May 1, 2015
| 8 | 1 |
| Medlar Field at Lubrano Park | University Park, Pa. | Attn: 756 | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| VIDEO: Postgame Comments |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State scored four runs in the fourth inning and four more in the seventh to defeat Rutgers, 8-1, in Big Ten baseball action Friday night in Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Penn State (15-26, 3-12 B1G) broke the scoreless game open in the fourth, as left fielder Greg Guers (Langhorne, Pa.) led the frame off with a solo home run down the right line, extending his hitting streak to 14 games. Right fielder Aaron Novak (Ambler, Pa.) followed with a walk and, with one out, scored from third on an RBI-single by first baseman J.J. White (Lansdowne, Va.) Centerfielder Nick Riotto (Washington, Pa.) then walked, and he and White scored on a double to the left gap by third baseman Tyler Kendall (Boynton Beach, Fla.) for a 4-0 lead.
Guers and Novak both totaled two hits each on the night, with Novak reaching base all four times with a pair of walks.
Rutgers (15-29-1, 6-11 B1G) scratched its first run across in the sixth inning on a single to right by catcher R.J. Devish, who went 3-for-3, but it was as close as the Scarlet Knights would come. LHP Nick Hedge (2-6) yielded just the one run on seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts in six innings, and RHP Jack Anderson (3) pitched the final three innings to earn the save, yielding just two hits.
The Lions were also very sharp defensively, playing an error free game with several groundouts. White was credited with a career-high matching 19 putouts at first base, and second baseman Taylor Skerpon (Sayre, Pa.) tallied seven assists.
PSU added four more runs in the seventh inning to put the game out of reach. Shortstop Jim Haley (Upper Darby, Pa.) hit a ground-rule double with the bases loaded to drive in the first two runs, and Riotto drove in two more with a line drive to shallow center.
Both teams totaled nine hits, but Penn State took advantage of five walks while yielding just one, and stranded just five runners to Rutgers' eight. LHP Mark McCoy (2-7) struck out six in five innings, but allowed the four runs on five hits and two walks to suffer the loss.
The win snapped an eight-game skid in conference games.
The series will continue Saturday at 1:30 p.m. live on Big Ten Network. The home finale and Senior Day will be Sunday starting at 1 p.m.