April 10, 2015
| 11 | 1 |
| Medlar Field at Lubrano Park | University Park, Pa. | Attn: 806 | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| VIDEO: Postgame Comments | BTN Highlights |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - LHP Nick Hedge (Winnetka, Ill.) threw seven shutout innings and three Nittany Lions posted multi-RBI games as Penn State defeated Michigan, 11-1 in Big Ten baseball action Friday evening in Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Hedge (1-4) picked up his first win of the season, yielding six hits and three walks with two strike outs, matching his career high for innings pitched with seven. Second baseman Taylor Skerpon (Sayre, Pa.) led Penn State (10-18, 2-4 Big Ten) with three RBIs on a 2-for-4 day at the plate, while eight- and nine-hole hitters Ryky Smith (York, Pa.) and Nick Graham (Chambersburg, Pa.) drove in two runs each.
Right fielder Aaron Novak (Ambler, Pa.) matched his career and season-best nine-game hitting streak with a 2-for-5 day that included an RBI-double, and centerfielder Ryan Richter (Wayne, Pa.) scored a game-high three runs, going 1-for-3, also with an RBI-double.
Left fielder Cody Bruder led Michigan (19-14, 4-6 Big Ten) offensively, going 2-for-3 and scoring the lone Wolverine run on a passed ball in the ninth inning to spoil the Lions' shutout bid.
After a scoreless first inning, Smith singled through the right side with two outs in the second to drive in the first two Penn State runs. Two more runs scored in the third inning on Novak's double, as he drove in Skerpon from second base, while left fielder Greg Guers (Langhorne, Pa.) followed from first base with the help of a throwing error on the play. PSU tacked on a fifth run in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly by Skerpon.
The Lions broke the game open with four runs in the sixth inning to take a 9-0 lead. With the bases loaded and none out, Graham drew a bases-loaded walk to plate designated hitter James Coates (Girard, Ohio), who reached base three times in the game, for the first run of the frame. Skerpon followed with a single to center to drive in two more runs, and he scored on a wild pitch later in the inning.
Richter and Graham drove in a run each in the seventh for PSU's final runs.
RHP Jacob Cronenworth (2-3) suffered the loss, pitching the first 2 2/3 innings and allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Four Michigan relievers combined to allow seven runs (four earned) on six hits and four walks with three strikeouts.
Penn State outhit the Wolverines, 11-7, and did not commit an error while U-M had four miscues.
The Lions will look to clinch the series Saturday at 2 p.m. Fans in attendance will receive a Penn State baseball replica hat while supplies last.