April 26, 2013
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Penn State baseball team dropped its series opener to Ohio State on Friday evening, falling 3-1 at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. The Nittany Lions (11-26, 2-11 Big Ten) will take on the Buckeyes (26-13, 10-6 Big Ten) in a doubleheader tomorrow beginning at 3:05 p.m. to conclude the weekend set. Sunday's game has been cancelled due to impending weather conditions.
Senior Brad Goldberg earned the win for the Buckeyes, firing 6.1 innings with six hits and one earned run allowed. Goldberg, who moves to a 6-0 record on the season, struck out six while walking five. The starter was relieved by senior David Fathalikhani and senior Brett McKinney, combining for 1.2 scoreless innings. Closer Trace Dempsey held the Lions scoreless in the ninth, as well, allowing just one hit in his 22nd appearance of the season.
Suffering the loss for the Lions, redshirt sophomore T.J. Jann (Westford, Mass.) made his seventh start of the season, firing 7.0 innings. Jann allowed five hits and two earned runs while striking out three. Sophomore Ryan Harper (Texas City, Texas) came in to relieve Jann in the eighth, holding the Buckeyes to one hit and one earned run.
Ohio State extended its 2-1 lead to two runs in the bottom of the eighth, with senior Ryan Cypret recording his fourth home run of the season to lead off the Buckeyes. The Lions shut down the opposition's offense for the remainder of the inning, with Harper striking out Bosiokovic, but the score would rest at 3-1 to give OSU its 10th Big Ten win of the season.
The Buckeyes got on the board in the bottom of the first, with senior Joe Ciamacco scoring during a 6-4-3 double play to go up 1-0. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the third, Ohio State gained a 2-0 lead as sophomore Patrick Porter was walked to allow senior Brad Hallberg to score. Keeping the Buckeyes at bay, Jann went on to strike out Bosiokovic to end the inning.
Gaining momentum in the top of the seventh, sophomore Aaron Novak (Ambler, Pa.) and junior Alex Farkes (Boston, Mass.) each posted base-hit singles, extending their respective hitting streaks to six and seven games. Freshman James Coates (Girard, Ohio) stepped up to the plate with runners on second and third following a wild pitch, ripping a hit to right field to bat in Novak. Fathalikhani went on to hold the Lions off for the remainder of the inning, however, and Cypret's home run in the eighth would prove to be the final run of the contest.
Novak and Farkes each went 1-for-4 at the plate, with Novak tallying his 15th run of the season. Senior Luis Montesinos (Miami, Fla.) went 3-for-4 on the day for his 13th multiple-hit game of the season, while Coates went 2-for-4 for his ninth multiple-hit game and collected his 14th RBI. Redshirt senior Elliot Searer (Lewistown, Pa.) went 1-for-3, recording his 30th hit and fifth double of the season, as well as his 24th career sac hit to move into fourth-place in the Penn State all-time record book.
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