After Penn State's 3-0 sweep of Springfield to advance to the NCAA semifinal, the EIVA announced its all tournament team.
Joe Sunder, Penn State
Ryan Wolf, Penn State
Cal Palumbo, Springfield
Alberto Bravo, Springfield
Jeff Zornig, Rutgers-Newark
Eric Lucas, George Mason
Most Outstanding Player: Dennis Del Valle
Here is my ballot and why I voted how I did.
Joe Sunder, Penn State
Sunder has been the Lions' rock all season long. He didn't have his two best statistical matches of the season, but led the Lions in kills Saturday and took control of the match with his team trailing in the third set.
Ryan Wolf, Penn State
Wolf, who entered the game for Jace Olsen Thursday, really settled the Lions down and had a big match after cracking the starting lineup tonight. He was hitting well off the block and finished the match with 11 kills, hitting at .391.
Cal Palumbo, Springfield
Palumbo was a force in the middle in both matches, hitting over .500 in both. He finished Saturday's match with eight kills on sixteen errorless swings.
Alberto Bravo, Springfield
Bravo posted 26 kills and seven blocks against George Mason and while he was contained Saturday, he carried the Pride to the finals. He was setter Mike Becker's go to guy all weekend and finished a great career with a strong tournament.
Edgardo Goas, Penn State
Goas didn't have his best weekend as a Lion, but orchestrated a strong offense en route to a title. Coach Mark Pavlik said Goas did a good job of keeping the Lions in system with his passing and setting.
Mark Jones, George Mason
Jones has been Mason's anchor since converting from setter to outside hitter as a freshman. He had 19 kills against Springfield and was certainly deserving of this honor.
Most Outstanding Player: Dennis Del Valle
There's really not much to say about the senior. A four time second team All-American, Del Valle once again proved why he is among the best liberos in the nation. He finished Saturday's match with 14 digs and had several sliding digs to keep points alive.
EIVA All-Tournament Team: Zordig (RU), Lucas (GMU), Palumbo (SField), Bravo (SField), Wolf (PSU), Sunder (PSU). Most Outstanding Player: Del Valle (PSU).
***
8:20 The Lions take the third set, 26-24, the match 3-0, the EIVA tournament, and earn an automatic bid in the NCAA Final Four.
8:17 The Pride have their first set point but fail to execute. The Lions now have a championship point.
8:12 And now it's tied, 20-20, and now the Lions have the lead at 21-20 following a Goas kill. Timeout Springfield.
8:10 Timeout Springfield as the Lions close the gap to only one following a double hit on the Pride.
8:08 The Lions decrease the Pride lead to two following a kill from Turko and Wolf. It's now 17-19 Pride
8:03 The Pride lead is down to three after a hige block from Sunder. Polumbo gets a kill, though, to up the Springfield lead to four once again, 15-11
8:01 Those "just misses" are getting larger now as the deficit increases to five at 7-11.
7:56 Timeout Penn State as the Pride take a four point lead, 7-3. Lions just missing.
7:54 Match tied at two a piece. Hearing around me that a lot of scribes are picking Del Valle as their Most Outstanding Player. He's definitely deserving.
***
7:48 Lions wrap up a second set victory on a Springfield hitting error, win 25-14.
7:45 Lions cruising and about to wrap a dominating second set win. They're up 22-12.
7:40 Final spot on the bracket goes to Ryan Wolf. He settled the Lions down yesterday and leads the Lions in kills today. Lions are leading 15-8.
7:34 Filling out the EIVA All-Tournament Team Ballot. I have: Falcone (Springfield), Sunder (Penn State), Jones (George Mason), Del Valle (Penn State), and Zornig (Rutgers-Newark). Need one more for the team. Bravo is my Most Outstanding Player. 11-5 Lions.
7:31 Timeout Springfield after Penn State grabs a 5-1 lead.
7:29 Extended point begins the second set and Turko puts it away on the over pass. Now 1-1
***
7:23 Third set point no good, a Polumbo kill makes it 24-20. And they finally get it on a service error from Bravo. Lions win set one 25-20.
7:22 First set point for the Lions not good as the Pride hit it through the block. On the second Comfort hits it into the net.
7:20 Alan Mars enters to replace Hendries as the Lions go on a 2-1 run to up the lead to 21-16.
7:17 The Pride still battling and cut the deficit to four at 19-15. Coach Pavlik calls a timeout to settle the troops.
7:14 Lions successful because of balance in their offense. Each Lion (except for Goas and Del Valle) has registered a kill. Mistakes at the service line not helping the Pride, either. 17-9 Lions.
7:11 Now Springfield takes their final timeout of the set. They're down 13-5 and three Lions -- Comfort, Sunder and Wolf -- are tied with two kills a piece. Del Valle has 2 digs.
7:09 Timeout Springfield, wait...nevermind. PA announcer mistake. Maybe they should take their second, though, as they're down 11-5.
7:08 Strong kill from Comfort. He looks comfortable early, but he's a streaky hitter, so we'll see. 9-3 Lions.
7:04 Penn State up early in Rec Hall, 4-1. Great digs from Del Valle and a block by Wolf. Now 5-1.
7:01 First point of the match goes to the Lions on a Pride service error.
***
Springfield starters: Gutmann, Becker, Coen, Falcone, Bravo, Palumbo, Ferry
Penn State starters: Goas, Turko, Hendries, Comfort, Wolf, Sunder, Del Valle
This EIVA Championship match is the third matchup of the season between the Lions and the Pride. The Lions won the first match at home, 3-0, and the second match on the road, 3-1.
Player to watch for Springfield: Alberto Bravo. The senior opposite had just under 30 kills for the Pride in the EIVA semifinal match against No. 2 George Mason.
Player to watch for Penn State: Joe Sunder. The redshirt junior had 11 kills on .286 hitting against No. 4 Rutgers-Newark in the EIVA semifinal.
Rising seniors Natalie Ettl and Whitney Bencsko were named captains of the Penn State women's gymnastics team for the 2012 season Friday night at the team's award banquet.
Bencsko remains a captain, while Ettl will replace graduating senior Danielle Hover.
