March 8, 2014
4 Saint Mary's (7-7) | Moraga, Calif. • Louis Guisto Field • Attendance: 123 | 0 Penn State (3-8) |
MORAGA, Calif.; March 8, 2014 - The Nittany Lion bats were silenced by Saint Mary's freshman pitcher Cameron Neff, who tossed his first shutout and complete game of his career in the 4-0 win, allowing just two hits and striking out 10 in the performance. Saturday marks the second time Penn State has been shutout this season.
The Blue and White's two hits came off the bats of Steve Snyder (West Chester, Pa.) and J.J. White (Landsowne, Va.), picking up a single and double, respectively.
On the mound for Penn State, T.J. Jann (Westford, Mass.) turned in another solid performance; recording his third quality start in four outtings. The junior posted a final stat line of 6.0 innings pitched, allowing seven hits, one walk, three earned runs and striking out four on 97 pitches.
For the second consecutive game, the Gaels were the first to strike in the contest. Saint Mary's loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first and scored on a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Ricky Boas to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
SMC's Cameron Neff faced the minimum through the first three innings, as the only Penn State runner to reach was James Coates (Girard, Ohio), who drew a first inning walk to safely reach base for the 23rd-straight game.
In the fourth, the Nittany Lions had their first scoring threat of the game, as Snyder and Taylor Skerpon (Sayre, Pa.) both got on with no outs to set the table for the offense. Unfortunately for PSU, the team stranded both runners on first and second, as the next three batters were retired in order.
Saint Mary's managed to double its lead in the bottom of the fifth to 2-0, as the Gael's recorded two hits in the frame and scored on a wild pitch. The hosts then tacked on another run in the sixth off a Michael Valentin two-out triple to the right field wall, plating Ian McLoughlin to increase their lead to 3-0.
Saint Mary's added an insurance run in the eighth to push its lead to four runs and went on to win by a final of 4-0.
The Nittany Lions will return to Louis Guisto Field tomorrow for the third and final game of the three-game weekend series on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.