Sluggers split pair with Bison


Wednesday, April 1, 1998	Sluggers split pair with Bison By TODD J. ENGEL Collegian Sports Writer Penn State baseball coach Joe Hindelang isn't very pleased with the statement his team has made at this point in the season. The Nittany Lions haven't been able to put together a streak of wins in which all facets of the game were executed to Hindelang's liking.
`Penn State Baseball Home Page`	Things didn't change yesterday when the Lions (11-12) split a doubleheader with Bucknell (14-10) in Lewisburg. Penn State dropped the first game 10-5 behind rocky pitching performances by starter Greg Arnold and reliever Andy Wager, but rebounded to score a 13-2 victory in game two.
Nittany Lion pitcher Jeff Kunkle prepars to fire in a pitch in a game last season. Penn State continued its inconsistent play with a doubleheader split at Bucknell yesterday. (Collegian Photo/Clinton Marchant - click for full size image)	Arnold threw four and one-third innings, giving up seven hits and an equal amount of earned runs to go along with four walks. Wager didn't fare much better as he only lasted one-third of an inning and gave up five hits and three earned runs. "I'm not pleased," Hindelang said. "In the first game our pitching was poor. Arnold and Wager struggled big time. A costly error in right field hurt us. You have to give credit to (Bucknell pitcher) Eric Junge, he threw hard and pitched a complete game." Junge, a junior, struck out five Lions and scattered eight hits to pick up the win for the Bison and improve his record to 3-0 on the season. Arnold dropped to 0-3 on the year. Scott Boruta and Kevin Billotte each had two hits for Penn State. In game two, Lion freshman Jason McIntyre got the nod for the first start of his young career. Unfortunately for McIntyre it came to an abrupt end after just two innings on the mound.
Nittany Lion catcher Jared Sadlowski slides into home safely in a game last season. Penn State tried to regain its aggresive play in a doubleheader at Bucknell, but only could gain a split. (Collegian Photo/Tracy Senycz - click for full size image)	The righty was in the midst of a good outing. He hadn't given up a hit and appeared to be on his way to an overall good performance when the finger on his pitching hand began to bleed. "A blister opened up on my finger," McIntyre said. "It wouldn't stop bleeding and the umpire made me come out. Every game is an adjustment and I was just starting to feel comfortable. It's pretty frustrating." Luckily for the Lions, Shawn Fagan was there to pick up the slack just as he has done all season. The sophomore third baseman/pitcher came in and pitched well over the next three innings to pick up his second win of the year. Freshman Scott Russo came in and pitched two scoreless innings to close out the contest for Penn State. Fagan also cracked his sixth home run of the season to spark a four-run fourth inning that broke the game open. Sophomore catcher Joe Puliafico also homered in the inning for his first round-tripper this year. "Fagan relieved for three innings and did a marvelous job," Hindelang said. "I'm pleased with the way we played. We got good pitching, played well defensively and our bats came alive." Billotte continued his tear yesterday by going 3 for 3 at the plate and setting a new Penn State record for triples. Billotte's triple in the third inning of game two gives him 12 for his career. The previous record of 11 was set by Russ Mushinsky when he played from 1989-92.