Ettl spoke of the pride she felt at being named captain by a team vote.
“It’s a complete honor. It’s hard for me to put it into words," Ettl said. "Just the fact that the girls look up to me means a lot to me. I’ve come from such a difficult background with all my knee injuries and to persevere and then to be able to come to Penn State and be named a captain and to have girls look up to me and lead the team is truly, truly, an honor.”
Throughout the past season, Ettl was constantly taking an active role in leadership in the gym, always talking one of the gymnasts through a bad day or lending her support for any gymnast performing a routine.
Hover said she felt confident Ettl would perform admirably in replacing her as captain.
"There’s no other better person than that could lead this team as well as Nat," Hover said. “Stepping into her role as captain, nobody leads by example like her, nobody speaks her mind as well as she does, nobody’s as outgoing and generous and she’s there for you at all times. She’s the exact type of person a Penn State captain would be and I think she’s going to do an awesome job."
The vote for the new captains was close, with the new captains winning the tally by one vote over another rising senior, Daryl Konsevick.
But rather than displaying divisiveness, Hover said the closeness of the vote reflected the leadership of the entire new senior class, which also includes junior Alex Stine.
“That class, they’re going to lead this team and they’re going to take off," Hover said. "It’s amazing.”
Ettl said her class has already taken steps to begin to lead the team in a new direction.
“Next year we’re trying to come at the team with a completely new perspective," Ettl said. "We’ve already briefly met with the coaches as a soon-to-be senior class — all four of us — and we're going to make a change."
Leading the team well will be essential for the two captains, one new and one old, if they hope to take the team to even greater heights than last year's squad.
And that's the goal for the Nittany Lions — to make nationals as a team.
Hover said she's confident Ettl and Bencsko will be able to lead the team well and take it to the top.
Ettl is looking forward to the chance to show what she can do, leading the team from the front.
"I’m sure Whitney and I will be able to come up with great ideas together to lead the team to great things, and I truly believe this team can do anything we set our mind to," Ettl said. "So hopefully with the leadership with Whitney and I as co-captains and the senior class with all four of us we’ll be able to accomplish it all.”
The AVCA released its All-American teams Thursday, and Penn State was one of three teams with three players to be named to either the first or second team.
Joe Sunder was tabbed on the first team, while Edgardo Goas and Dennis Del Valle were named to the second team. Here are the releases on the three from avca.org.
Joe Sunder, a 6-7 outside hitter for Penn State University, is a junior from Greensburg, Pa. After guiding the Nittany Lions to a 22-6 record and statistically ranking among the Division I-II elite in aces and kills per set, as well as hitting percentage, Sunder was named the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) UValdo Acosta Player of the Year. Also an EIVA First-Team honoree, Sunder is earning his first AVCA All-America distinction.
Sunder has been the Lions offensive rock all season long. He is one of the best hitters in the country, ranking third in the nation in kills per set and eighth in hitting percentage. He has been Goas' go-to hitter since day one.
Dennis Del Valle, a 5-8 libero for Penn State University, is a senior from Toa Alta, Puerto Rico. Named to the EIVA First-Team and one of the nation's top liberos, Del Valle ranks in the top-three in the nation in digs per set. This is Del Valle's fourth consecutive year appearing on the AVCA All-American Second-Team.
Del Valle, one of the best liberos in the nation, once again earns second team honors. He has had an incredible career, helping the Lions to a national title as a freshman and has orchestrated an improving defense with multiple underclassmen seeing major time in 2011. Stanford's Erik Shoji was named to the first team for the third straight year (if it was up to us, Del Valle would have topped him this season).
Edgardo Goas, a 6-5 setter for Penn State University, is a red shirt junior from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The setter ranks in the top-10 in the country in assists per set on his way to earning EIVA First-Team honors. This is the second time since his freshman year that Goas has made it as an AVCA All-American.
As Sunder has been Penn State's go-to guy, Goas has been the catalyst for an underclassmen laden offense. As freshman Jace Olsen and sophomore Tom Comfort settled into starting roles, Goas showed why he is deserving of this honor by leading the Lions on and off the court. Named a captain in the fall, Goas has certainly showed why he could very well be the Lions MVP this year.
A huge dig from Del Valle leads to a kill from Sunder. Lions have their first match point at 24-18. Pickens gets a kill for the Raiders to make it 24-19.
Rutgers serves match point No. 2 for the Lions. The ball goes out over the back line and out.
Penn State wins the set 25-19 and the match, 3-1.
Sunder leads all players with 11 kills, Comfort finished close behind with 10. Austin Pappas led Rutgers-Newark with eight kills and three blocks.
It wasn't by any means a pretty match, but the Lions will take the win
The Nittany Lions advance to the EIVA Championship where they will play Springfield Saturday at 8 p.m. here in Rec Hall.
Final Score: Penn State 3, Rutgers-Newark 1
***
Wolf gets his third straight kill out of the timeout, the Lions lead 13-6.
De Groh ends the run for Rutgers.
Sunder's eighth kill comes out of the backrow, Penn State leads 14-9. Comfort follows with an ace to open up a 15-9 lead for Penn State.
Comfort's kill from the right side gives the Lions a 17-11 lead. Turko follows with an ace to make it 18-11.
Alan Mars rolls his right ankle going up for a block. He hobbles off the floor as Ian Hendries comes in to replace him in the middle.
Metheny picks up his fourth kill of the match to cut the Penn State lead to 20-15. Wolf follows with another kill as his solid fourth set continues. Penn State leads 21-15.
Rutgers- Newark takes its final timeout.
Fourth Set: Penn State 23, Rutgers-Newark 18 (PSU leads match 2-1)
Sunder comes from the back row to give the Lions a 22-17 lead.
***
FOURTH SET
Wolf and Turko get the block to start the fourth set. Rutger's Newark comes back with a kill and then gets another point from a Lions' hitting error. They lead 2-1.
Pappas gets a kill off the Penn State block and the set is tied at 3-3.
Another service error from Rutgers, followed by a hitting error gives the Lions a 5-3 lead. Another error makes it 6-3.
