CARY, N.C. – Penn State scored seven runs in the first two innings and Charlotte, North Carolina-area, residents Bailey Dees and Tyler Shingledecker kept Monmouth off the board in a 7-0 shutout win in non-conference baseball action Saturday afternoon at the USA Baseball National Training Center.
Dees (1-0) and Shingledecker (1) – both graduates of Hough High School in the Charlotte suburb of Cornelius – combined for the win and save, respectively, holding Monmouth (0-2) to two hits and three walks for the game. Dees, a sophomore, made his fifth career start and went six innings, striking out five and allowing just two hits and a walk. Shingledecker, a freshman, made his collegiate debut and held Monmouth hitless over the final three innings. He struck out four and allowed two walks.
The shutout was a historic one for Penn State (2-0), as it marks the first time in 131 seasons of baseball that the Nittany Lions have opened a season with back-to-back shutouts. Penn State defeated Monmouth, 1-0, Friday for its first Opening Day shutout since 1977.
Shortstop Conlin Hughes (Holly Springs, N.C.) and designated hitter Parker Hendershot (Barton, N.Y.) paced the offense with two hits and two RBIs apiece. All of the scoring took place in the first two innings, as Penn State jumped out to 5-0 lead after batting around in the first inning and added two more in the second.
Left fielder Kris Kremer (Hershey. Pa.) led the game off by reaching on a dropped pop-up for a two-base error, first baseman Shea Sbranti (Oakley, Calif.) followed with a walk, and third baseman Connor Klemann (Royersford, Pa.) sacrificed both into scoring position for Hendershot, who drove both home with a base-hit to center field for a 2-0 lead.
Catcher Ryan Sloniger (Punxsutawney, Pa.) drove in the third run with a base hit to left after center fielder Jordan Bowersox (Winter Springs, Fla.) was hit by a pitch and a balk moved him and Hendershot into scoring position. Hughes drove in Bowersox with a single to right, and after a strikeout, second baseman Gavin Homer (Battle Creek, Mich.) singled to left to score Sloniger.
In the second inning, Sloniger hit into a double play with the bases loaded to score a run, and Hughes followed with a double down the left field line to score Sloniger for a 7-0 lead.
Penn State and Monmouth will conclude the three-game series Sunday starting at 11 a.m.
Penn State opens its home slate Mar. 15 and tickets are on sale online by clicking here or by calling the Medlar Field at Lubrano Park ticket office at 814-272-1711.
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Notes: Penn State earned back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2005 (Purdue and Pitt) … Penn State earned back-to-back shutouts over the same team for the first time since 2000 (Norfolk State) … First pitch time was delayed two hours due to inclement weather.
