March 14, 2015
| 6 | 7 |
| Liberty Baseball Stadium | Lynchburg, Va. | |
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| VIDEO: Postgame Comments |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
LYNCHBURG, Va. - Penn State nearly worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the bottom of the ninth inning, but allowed the winning run with two outs to fall to Liberty, 7-6, in non-conference baseball action Saturday evening in Liberty Baseball Stadium.
Penn State (1-12) did everything it could to work out of trouble in the bottom of the ninth, even bringing in centerfielder Ryan Richter (Wayne, Pa.), as a fifth infielder with the bases loaded and no outs. The formation worked instantly as Liberty (10-6) third baseman Clay Keranen hit a soft grounder to Richter for a force out at home. RHP Jack Anderson (Evanston, Ill.) (0-2) then struck out the next batter, but plunked left fielder Nick Paxton to force home the walk-off run.
The back-and-forth game featured a pair of lead changes and a pair of ties. Liberty scored a run in the first inning, but the Nittany Lions roared into the lead with a four-run fourth inning. The Flames chipped away on offense though while retiring 13-straight Lion batters, tying the game in the fifth inning and going ahead with two runs in the seventh.
Penn State broke out of its slump in the top of the ninth though, as shortstop Jim Haley (Upper Darby, Pa.) and third baseman Christian Helsel (Altoona, Pa.) both reached and eventually scored on a triple by Richter.
Haley and Richter paced the Lion offense, both going 2-for-4. Haley doubled while Richter had three RBIs.
Penn State made Liberty pay dearly for a leadoff error in the fourth inning, as all four runs scored were unearned. Right fielder Aaron Novak (Ambler, Pa.) reached on the error, and first baseman J.J. White (Lansdowne, Pa.) and Haley followed with base hits to set the table for Helsel, who drove in Novak on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1. Then with two outs, Richter singled to drive in another run and catcher Nick Graham (Chambersburg, Pa.) sent a bouncer up the middle to plate two more for a 4-1 lead.
However, it would be the last offense the Nittany Lions would muster until the ninth, as LHP Victor Cole retired the next 10 batters, while LHP Shawn Clowers (5-0) was perfect in the eighth before allowing the tying runs in the ninth. In seven innings of work, Cole allowed the four unearned runs on six hits with five strikeouts.
Liberty began its comeback in the bottom half of the fourth, as shortstop Dalton Britt led the frame off with a solo home run. Lion starter Taylor Lehman (Pittsburgh, Pa.) got out of the inning though, and left after a career-high four innings pitched, allowing the two runs on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
The Flames were able to tie the game in the fifth inning on an RBI-double by catcher Alex Close and an RBI-single by third baseman Sammy Taormina, and then go ahead in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Britt with two outs.
Britt and Close both had two RBIs to lead the Flames, while Close and Taormina both went 2-for-4.
Penn State will conclude the two-game series with Liberty Sunday at 1 p.m.