Metheny blocks Sunder's attempt out of the backrow. He cuts the Lions' lead to 9-6.
Wolf goes off the Rutgers block and out, his fifth kill of the match. Penn State leads 10-6. Wolf follows with another kill to make it 11-6.
Rutgers hitting error makes the score 12-6 and France takes his first timeout of the set.
Fourth Set: Penn State 12, Rutgers-Newark 6 (PSU leads match 2-1)
***
Tom Comfort goes off the block and out after the dig by Sunder. Lions's lead now sits at 21-13.
Sunder's serve goes into the net after a kill from Rutgers-Newark. The Penn State lead has been cut to 22-15.
De Groh gets another kill, his third of the match, and its 22-16.
End of the Third Set: Penn State 25, Rutgers-Newark 16 (PSU leads match 2-1)
***
Sunder gets a huge block out of the timeout. Penn State leads 16-11. Sunder gets a kill following a Lions' service error and the Lions' lead is 17-12.
Turko rips an ace to make it 18-12.
Mars gives the Lions a six point lead at 19-13. Sunder's swing on the next rally goes off the Rutgers block and out. Making the lead 20-13.
France takes his final timeout of the set.
Third Set: Penn State 20, Rutgers-Newark 13 (Match ties 1-1)
***
THIRD SET
Rutgers-Newark is first on the board again. But Sunder answers right back with a kill to even the match at 1.
Sunder gets a kill off the overpass to even the score again, this time at 4.
Rutgers-Newark goes off the antennae to give the Lions their first lead since the first set at 5-4.
Comfort gets the solo block and gives the Lions a 9-6 lead. Big play for Comfort who was benched during the second set.
Olsen gets blocked by Zordig and Pickens. Rutgers-Newark cuts the Penn State lead to one. It's 10-9. Mars gets the point back with a kill out of the middle.
Turko takes the quick set from Goas to bring the lead back to 12-10.
Turko stays hot and picks up his third kill of the match. Penn States opens up a 15-11 lead and France takes his first timeout of the set.
Third Set: Penn State 15, Rutgers-Newark 11 (Match tied 1-1)
***
Goas' first serve out of the timeout goes over the back line. Comfort gets blocked by Metheny and Zornig, Rutgers-Newark leads 15-6.
Comfort gets blocked again, this time by Metheny and Madura. The Scarlet Raiders lead is now 16-7. Rutgers-Newark lead is increased back to 10 after a kill from Zornig.
Scott Kegerreis comes in to replace Comfort as Pavlik looks to shake something up. Mars sevres one over the net. rutgers leads 18-8.
Kegerreis' first serve of the match falls just in front of the back line. Penn State cuts the Rutgers' lead to eight at 18-10. Kegerreis' next serve earns a free ball, but it is hammered over the back line by Turko to make the lead 19-10.
Sunder goes out of bounds, then Wolf gets blocked by Midura and Pickens. Rutgers leads 21-12.
A block on Sunder goes out of bounds. 21-13 Rutgers leads. An error from the Scarlet Raiders cuts the lead to 22-14. Midura gets the point back with a kill, 23-14 Rutgers. An error from Alan Mars gives Rutger-Newark its first set point at 14-14.
Mars gets the kill to set up set point number two for Rutgers-Newark. A hitting error from Rutgers-Newark sets up set point number three. Sunder serves the ball into the net to end the set.
End of Second Set: Rutgers-Newark 25, Penn State 16 (Match ties 1-1)
***
Marcin Madura serves an ace out of the timeout giving Rutgers-Newark an 11-0 lead.
Wolf finally gets the Lions on the board with a kill. It's 11-1 Scarlet Raiders.
The Lions go up for a block on Pappas, the block makes contact but the ball goes out. Rutgers leads 13-2.
Sunder gets just his second kill of the match. Goas follows with a service ace and the Lions trail 13-5. Goas floats another ace over the net and the lead sits at 7.
Karl France takes his first timeout of the set.
Second Set: Rutgers-Newark 13, Penn State 6 (PSU leads match 1-0)
***
Sunder's first swing out of the timeout goes just out. Turko is blocked. And the Lions make another hitting error. Turgers-Newark leads 8-0.
Comfort hits the ball into the net and out. 9-0 Scarlet Raiders lead. Ryan Wolf gets blocked, Rutgers-Newark leads 10-0.
Pavlik quickly takes his second timeout.
Second Set: Rutgers-Newark 10, Penn State 0 (PSU leads match 1-0)
***
SECOND SET
Rutgers-Newark the first on the board in the second set. The Raiders lead 1-0. An error from the Lions makes the lead 2-0. Yet another hitting error makes it 3-0.
De Groh gets a kill on the overpass, 4-0 lead for the Scarlet Raiders. De Groh, Pappas and Metheny block Sunder. Rutgers-Newark takes a 5-0 lead and Lions' coach Mark Pavlik takes his first timeout of the set.
Second Set: Rutgers-Newark 5, Penn State 0 (PSU leads match 1-0)
***
Rutgers-Newark called for an illegal backrow block out of the timeout, increasing the Lions' lead to 19-8.
The Scarlet Raiders trying to climb back as a kill goes off the hand of Sunder and down, cutting the lead to 19-11. But another service error from Rutgers-Newark makes the score 20-11.
Goas picks up his first kill, the Lions lead 21-12. Comfort follows with another kill to bring the Lions' total to 22.
Another service error gives the Lions a 23-13 lead. A kill from Alan Mars gives the Lions their first set point at 24-14. Sunder serves, some miscommunication by the Scarlet Raiders ends with Grant Metheny whiffing on a swing in the middle.
End of First Set: Penn State 25, Rutgers-Newark 14 (PSU leads match 1-0)
***
Back to-back kills for the Lions out of the timeout increases the Lions' lead to 9-1. Make it three in a row as Sunder gets on the board with his first kill.
Olsen's service error gives the Scarlet Raiders their second point, but again their ensuing serve goes out and gives a point and the ball back to the Lions. Turko's serve goes over the net, and the Penn State lead sits at 11-3.
