April 5, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State baseball team nearly completed a comeback victory over Wright State Friday, but fell short in the 11th inning for a 7-4 loss. The Nittany Lions moves to a 5-20 overall record following the non-conference contest, while the Raiders improve to 11-15 on the season.
Redshirt sophomore T.J. Jann (Westford, Mass.) had a solid outing for the Lions, pitching a career-high 7.1 innings with eight hits and three earned runs allowed. Jann struck out three before being relieved by redshirt senior Cody Lewis (Laguna Niguel, Calif.), who fired 2.1 scoreless innings with just one hit allowed. Redshirt senior Dave Walkling (Nanaimo, B.C.) suffered the loss for Penn State, allowing two earned runs to move to a 1-3 record.
Trevor Swaney earned the win for the Raiders, pitching 3.0 innings of relief and allowing four hits with one earned run. Wright State's Casey Henn made the start, firing 7.0 scoreless innings with four hits allowed. Henn struck out five Penn State batters before Cody Kopilchack stepped in, allowing two earned runs and one hit in his relief outing. Taylor Braun closed out the contest, holding the Lions hitless in the 11th inning.
Wright State struck first, with Kieston Greene kicking his squad into gear with a double down the left line in the top of the sixth. Following a sac bunt from Mark Fowler to move Greene to third, Garrett Gray earned the first RBI of the contest with a base hit to center to bat in the Raider run. The Raiders went on to post two more runs in the top of the eighth for a 3-0 lead before the Lions responded.
Posting his fourth hit in his fourth at-bat, redshirt senior Elliot Searer (Lewistown, Pa.) singled through the right side in the bottom of the eighth, followed by sophomore Taylor Skerpon (Sayre, Pa.) being walked by Kopilchack. Pinch hitting for Penn State, freshman Tyler Kendall (Boynton Beach, Fla.) was consecutively walked to set up senior Luis Montesinos (Miami, Fla.) with the bases loaded. As Montesinos reached on a fielder's choice for an RBI, Searer crossed home plate to move the score to 3-1. With sophomore J.C. Coban (Boca Raton, Fla.) walked on the next play, the bases were again loaded as redshirt freshman Ryky Smith (York, Pa.) stepped up to the plate. Skerpon was able to score as Smith reached on a fielder's choice, and the Lions tied the game with Montesinos crossing home plate on an infield throwing error to knot the score at 3-3.
Despite Penn State's gutsy performance to rally back from a 3-0 deficit, the Raiders went on to tally four runs in the top of the 11th inning to pull ahead. Still showing fight in the bottom of the 11th, junior Zach Ell (Plains, Pa.) ripped a hit to center field to put runners on first and third for the Lions. A groundout to second base would earn redshirt junior Steve Snyder (West Chester, Pa.) an RBI, allowing junior Alex Farkes (Boston, Mass.) to advance home. It would prove to be Penn State's final run, however, with Wright State claiming a 7-4 victory.
The Lions return to action tomorrow, April 6 against the Raiders, with the first pitch slated for 2:05 p.m. at Medlar Field.
Tickets: 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.
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