April 14, 2015
| 5 | 3 |
| Monongalia County Ballpark | Morgantown W. Va. | Attn: 1377 | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| VIDEO: Postgame Comments |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - James Coates (Girard, Ohio) scored twice and drove in one run and RHP Jack Anderson (Evanston, Ill.) pitched 3 2/3 innings to earn the save, as Penn State defeated West Virginia, 5-3 in non-conference baseball action Tuesday evening in Monongalia County Ballpark.
It was just the fourth game ever played in West Virginia's (21-13) new ballpark, and Penn State (11-20) became the first opposing team to earn a victory in it. The Mountaineers trailed 5-0 after the top of the fifth inning, but scored runs in the bottom of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to narrow the deficit.
Anderson entered in the sixth inning and induced a 4-3 double play to get out of a jam. He allowed a run in the seventh but was able to induce an inning-ending double play in the eighth and retire the side in the ninth for the save. RHP Dakota Forsyth made his first start of the season, pitching four-plus innings and allowing just one run on three hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
Coates (3-for-4) and left fielder Greg Guers (Langhorne, Pa.) 2-for-4 accounted for five of Penn State's eight hits in the game.
The duo, batting first and third in the order, helped Penn State jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Coates reached on an infield single, stole second on a delayed steal and reached third after Guers singled through the left side to conclude a lengthy at-bat. Shortstop Jim Haley (Upper Darby, Pa.) then laid down a perfect bunt-single down the third base line to score Coates and advance Guers to second. Guers attempted to steal third and the throw sailed into left field, allowing him to score.
Coates struck again in the second inning, singling home first baseman Tyler Kendall (Boynton Beach, Fla.), who led the inning off with a double.
The Lions pushed the lead to 5-0 in the top of the fifth. Catcher Alex Malinsky (Apex, N.C.) and Coates led the inning off with singles, and they were sacrificed ahead a base into scoring position. Malinsky scored on a single up the middle by Guers, and Coates scored with two outs when Guers got caught in a rundown between first and second.
West Virginia cut into the lead over the next three innings. Left fielder Caleb Potter led the bottom of the fifth off with a home run to left field, and second baseman Kyle Davis hit an RBI-single in the sixth following a triple by pinch hitter Garrett Hope. A run scored in the seventh on an RBI-groundout by shortstop Taylor Munden.
Mountaineer RHPs Conner Dotson (3 2/3 IP) and Blake Smith (1 IP) combined to hold Penn State hitless over the final four innings, yielding just a walk each, while Dotson struck out three.
RHP Shane Ennis (1-2) suffered the loss, yielding five runs (four earned) on eight hits with three strikeouts. LHP Marko Boricich (2-0) earned the win in relief, entering in the fifth and allowing a run on two hits
Penn State will return to Medlar Field Wednesday to host Bucknell at 6:30 p.m. "Blue Collar Baseball' t-shirts will be given away to fans while supplies last.