Rutgers-Newark earns it first point of the match off an ace from Austin Pappas, but Pappas' next serve goes into the net and the Penn State lead sits at 13-4. Goas' first serve of the match falls for an ace to make the lead 14-4.
Alan Mars gets his firts kill of the match out of the middle and the Lions' lead 14-5. Sunder's first serve goes into the net to give the point back to Rutgers-Newark.
Austin Pappas goes up for a big swing but his ball lands out, stretching the Penn State lead to 17-6. Olsen follows with a kill and the Lions' lead by 10.
France takes his second timeout of the set.
First Set: Penn State 18, Rutgers-Newark 8
***
FIRST SET
Zorning serves first for Rutgers-Newark, his serve goes out of bounds and the Lions have a 1-0 lead. Following a Comfort serve, Olsen passes to Goas after blocking the ball. Goas goes back to Olsen and the Lions lead 2-0.
A block from Goas, followed by another from Goas and Turko increases the Lions' lead to 4-0.
The Scarlet Raiders first point comes off a service error from Tom Comfort. De Groh gives the point right back after serving the ball into the net. Penn State leads 5-1.
Goas picks up his third block of the match as he and Turko combine again. Olsen's ace stretches the Lions' lead to six at 7-1. Rutgers-Newark coach Karl France has seen enough and takes his firts timeout of the set.
First Set: Penn State 7, Rutgers-Newark 1
***
The upset bug is alive and well here at Rec Hall. Collegian men's volleyball reporter Bill Landis here bringing you live action from Rec Hall's Main Gym where we are just minutes away from No. 10 Penn State's EIVA Semifinal clash with Rutgers-Newark.
Springfield upset George Mason in the first semifinal match, the Nittany Lions will be looking to avoid the same fate against the Scarlet Raiders.
The Lions come into this match having not played since April 16, a 3-2 win against IPFW. We'll see if there is any rust in the Lions game as we get underway with this EIVA Semifinal match.
Rutgers- Newark Starters: OH Kenneth de Groh, OH Austin Pappas, OH Grant Metheny, MH Brett Pickens, OH Marcin Madura, S Jeff Zornig, L Zack Chambers
Penn State Starters: S Edgardo Goas, MH Alan Mars, MH Nick Turko, OH Jace Olsen, Opp Tom Comfort, OH Joe Sunder, L Dennis Del Valle
7:21 Springfield gets their first match point, doesn't happen, now match point No. 2 and they take care of it. The Pride win the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-1. They advance to their first EIVA Championship.
7:17 Following a Mason timeout, Bravo notches his 26th kill and block to give the Pride a 21-16 lead.
7:13 Bravo continues to impress for Springfield. He has 24 kills so far. 16-15 Pride.
7:10 Mason storms back and ties the set at 10 a piece. Springfield responds, though, and tallies a nice kill to retake the lead. But alas it's tied again. 11-11
7:07 Timeout Springfield as Mason goes on a 2-1 run and cuts the Pride lead to 9-7.
7:04 Springfield continues to play well. If they hold onto this lead they will go to the EIVA final. 8-5 Pride
7:01 Springfield with an early lead, 4-1. Timeout Mason. GMU got out to an early lead last set, and it helped them get the win. Springfield hoping for the same outcome here in the fourth.
***
6:55 Mason now with a set point and they take it, 26-24. This match will continue!
6:54 Springfield with their first match point at 24-23...
6:51 Mason up 23-22 in the third. Fairly good set actually. Not nearly as many errors.
6:46 20-17 Mason, Timeout Springfield. Please don't make this match go any longer than it has to, Pride. Please.
6:38 Springfield proving their first twos set wins were no fluke. Though they're down 10-9 midway through the third set, they still look to be in control.
6:35 Springfield's Alberto Bravo has been the MVP of the match and the most noticeable player. Could be because he has 14 kills and over 25 touches (he did hit only .083 through the first two sets though). 6-4 Mason.
6:32 Timeout Charlie Sullivan and the Pride after Mason takes the first four points of the set, 4-0 GMU.
***
6:26 Set point No. 4 for Springfield...and they take the set 28-26. The Pride now up two sets to none.
6:25 Springfield takes the lead but GMU ties it back up on a block out of bounds. 25-25. Now 26-25 Springfield set point No. 3.
6:23 Some discrepancy over that last point. Could have gone to Springfield and given them the set, but line judge ruled the block good. 24-24.
6:22 Timeout GMU after Springfield gets their third straight point and one point away from going up 2-0. 24-23 Pride
6:20 Mason trying desperately to wrap up the set but having trouble doing so. 23-22 GMU
6:15 If either team gains any kind of edge they simply give it right back either in the same point by having an overpass or a stupid play, or by having a service error on the very next point they have. Timeout Springfield after Mason retakes the lead, 18-17
6:13 Match tied at 16. No. Comment. Volleyball. Too. Horrible.
6:09 Joyner of Mason does the Ed Goas-copyrighted kill move and ties the match up at 13.
6:07 Block at the net gives GMU the lead at 11-10. They give it right back, though. Tied at 11.
6:03 Springfield still holding the lead, 8-5 over Mason. I'm having trouble finding things to say because this is almost un-watchable volleyball. If someone told me this was a preseason scrimmage, I'd believe them. Timeout Springfield, now 8-7
6:00 Timeout Mason after The Pride up their lead to 4-1.
5:59 Springfield with the early lead over Mason, 2-1. (The Pride had 9 service errors in the first set and still managed to win. Probably due to the fact that GMU hit only .136)
***
5:53 Springfield luckily takes the first set from GMU 25-23. Mason had a 23-21 lead late in the set but unforced errors killed them. Onto the second...
5:52 Springfield ties the set at 23-23 after an overpass from GMU.
5:49 Timeout Springfield after GMU regains the lead late at 21-20
5:47 Mason now has the lead 19-18. And now it's gone. A good match if you like watching two volleyball teams BOTH not at their best. 20-19 Springfield.
5:43 Springfield still clinging to a lead. Both teams will be in for a rude awakening if they have to face the Lions next round. Sloppy Play City here. And there goes the lead as Mason ties it. Timeout Springfield.
