March 26, 2015
By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Even on a tough night at the plate, Greg Guers couldn't help but feel he was due for a hit.
It was the eighth inning of the Penn State baseball team's contest against Villanova, and the junior was 0-3 on the evening. Still, he found himself in a situation every batter dreams of; tie game, bases loaded, two outs.
"I was trying to get a pitch I could handle," Guers said. "We do a lot of mental game preparation, with confidence and staying with things. Even though I was 0-3, I thought, 'I'm in the biggest spot of the game right now I've got to contribute to the team.'"
After fouling off pitch after pitch, Guers finally saw a ball he liked on a 1-2 count and drove a shot to the right center gap for a double that cleared the bases and gave the Lions an eventual 5-2 win and their third victory in the past four games.
On a night in which Penn State's pitchers shined throughout, Guers gave the offense a much needed boost as the Lions threatened multiple times earlier in the game but stranded 10 runners on base.
In a way, it was fitting that Guers delivered the winning hit. Dating back to last season, the Langhorne, Pennsylvania native, has been counted on as a lynchpin in the lineup, hitting third or fourth last year and currently batting second.
While Cooper has always felt Guers is one of the most talented hitters the Nittany Lions have, he believes the designated hitter and outfielder has turned a corner since last season by improving his mental approach.
"Unbelievable, and what's really awesome about it is last year at this time he wouldn't have been able to do that," Cooper said. "He'll be the first one to tell you, he's really made a choice mentally to battle and fight and compete. I had just gotten done writing down, 'that's an unbelievable at-bat,' and he smokes a ball. Big time at-bat."
It was the second-straight game that Nittany Lions broke out offensively towards the end of the game, as they used a two huge innings in the seventh and eighth to beat Indiana 13-7 on Sunday. This time around, James Coates walked, Ryan Richter poked a single up the middle and Alex Malinsky blooped a fly ball that the right fielder couldn't catch to set up Guers at-bat.
According to Guers, the Lions were calm entering their half of the eight, yet still determined to get a run across after watching pitchers Geoff Boylston and Jack Anderson battle all night.
"We had a lot of situations to score guys today and we didn't do that but I think everyone has confidence in whoever comes to the plate in that situation," Guers said. "I was just lucky to be that guy. The dugout's fine and the dugout's pumped up for anyone in that situation.
"They've been pitching well the past week or two, so today it was great to get them a win again. We're confident in them and they're confident in us."
The Nittany Lions pitchers certainly have been on form since the team returned home last Wednesday against Canisius. Similar to that game, it was Boylston who held down the fort, even if things weren't as smooth this time.
A week after he struck out a career high eight batters in an 11-1 win over the Golden Griffins, the senior put down just three batters against the Wildcats. Regardless, he battled for 5 1/3 innings and gave up just two runs, one of them unearned.
From there, Anderson entered and looked dominant, giving up just one hit in 2 2/3 scoreless innings before freshman Sal Biasi picked up the save in the ninth.
"When you have those two guys, they're great pitchers," Boylston said of Anderson and Biasi. "Jack you see time and time again gets it done. I never had a doubt in my mind and Sal's a great arm too. There's never worry when those guys are in."
It may not have been the prettiest win, but it was a win regardless. The Lions are now 3-1 since retuning home, and Cooper said he is impressed with the fight his team has shown recently.
"We could have played better defense, could have pitched better could have hit better," Cooper said. "But to their credit, they made the choice and battled back into it and fought."