May 7, 2013
AKRON, Ohio - The Penn State baseball team took on the University of Akron on Tuesday afternoon, falling 11-2 at Lee R. Jackson Field. The Nittany Lions move to an overall record of 12-31, while the Zips now sit at 13-32.
Junior Jon Pusateri earned the win for the Zips, firing 6.0 innings with just four hits and one earned run allowed. Pusateri struck out six before he was relieved by redshirt sophomore Andrew Fanning, who held the Lions scoreless with just one hit allowed in 2.0 innings. Senior Samuel Trecaso came in to close the contest, giving up two hits and one earned run in 1.0 inning of work.
Suffering the loss for the Lions, senior Neal Herring (West Chester, Pa.) made his first start of the season, throwing 3.0 innings with five hits and two unearned runs allowed. The senior struck out four, tying his career record for strikeouts in a single contest. Herring was relieved by junior Tim Dunn (Coto de Caza, Calif.), who held the Zips scoreless with just three hits allowed in 2.2 innings.
The Lions jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first, with senior Luis Montesinos (Miami, Fla.) kicking his squad into gear with a base hit to center field to move freshman James Coates (Girard, Ohio) from first to third. Coates' excellent base running paid off, crossing home plate on the next play with a rip to left field from sophomore J.C. Coban (Boca Raton, Fla.). It was Coban's 22nd RBI of the season and Coates' 21st run.
Immediately answering in the bottom of the inning, back-to-back base hits from sophomore Matt Rembielak and redshirt sophomore Devan Ahart put runners on first and third for the Zips, with Rembielak scoring on a failed pickoff attempt to tie the game. Ahart would eventually rest on third following a 4-3 groundout from redshirt sophomore Matt Larocca, and score on a wild pitch to give Akron a 2-1 lead heading into the second inning. The Zips went on to tally seven runs in the seventh inning, and eventually rested with an 11-1 lead heading into the top of the ninth.
Penn State posted its final run in the top of the ninth, with junior Colin Keefe (Woodbury, Minn.) collecting his first hit and first double as a Nittany Lion to give the Lions some life. Redshirt freshman Ryky Smith (York, Pa.) followed up with a base hit to center field to drive home Keefe, but the Zips would shut down the PSU offense to earn the 11-2 victory.
Rembielak led the Zips at the plate, going 3-for-6 with two RBIs and a run scored. Larocca and Ahart would each collect three hits during the non-conference contest, with Larocca tallying a run and Ahart posting two runs and an RBI. Redshirt junior Brady Stewart would go 2-for-5 with two RBIs, while freshman Anthony Bova went 2-for-2 with two runs and an RBI.
Collecting his 15th multiple-hit game of the season, Montesinos went 2-for-3 with a stolen base, while sophomore Aaron Novak (Ambler, Pa.) extended his current hit streak to seven games on his seventh double of the season. Coban and Smith are now on three-game hit streaks, with Coban recording his 45th hit of the season and his 40th career RBI, and Smith notching his 15th hit and seventh RBI of the season.
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