5:39 Springfield has the lead at 11-10, but it won't last if these service errors continue. They just need to worry about getting it over the net and letting GMU make their own mistakes. 13-10 Springfield now.
5:37 Timeout GMU after Springfield takes the 10-8 lead.
5:33 Three, maybe four (I lost track), service errors so far for Springfield. Match tied at four a piece.
5:31 Springfield takes an early lead on a few service errors, 2-1 GMU
***
George Mason starters: Lucas, Jones, Kvidahl, Sibley, Joyner, McFarland, Naill
Springfield starters: Gutmann, Becker, Coen, Falcone, Bravo, Palumbo, Ferry
After more than ten days off, No. 10 Penn State will finally take the court again.
At the other side of the net tomorrow night will be Rutgers-Newark, who the Nittany Lions have knocked off twice this season.
Here are some things to look for.
Players to Watch
Penn State libero Dennis Del Valle
With Rutgers-Newark's physicality, especially in the service department, passing will be key for the Lions. Tom Comfort said Del Valle's first contact's will be crucial and if the Lions can successfully pass, it will just come down hitters like himself and Joe Sunder putting balls away.
Rutgers-Newark OH Marcin Madura
In 2010, RN knocked off the then No. 6 Lions, 3-1, in a nonconference match. That still sits with the Lions, and Marcin Madura is a big reason for that. The outside had 22 kills, hitting at .474. He hasn't had a match even close to that against the Lions in 2011, hitting just .227 and .228 in two matches this year. He has 23 total kills.
Keys to the match
Starting fast has been a topic of conversion between Mark Pavlik and his players all year. With a Rutgers-Newark team that likes to talk and isn't going to back down, the Lions have to make sure they take care of business early on and set the tone that they won't be intimidated in their own gym. While the talent is certainly there for the Lions, the mental preparation and focus will have to be there from the first point on.
Miguel Pineda is the new captain of the Penn State men's gymnastics team.
Pineda was nominated and then elected by his teammates last week. He will replace Matt Albrecht, who will be a senior next year but will no longer be eligible to compete.
Pineda has become a reliable piece to the Lions' still rings team, and has also seen success on parallel bars and pommel horse. He is fresh off of his first All-American honor after placing second on the rings at NCAA individual finals.
He will be the team's only true senior next season. Redshirt seniors will include Logan Wyman, who performed only three routines this season, Colin Hill and Warren Yang.
Pineda has already demonstrated leadership on the team, evident in his election as next season's sole captain. He is one of the team's smartest gymnasts, highlighted by a 4.0 grade point average in 2010, and he should be an excellent leader for both new teammates and old.
As for Albrecht, he said he will likely stick around practices and help out the team. It's also possible he will continue to train, although at a much lighter level than the other gymnasts.
Sharaya Musser, a sophomore on the Penn State women's gymnastics team, has been named a finalist for the 2010-11 Honda Sports Award for the top woman collegiate gymnast.
Her fellow finalists for the award are Michigan's Kylee Botterman, Alabama's Kayla Hoffman and UCLA's Brittani McCullough.
Musser's season concluded on April 15, when she finished 12th in the all-around at the NCAA national championships at Kent State University.
Heading into nationals, and for most of the season, Musser was the No. 1-ranked gymnast in the country in the all-around, and ranked in the top-25 on every event for much of the season, as well.
Botterman, a senior who sat behind Musser at No. 2 in the all-around rankings for much of the season, won the all-around title on April 15 at nationals. She also won the AAI award for the nation's top gymnast, so Musser will have stiff competition for the Honda award.
That's it from State College, as Penn State salvaged a split of the doubleheader in a 5-2 victory. Check in tomorrow starting at 1:05 p.m. as the Lions take on OSU in the rubber game of the series.
WP: Walter (5-3)
LP: McKinney (1-3)
SV: H. Johnson (1)
NINTH INNING
After two consecutive outings of more than 120 pitches, coach Robbie Wine isn't letting Walter go the distance, instead giving former starting pitcher Heath Johnson the chance to earn his first save of the year.
Johnson begins the frame by getting Tim Wetzel to ground out to second base. Montesinos made a tremendous off balance throw to get Wetzel.
Cypret grounded out as Steranka made a strong play for the second out.
Dezse drew a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch before Streng struck out to end the ballgame.
---------
EIGHTH INNING
Walter, in for an eighth inning, started the inning at 108 pitches.
A line shot to Montesinos was caught and Corna knocked one that went off Glantz's glove, though the official scorer is calling it a hit.
A high chopper off the bat of Solomon resulted in a force out, but Engle singled through the left side to put a second man on base for DeLucia, who is now 0-4 after flying out to center.
In the bottom of the inning, Jared Strayer came in to face the Lions. Strayer started by striking out Jacobs on an off speed pitch and Farkes on a fastball. Strayer struck out DeBernardis to retire the side on a devastating curveball.
Heath Johnson is coming out for the save.
Walter is through eight innings and 124 pitches as PSU leads 5-2.
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SEVENTH INNING
Walter came out for the seventh and got a 1-2-3 inning.
Walter is in cruise control, having allowed just two runs in seven innings.
Deegan led things off for PSU in the bottom of the seventh by striking out. DeBernardis hit a major league pop up to second base and Steranka grounded out to short.
PSU still leads 5-2 and Walter is coming out for another.
SIXTH INNING
Corna flied out to centerfield and Solomon popped up to Glantz. Engle singled up the middle and stole second base. DeLucia singled home Engle before Wetzel flew out to center field.
The Lions' bats have been quiet since the second inning as Glantz grounded to shortstop, and Clark lined to short.
Lynd appeared to get hit by a pitch before being called back with the umpire calling it a foul ball. After a conversation with the third base umpire, it was determined to be a foul, causing the Penn State bench to get vocal.
Lynd hit a shot back to the pitcher, who gloved it for the third out.
PSU still leads, 5-2.
