April 25, 2018
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ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Penn State junior Conlin Hughes (Holly Springs, N.C.) tallied three hits and seven Nittany Lion pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts in an 8-1 win over Lafayette Wednesday evening in the very first collegiate baseball game in Coca-Cola Park, home of the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
Hughes went a season-best 3-for-4 with an RBI-double and two runs scored to pace Penn State (9-25) at the plate. Additionally, freshman Curtis Robison (Dillsburg, Pa.) went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and classmate Parker Hendershot (Barton, N.Y.) drove in a pair with a base hit.
Seven Nittany Lion pitchers combined to hold Lafayette to a run on five hits and two walks and 15 strikeouts -- matching a season-high. On the mound, RHP Eric Mock (Shillington, Pa.) (1-0) started and allowed just one hit while striking out three, while LHP Marko Boricich (Chicago, Ill.) was perfect in two innings, striking out four. RHPs Jake Pilewicz (Sewickley, Pa.) and Conor Larkin (Royersford, Pa.) also worked hitless frames to keep the Leopards to just one hit in the first six innings. Larkin was the first of four freshmen to pitch in the final four innings, which also included RHP Bailey Dees (Charlotte, N.C.), who struck out the side in the seventh.
Lafayette (13-29) was paced by first baseman Richard Villa, who tallied three of the teams five hits.
Penn State first scored in the third inning, as designated hitter Kris Kremer (Hershey, Pa.) led the inning off with a base hit, advanced to second on a groundout and third on an infield base hit, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by center fielder Jordan Bowersox. The Nittany Lions then broke through with four runs in the fifth. Hughes doubled home the first run, Hendershot singled with the bases loaded and two outs to drive in two, and then with catcher Derek Orndorff (Mill Run, Pa.) on third and Hendershot on first, the duo executed a double steal, allowing Ordorff to score.
Penn State added a run in the seventh on a three-base error on a failed pickoff attempt. The ball got stuck under the tarp, but a Lafayette fielder attempted to play it, allowing Bowersox to continue past third to home. Robison then pulled a solo home run over the right field wall in the eighth and Orndorff hit a sacrifice fly for his first career RBI in the ninth.
Lafayette's lone run came on an RBI-double in the eighth.
Penn State opens a three-game Big Ten series with Northwestern Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets for the 2018 Penn State baseball season, presented by Family Clothesline, are available online at GoPSUsports.com or by calling the Medlar Field at Lubrano Park ticket office at 814-272-1711.
Check back to GoPSUSports.com for continued updates on Penn State Baseball. Follow on Twitter at @PennStateBASE and Facebook at Penn State Baseball.
Notes: Former Penn State pitcher Nate Bump `98, the Nittany Lions' career wins and strikeouts record holder, a member of the Florida Marlins' 2003 World Series team and a former member of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, was in attendance and threw out the first pitch ... Mac Hippenhammer, a member of the Penn State football team who scored a game-high two touchdowns in the football spring game Saturday, made his first baseball appearance since Mar. 10 at Grand Canyon.