Feb. 13, 2015
| 15 | 16 |
| Latham Park | Elon, N.C. | Attn: 311 | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| VIDEO: Postgame Comments |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
ELON, N.C. - Penn State nearly erased a 10-run deficit in the final two innings, coming up one run short as Elon hung on, 16-15, in the baseball season opener for both teams Friday evening in Latham Park.
Elon (1-0) had built a 16-6 advantage by scoring 11 unanswered runs, including seven in the seventh inning, but Penn State (0-1) fought back and scored four in the eighth inning and five in the ninth to shrink the gap. The game, which was played in temperatures that hovered around the freezing point, took 4 hours, 3 minutes to complete. The teams combined for 41 hits (35 singles) and 31 runs.
Shortstop Jim Haley (Upper Darby, Pa.) and Taylor Skerpon (Sayre, Pa.) paced the Lions offensively, as they both went 4-for-6. Eight of the nine starters drove in at least one run, led by Haley with four RBIs, designated hitter Nick Riotto (Washington, Pa.) with three and Skerpon with one.
Five Elon batters totaled three or more hits, led by centerfielder Quinn Bower, who went 4-for-6 with an RBI and catcher Austin Leeney, who went 4-for-4 with one RBI. Designated hitter Chris King drove in a game-high five runs as part of a 3-for-4 effort, while preseason All-American Casey Jones reached base five times, batting 3-for-4 with an RBI.
With left fielder James Coates (Girard, Ohio) (walk) and Skerpon (single) on base with one out in the eighth, Haley drove in Coates with a single to left for the first run of the furious comeback attempt. First baseman J.J. White (Lansdowne, Va.) singled through the left side to drive in Skerpon, and then later with two outs and the bases loaded, Riotto singled to center to drive in two runs.
After getting the final out with just one pitch in the seventh inning, RHP Jake Pilewicz (Sewickley, Pa.) faced the minimum in the eighth to keep the Phoenix advantage at six runs.
Coates led off the ninth and reached second base when the right fielder misplayed a potential fly out. Skerpon promptly singled him home, and a double by right fielder Greg Guers (Langhorne, Pa.) gave the Lions two runners in scoring position. After a pitching change, Haley singled home Skerpon, and then later with one out, Richter plated Skerpon on a groundout. Christian Helsel (Altoona, Pa.) then followed with an RBI-double to make it a two-run game.
Helsel moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single through the left side by Riotto to bring the Lions within one, but RHP Joe McGillicuddy (1) took the mound for Elon and earned the save with a strikeout.
Penn State's runs came in bunches throughout the game, as the Nittany Lions scored in just three different innings. Their biggest inning was actually the fourth, when they scored six runs with two outs. Elon had scored runs in each of the first three innings to build a 5-0 lead, but Penn State briefly took the lead with the big frame, ultimately sending 11 batters to the plate.
RHP John Antonelli (1-0) earned the win for Elon after pitching 3 1/3 innings of relief, allowing four hits and a walk with three strikeouts. RHP Dakota Forsyth (Bethel Park, Pa.) (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing six runs on nine hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Both were the first out of the bullpen as neither starter was able to get through the fourth inning.
The two teams will conclude the three-game series Saturday with a doubleheader starting at noon