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FIFTH INNING
Cypret lined to right to open up the Buckeye fifth inning, and Dezse hit a ground-rule double. Walter lucked out on that one as it would have been an easy triple if the ball hadn't bounced out. Streng grounded to DeBernardis for the second out, moving Dezse to third, and Hallberg struck out looking on a pitch that appeared to be inside.
In the Penn State half, Steranka started off with a groundout. Jacobs flew out to right and Farkes ripped a single past the outstretched glove of shortstop Tyler Engle. Farkes was stranded, however, as Montesinos flew out to right field.
PSU leads, 5-1 through five.
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FOURTH INNING
A walk and a hit put two men on with just one out for OSU, when Brian DeLucia struck out on a breaking ball. A 4-6 putout on a Tim Wetzel ground out ended the half.
Clark struck out to open the fourth inning for the Lions. Lynd narrowly got thrown out on a ground out deep in the hole, and Deegan singled before DeBernardis struck out for the third out.
PSU leads, 5-1
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THIRD INNING
A pair of singles by Josh Dezse and Matt Streng with two outs set up Brad Hallberg, but Hallberg flew out to Clark for the third out.
Alex Farkes opened up the bottom of the third by flying to left field for out number one. Luis Montesinos flew out to right field and Glantz popped to right to end the inning.
PSU leads 5-1
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SECOND INNING
Walter shut the door in the second inning, allowing only one runner and still not allowing a hit. He has allowed only one hit in his last eight innings.
In the home half, Ryan Clark led off with a strikeout swinging before Lynd walked to reach for the second time in as many innings, advancing to second on a subsequent passed ball. Still during Deegan's at bat, Lynd stole third and scored when the catcher's throw sailed into left field.
Deegan worked a walk to set up DeBernardis with one out. Deegan took a page out of Lynd's book, stealing second base for his ninth stolen base of the year before Steranka knocked him in with a single through the right side.
That's it for the second.
PSU leads 5-1.
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FIRST INNING
Not the start the Lions were looking for after their bats fell asleep in Game 1.
Walter earned two quick outs to begin the inning, but a hit-by-pitch and a walk put two men aboard. What should have been the third out of the inning on a popup to the pitcher was dropped by Walter. Since the runners were moving on the play, one scored. After reloading the bases with another walk, Walter struck out David Corna to end the inning.
Four men reached base without a hit in the half inning.
Blake Lynd, leading off for the first time this season, reached on an infield hit up the middle. Deegan slammed a single through the right side, hit too hard to advance Lynd beyond second. DeBernardis knocked a line single to center field, but Lynd had to hold up to make sure it wasn't caught, loading the bases forJordan Steranka, hitting fourth.
Steranka beat out what could have been a double play. While a run scored on the FC, another run scored after the ball hit off Steranka's foot, going into right field.
Steranka advanced to second base on a wild pitch, setting up Bobby Jacobs with one out. Jacobs hit a gapper that was narrowly cut off by right fielder Brian DeLucia, scoring Steranka.
Montesinos hit a two-out gapper to put runners at first and third for Michael Glantz, who hit a deep fly ball to center, caught near the 399 foot marker.
3-1 Penn State on top after one inning.
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This is Zack Feldman back with you for Game 2 of the doubleheader between the Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions.
Following a Game 1 defeat by a score of 5-1, John Walter is looking to avenge the defeat.
More in a few minutes from Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Recap: A lack of timely hitting did the Lions in during game one of the doubleheader, but the team is looking to get a split today against OSU behind John Walter.
W: Steven Hill (4-3)
L: Drew Rucinski (4-1)
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NINTH INNING
Jesse Alfreno is in to finish things out in game one of the doubleheader.
Alfreno hit the first man, Cypret, and Dezse reached on an error by Glantz. Jacobs picked off Cypret, however, for the first out of the inning.
A 4-6-3 double play ended the inning for the Lions.
In the bottom of the ninth, Jacobs grounded to the pitcher before Glantz walked. Ryan Clark came in to pinch hit and gave the ball a nice ride, but was caught in deep right for the second out. Lynd struck out to end the game.
Back in a minute with the final recap.
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EIGHTH INNING
Glantz made a nice play in the hole to retire Hallberg and Corna walked to give Solomon a chance. Solomon drove a double to right field, which would have put runners at second and third, but Montesinos overran the ball, giving each an extra base. No RBI on the play.
Engle singled past first base to drive in the fifth run of the afternoon for the Buckeyes.
Engle stole second on a delayed steal and DeLucia flew to right, advancing Engle to third. Wetzel narrowly missed an infield single, but Glantz threw him out just in time to stop the bleeding.
In the home half, lefty Andrew Armstrong is in to face the top of the Lions' lineup in the eighth.
Deegan struck out after having worked the count to 3-1 and Montesinos walked to give Steranka a chance to put somethign together with one out.
Steranka reached after his grounder went off the glove off first baseman Dezse's glove. DeBernardis flew out to right to give Eramo a chance with two outs.
Eramo struck out again to end the rally.
OSU leads 5-1
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SEVENTH INNING
DeLucia singled to left to open the inning and left-hander Greg Welsh is in now for the Lions after six innings from Hill.
Hill's line: 6.0 IP, 9 hits, 3 ER
Wetzel sacrificed himself to move DeLucia along against Welsh, setting up a man at second with one out situation. Cyprett singled up the middle to drive in a run and close the book on Hill. Welsh, though, retired Dezse and Streng to retire the side.
Glantz grounded out to start the inning, Searer, who is now 3 for his last 41, grounded to short, and Lynd flew out to left.
12 consecutive Nittany Lions have been retired.
3-1, OSU leads.
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SIXTH INNING
Corna lined to right for the first out of the sixth and Solomon popped to DeBernardis for the second out. Engle knocked a deep fly ball to center field, but Deegan made the catch easily to end the inning.
DeBernardis grounded one into the hole at short, but was thrown out on a close play for the first out. Eramo grounded to the shortstop, Engle for the second out and Jacobs flew to right.
