If there is ever a bad time to get a hit, the Penn State baseball team found it yesterday.

After outscoring Central Connecticut State 17-1 in the opening two contests of the first weekend series in their new stadium, the Nittany Lions (4-13) dropped a 2-0 decision in the closing game to the Blue Devils at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

Pitcher Matt Gianini's 141-pitch complete game carried Central Connecticut State, and despite tallying eight hits off of him, Penn State's bats fell asleep with runners on base.

"We had a lot of two out hits, and it's hard to get things started," junior designated hitter Joe Blackburn said. "You like to get the leadoff guy on, get some things working, which we did in the previous two games."

Blackburn had one hit out of the three hole, but the top-two batters, Matt Cavagnaro and Brian Ernst, were both hitless for the first time in the series after combining for eight on Friday and Saturday.

Gianini fooled the Lions with a consistent mix of moving fastballs and changeups, constantly keeping hitters guessing.

"He gutted it out," Penn State head coach Robbie Wine said. "You have to tip your cap to him. He did a good job when he had to do it."

Wine was forced to go to his bullpen in the third inning when starting pitcher Mark Wyner began to lose command of the strike zone, plunking three batters in the process. Though the Lion relievers pitched six and two-thirds scoreless innings, the two runs Wyner surrendered were enough.

Wyner is recovering from an arm injury, but Wine said he is healthy and just wasn't sharp.

"We kind of came out flat today for some reason," he said. "But once again, looking at the good side, we have to learn from it. There's some things we need to do to get better, and we're just gonna keep working."

Despite yesterday's loss, the series gave Penn State a bevy of reasons to stay positive. Starting pitcher Seth Whitehill broke out of a slump with six shutout innings on Saturday. Also, production from the top of the lineup led to plenty of runs, and the bullpen proved as effective as it is deep.

"We won the series, which is always good. We tried for the sweep, we kinda let it slip away," sophomore Scott Kelley said. "The atmosphere was great. I liked playing in front of the fans. They were great throughout the whole weekend."

Notes: Pitcher Craig Clark carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning in Friday's 8-1 Penn State victory... Shortstop Scott Gaffney recorded two hits on Sunday, his first two since March 9 at Wichita State... Penn State pitchers posted a 0.67 ERA this weekend.