSU up 8-1. An RBI single by Deegan would score Coban to put the Lions up by eight. Coban finished the day with three hits, two runs and an RBI.
Steranka would rip his second homer of the game in the sixth inning. A four-run eighth would propel Penn State's lead to 13. In that eighth inning, DeBernardis doubled, Steranka singled, Aaron Novak (Ambler, Pa.) singled, junior Luis Montesinos (Miami, Fla.) doubled and White singled to help accumulate for the four runs.
Senior Steven Hill (Colleyville, Texas) will take the mound tomorrow for the Nittany Lions at Medlar Field.
Sunday will be THON Sluggers Day at the ballpark. For every student ticket purchased, all proceeds will be donated to THON 2013. THON is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, affectionately referred to as THON, is a yearlong effort to raise funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer. Since 1977, THON has raised more than $88 million for The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital.
Individual game tickets for Adult General Admission start at just $4 and just $2 for youth. Student tickets cost $2 as well. Single game tickets can be purchased at the Spikes' box office or via a link on the tickets page on GoPSUSports.com.
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