OSU leads, 2-1
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FIFTH INNING
Tyler Engle led off the inning with a single and Brian DeLucia knocked one through the left side to put two men on with no out. Tim Wetzel bunted the pair over for the first out of the inning, and Ryan Cypret, OSU's leading hitter with a .358 average, struck out. It should have been a big out for Hill, who then had two outs while facing Josh Dezse, but Dezse lined a shot past the slide of Searer, scoring two. Streng roped a single past the dive of DeBernardis, once again putting two men on base for Hallberg, who grounded to Steranka for the third out.
In the bottom, Deegan lined out to left field and Montesinos popped to second. Steranka was unable to get anything going with two outs, as he popped to shallow left.
OSU leads 2-1
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FOURTH INNING
A groundout to third and a popout to second gave HIll a quick couple outs, but then Brad Hallberg singled to left field by the slide/dive of the third baseman, Steranka and Corna doubled to put two in scoring position with two out. Solomon, however, flew out to left to end the inning. Like Penn State, they were unable to capitalize and stranded both.
Jacobs walked and was bunted over by Glantz, who narrowly missed reaching on the play. Searer, who's mired in a slump, managed to move Jacobs over on a 6-3 putout, but Lynd struck out to end the inning.
PSU leads 1-0.
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THIRD INNING
After a Greg Solomon bunt single, Hill made a great play on a sacrifice bunt to throw out the lead runner. Brian DeLucia reached on a fielding error by Searer at second base and Tim Wetzel lined out to Montesinos, who made a nice sliding catch to end the frame.
Sean Deegan led off the bottom of the third with his 14th double of the season, and Montesinos lined a sharp grounder through the middle to score Deegan. A 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Jordan Steranka cleared the bases. DeBernardis walked to get something going, but Eramo struck out for the third out. Eramo is now hitting .111 at home.
PSU leads 1-0
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SECOND INNING
Two quick outs, on a lineout to right field and a chopper back to Hill started the inning. Brad Hallberg looped a single to right to get something going for OSU, but David Corna struck out to end the scoring chance.
Bobby Jacobs is making his return to the lineup today after suffering a broken jaw against Northwestern. Jacobs is still wearing a plastic face guard on his helmet. Jacobs quickly lined the second pitch of his at bat to left for a single.
Eliot Searer struck out on a particularly wild looking swing, and Blake Lynd stepped on the plate while swinging and was called out by the plate umpire for the third out. Score that a 2-U, folks.
Still scoreless after 2.
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FIRST INNING
Ohio State went quickly in the first with a 1-2-3 inning, but Penn State began threatening in the home half, with a one out single off the bat of Luis Montesinos, who is now hitting .292.
A double from first baseman Joey DeBernardis, his 18th of the year, came with two out to put two in scoring position for Mario Eramo, who flew out to deep left to end the rally. Eramo is now hitting .152 in Big Ten play.
Tied up, 0-0
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Hello fans, welcome to another PSU baseball live blog. I'm Zack Feldman and today, I'll be bringing you live coverage of Game 1 between the OSU Buckeyes and the Penn State Nittany Lions with a 2:05 p.m. start. It will be Steven Hill on the mound for Penn State opposing Drew Rucinski for Ohio State.
The EIVA released its all-conference teams Thursday, and Penn State came away with six total honors, four on the first team and two on the second team.
Joe Sunder, who was also named EIVA Player of the Year, Edgardo Goas, Dennis Del Valle, and Nick Turko all garnered first team honors.
Tom Comfort and freshman Jace Olsen both were awarded second team.
Joe Sunder was named EIVA Uvaldo Acosta Player of the Year Thursday. The redshirt junior outside hitter from Greensburg, Pa. led the Lions to a perfect 10-0 record in EIVA play in 2011.
He finished the season with 412 kills, ranking first on the team. He hit .377, good for eighth in the nation, and ranked third in the country in kills per set.
Coach Mark Pavlik walks the sidelines during the Nittany Lion's 2-1 win over St. Francis Jan. 21 in Rec Hall.Kelley King/Collegian
Every Monday, the Collegian publishes its “Pondering with Pav” segment on the Above the Net blog. Each week the Collegian asks head coach Mark Pavlik to dispense some of his non-volleyball knowledge or give some insight into the life that is “Pav.”
During the Collegian’s weekly meeting session with coach Pavlik, former Ball State Daily News editor, men’s volleyball reporter and current producer of the blog Off The Block, Vinnie Lopes joined the meeting via speaker phone. It got Pav to thinking about the way the volleyball media is expanding the sport he’s loved for so long.
“The pondering is the maturation of the volleyball media coming up now. You know, where online I think has been just absolutely phenomenal. I think the current wave of development of nontraditional media is really serving volleyball well because we seem to be a younger demographic. We don’t need to see it in the black and white. Even Volleyball Magazine has changed how it presents. It seems to be trying to hit a younger demographic with a more lifestyle approach than actual hard, quality volleyball stories.”
Volleyball, especially the men’s game, has the ability to attract younger fans and keep them forever. When most people watch a few matches of high-quality collegiate volleyball, they can become instantly hooked and yearn for more. And that’s where the nontraditional media Pav’s talking about can really help grow the sport.
“I think volleyball in general has done a real good job of playing to the strengths of the genders. I think women’s volleyball does a great job of saying, 'Okay, the net’s lower, let’s make sure that we keep a little bit more of the precision of the game involved.' And I think in the men’s sport they’ve said, 'Let’s highlight the physicality of the men’s sport and jumping ability and speed.' I think that’s why you have people that say, 'Well, I really like the women’s game. I don’t care so much for the men’s game' or 'I really like the men’s game. I don’t care so much for the women’s game.' I think that’s healthy. I think it says something that we’re attractive to different people because of certain reasons, and I just think that’s good. It makes for great conversation and gives ample opportunity for education.
“Certainly getting back to the new digital era we’re in, I think the quicker that information gets out, the ability now to have, within seconds, video up where everybody can see. Now we’re just getting to see people who really are getting involved in the sport for the right reasons from the journalistic side. I think we can keep this thing going and feed those people and get good information timely out. It’s just going to make it better for everybody playing the sport.”
It's a 15-3 game in the top of the eighth, so we're going to put an end to this blog. If the Lions can mount a rally, we'll come back and bring it to you, but if not, check the Collegian tomorrow for a recap of the weekend and then the rest of the week for more coverage.
