March 23, 2013
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Penn State baseball team closed out its first conference series of the season on Saturday afternoon, falling to Indiana 2-0 and 11-3 in a doubleheader. The Nittany Lions move to a 5-14 overall record with a 0-3 mark in the Big Ten, while the Hoosiers improve to 18-3 and 3-0.
Left-handed pitcher Kyle Hart earned the win in game one, firing 8.0 scoreless innings with just three hits. The sophomore moves to a perfect 4-0 record on the season, while junior Ryan Halstead earned the save with just two hits allowed in the ninth inning. In game two, junior Aaron Slegers pitched 5.0 innings for the win, allowing three hits and one unearned run.
Senior Steven Hill (Colleyville, Texas) had a strong showing in the 2-0 loss, moving to a 1-4 record after pitching 7.1 innings without an earned run. Hill allowed just five hits and struck out four, improving to a 2.85 ERA. Suffering the loss in the second contest, junior Greg Welsh (Holland, Pa.) made his fourth career start, firing 3.0 innings with three earned runs and four hits. Sophomore Ryan Harper (Texas City, Texas) and freshman Blake Estep (Choctaw, Okla.) combined for 2.2 innings of relief, with Harper holding the Hoosiers hitless in 1.2 innings and Estep allowing just one hit in one inning.
The first game of the doubleheader was defined by strong defense, with sophomore Taylor Skerpon (Sayre, Pa.) and senior Luis Montesinos (Miami, Fla.) recording fantastic performances to keep the Hoosiers scoreless until the seventh inning. Montesinos turned out a clutch double play in the bottom of the second, with Hill striking out sophomore Chad Clark to end the inning, while Skerpon had a stellar fourth inning, making a tough stop on a hit from Michael Basil for the second out. Freshman James Coates (Girard, Ohio) would make a great grab on Dustin DeMuth's hit to end the inning.
Indiana would end the scoreless stalemate in the bottom of the seventh, with redshirt sophomore Will Nolden coming up with a bunt hit to drive in Basil from third. Despite redshirt senior Elliot Searer (Lewistown, Pa.) recording his 150th career hit in the top of the eighth, the Lions were unable to tie it up. The Hoosiers went on to score once more in the bottom of the inning, with redshirt sophomore Scott Donley singling through the right side to allow Sam Travis to cross home plate. A 5-4-3 double play from the Lions would end the inning, but the Hoosiers claimed a 2-0 victory after Penn State failed to score in the ninth.
Indiana would begin an offensive assault early on in the game two, with Basil narrowly scoring in the bottom of the second on a sac fly from Chris Sujka. Coates knotted the score in the top of the third, scoring his 10th run of the season during a Hoosier double play, but Indiana answered with two more runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-1 lead. By the end of the sixth, the Hoosiers had racked up an 11-1 lead.
The Lions attempted a late-game comeback in the top of the eighth, with redshirt freshman Ryan Richter (Wayne, Pa.) loading the bases on his first career hit. Sophomore J.J. White (Lansdowne, Va.) stepped up to the plate, hitting up the middle to bat in Skerpon and junior Alex Farkes (Boston, Mass.). It was White's 20th and 21st career RBIs and Skerpon's 10th career run. Junior Sam August (Needham, Mass.) would load the bases once again on an infield single, but the Hoosiers would hold the Lions off to earn an 11-3 victory.
Penn State returns to action on Wednesday, March 27 when the Nittany Lions host Pittsburgh for their first home contest of the season. The first pitch is slated for 6:05 p.m. at Medlar Field. The Lions will then host Purdue for a weekend conference series, beginning on Friday, March 29.
Season tickets for students are just $20, with Student General Admission tickets starting at $2 and Student Bleacher tickets at $1. Season tickets for Adult General Admission start at $63, while Adult General Admission tickets are sold for $4. For fans interested in the Diamond Club "In the Box" seats, single games start at $6 and season tickets will be sold for $99. Youth General Admission and Season tickets are the same cost as student tickets. Single game tickets can be purchased at the Spikes' Box Office or via the Tickets page on GoPSUSports.com.
Check back to GoPSUSports.com for continued updates during the 2013 season. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/PennStateBASE and find us on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstatebaseball.