With the wind blowing out to left and the Penn State baseball team down by a run in the bottom of the eighth inning of yesterday's game with St. Bonaventure, the table was set perfectly for a dramatic ending.

Mike Milliron's two-out single against Bonnies closer Brian Pellegrini brought designated hitter Scott Gummo to the plate.

Gummo golfed a 1-1 pitch over the left field wall to put the Nittany Lions up 9-8, a lead that Penn State wouldn't relinquish.

The St. Bonaventure coaching staff decided to pull Matt Landahl, who came in to start the sixth inning and pitched 2 2/3 innings without allowing a hit. They brought Pellegrini, their closer to close out the eighth and pitch the ninth. Though it didn't work out for the Bonnies, it was a decision that Penn State baseball coach Joe Hindelang.

"I believe it was the right move," Hindelang said. "[St. Bonaventure coaches] did all the right things."

The Lions (13-11, 2-2 Big Ten) actually jumped out to a big lead after Clint Eury's two-out double, knocked in Milliron in the first inning, followed by a Gummo RBI-single in the third. Penn State tacked on two more runs in the fourth inning and went ahead 4-0 and the game seemed all but over.

What was even more impressive than the Lions offense was starting pitcher Clayton Hamilton, who retired the first 11 batters that he faced, but it was all down hill after that.

St. Bonaventure's offense exploded in the fifth inning after Lance Thompson misplayed a fly ball in left field. That error, which put Landahl on second, was followed with a RBI single from Bonnies catcher Damian Blakeley. That was just the beginning of the end for Hamilton as he continued to give up two more singles and a walk, which brought St. Bonaventure within two.

Penn State freshman reliever Craig Clark was put in a tough situation as he was brought in with the bases loaded and no outs to try to get the Lions out of the jam. Instead the freshman imploded, giving up a three-run shot to Bonnies second baseman Craig King before getting out of the inning.

The error by Thompson just added to a list of reasons why Hindelang hasn't been too excited with the defense that his outfielders have been playing.

"I have not been happy with how our outfielders have played and that includes today," Hindelang said after the game.

Even though Hamilton gave up a few runs, his first four innings were almost perfect. Of his first 49 pitches, 39 of them were strikes and he was mixing up his pitches better than he has since his first two starts of the season, both of which he won.

"I threw a slider today that I haven't thrown since the summer," Hamilton said. "It was awesome."

Despite getting the win, Hindelang said the way they won wasn't pretty, and he knows his team can't rely on winning games like this for much longer.