Instead of Mike Deese's towering pop-up ending the fifth inning with an out, the ball found the pitching mound's dirt as it fell between the fielders.

The error by first baseman Josh Winter gave Deese and the Penn State baseball team the lead for good as it beat Mount St. Mary's, 8-3, Wednesday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

"He tripped over the mound," Penn State coach Robbie Wine said about Winter. "That happens sometimes. Those balls right in the middle, you hit the mound like that, especially when it's straight up, and you lose your footing. That's all he did."

Deese got an RBI on the play but the run was unearned as Blake Lynd scored from second base.

The Nittany Lions (20-14) scored at least one run in six innings as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three innings.

Although Penn State blew the lead in the top of the fourth inning, it never trailed in the game and pounded out 10 hits.

Pitcher Paul Cianciolo, who threw four hitless innings for the win after entering in a tied game, said having an offense stay productive helps him on the mound.

"Coming in 3-3, it's obviously a very close game," Cianciolo said. "Then we put up two, three, four runs and it gets a lot easier with the run support behind you. These guys know they can put a five spot in half an inning, so it's definitely a good feeling helping you."

With the victory, Penn State beat the Mountaineers (13-15) for the first time. In the clubs' only previous meeting, Mount St. Mary's won, 16-8, in 2007.

One main reason for the team's success this time was its base running, especially Lynd's.

The center fielder, who came in tied for second place in the Big Ten in stolen bases, had four on the night. The total marks just the third time in program history a Lion stole four bases in one game. The other two times were by Ray Lopez in 1991 and O.J. McDuffie in 1990.

"Things are working good," Lynd said. "But I also feel better at the plate. I'm seeing it well. The walks come as well. I do better when I'm more aggressive and I feel comfortable hitting with two strikes."

Lynd reached base five times in the game, as he went 3-for-3 with two walks and four runs scored.

One of his hits came in the third inning, when Lynd put down a bunt on the first pitch of the half inning and beat the throw to first. He later scored on a sacrifice fly.

He also showed patience on a ground ball when he waited for the throw to first base to advance to third.

Wine called Lynd a spark plug and said he brings high intensity. The coach also said Lynd's performance typified "Blake Lynd baseball."

"That's instincts," Wine said. "That's him on the bases staying aggressive. Earlier in the game, a couple times we were tying to steal and he wasn't getting jumps -- that's not him. He needs to just go. That's the aggressiveness of Blake Lynd we need."