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Bottom 7
Deegan singles
Ell reaches on fielders choice Deegan out at second
Steranka flies out to right
DeBernardis singles
Eramo gets out and the inning is over
***
Top 7
Changes coming for Penn State.
Ryan Clark is in left, Zach Ell is in right, Glantz is still at short, Montesinos is at second
Perkins leads off. he reaches
Plawecki doubles to left.
Serratto singles in two runs. 15-3
Talbot flies out to center
Bieker flies out to right
Miller called out on strikes
***
Bottom 6
Eramo does not reach
Farkes walks
Montesinos singles up middle
Purdue has a new pitcher, Sean Collins
Ryan Clark is hitting for Glantz. He flies out to right.
And it's starting to drizzle.
***
Top 6
Scott Dixon, no relation to Evan, will pitch for Penn State
Plawecki singles.
Serratto triples to left center, RBI. 11-3
Talbot hit by pitch
Bieker bit by pitch
Miller walk, run scores 12-3
Andrew Dixon in to hit for David Blount.
Neal Herring to pitch for Penn State
Dixon single RBI 13-3
Spillner pops up to shortstop
Charles grounds into double play
***
Bottom 5
Glantz flies out
Lynd walks
Deegan walks
Searer flies out to right
Steranka double to left field. Two runs score. 10-3 Purdue
DeBernardis pops out to third baseman in foul territory
***
Top 5
Miller leads off. He strikes out.
Blount. he too strikes out.
Spillner. Double to center.
Charles. single
Perkins. Third out.
***
PURDUE 10 PENN STATE 1
Bottom 4
Eramo pops out to short.
Farkes singles.
Montesinos grounds into a double play.
I told you this would be short.
***
Top 4
Eric Charles hits one over Deegan's head for a double.
Perkins doubles into right and it scores Charles. 9-1
Plawecki. He covers the whole outfield, getting it to left for a single and plating another run. 10-1
Serratto. Ball deflects of Farkes and Plawecki goes to second. Serratto strikes out for the first of the inning.
Talbot. He flies out to right in a triangle of players, but Montesinos makes the grab.
Bieker. flies out to center.
***
Bottom 3
Searer starts the inning for Penn State and gets out.
Steranka is up next. he too is able to find his way out.
As a warning, barring a miraculous comeback, this is going to be a very brief live blog.
DeBernardis next. He pops out to short to end the frame
***
Top 3
Spillner up, Spillner down as he flies out to center.
Eric Charles then draws a one-out walk
Perkins looks like he's going to fly out and throws his bat down in frustration, however Montesinos either stumbled or the wind did something to the ball and it drops just in front of him, allowing Perkins to speed up and beat a throw in to second.
Kevin Plawecki then doubles to plate two runs and it's a 4-1 Purdue lead.
Serratto up and Farkes drops the ball, allowing Plawecki to move up to third. He grounds it up the infield, and the ball goes to Farkes at home, but it's a little wide and Plawecki hurdles the catcher to tag home. The ump calls Plawecki out but then reverses his call, saying Farkes never tagged him and Plawecki is across, then crumples on his way to the dugout. He does get up and walk it off, but looks like he tweaked an ankle on the run.
Serratto steals second ahead of Stephen Talbot's at-bat and Purdue is up 5-1 with just one out.
Talbot just destroys one into the "Nook" in left center for a stand-up triple and an RBI. Purdue now up 6-1 and it seems like Greg Welsh's day is done. Evan Dixon will relieve Welsh.
Evan Dixon is a former club baseball team pitcher. Take that as you will.
Payton Bieker will now hit for Purdue. Bieker pops it up and Steranka makes an athletic, but kind of needless, catch to get the out.
David Miller batting for Purdue. Talbot gets caught trying to run for home and Farkes looks to have him, but his throw to Steranaka isn't great and the ball squirts into left field and Talbot will score easily. Now 7-1 for Purdue, oh and Miller walks.
David Blount, the nine-hole hitter, is now up. Miller tries to steal second and an error by Farkes allows that to happen. Blount singles into left field, Miller scores from third as a throw from Monetsinos is wide of the plate.
8-1 Purdue. And Evan Dixon is done for the day. This is turning out to be a really long half-inning. Sidearm hurler Mike Pierce is taking over from the mound.
spillner lines out to DeBernardis.
***
Bottom 2
Luis Montesinos leads off for Penn State. the outfielder grounds out to third base for the first out.
Senior Michael Glantz up. He rips one just past Cameron Perkins for a single up the gap.
Little guy Blake Lynd up and he takes a huge swing at an outside pitch. Clearly a hit-and-run pitch, but it does allow Glantz to get into second ahead of the tag.
I missed how Lynd got out, but he did and Deegan is up for the second time today.
Deegan strikes out, leaving Glantz on second.
PURDUE 2 PENN STATE 1
***
Top 2
Minor error on our first inning, first baseman Kevin Plawecki made the final out, so Barrett Serratto will lead off this inning. My stupidity is glaring on days like this.
Anyway, Serratto, yeah, he's up. The he's out, because he grounds it to Searer.
Stephen Talbot rips on down the third base line, just a good piece of hitting, Steranka wouldn't of been able to play that.
That will bring up catcher Payton Bieker. Bieker lays down a great bunt that Welsh fields and barely gets the catcher at first. Talbot into second, two down.
David Miller up with a man in scoring position. He quickly goes down 1-2. Miller ropes one into center and Deegan just kind of stops, he had a chance if he dove but he didn't and Talbot scores and Miller into second with a double. 2-1 Purdue.
Blount, the DH, grounds to short and the inning is over.
***
1st inning, PENN STATE 1 PURDUE 1
Bottom 1
Joe Haase takes the mound for Purdue.
Deegan leads off for Penn State and esteemed beat patner Emily Kaplan calls a second lead-off homerun for the junior. Deegan will leave Emily a few bases short, but he does grind out a double with a flare into left.
Second baseman Elliot Searer up next. Searer in a good fight here, fouling off a few pitches to work a 3-2 count and making Haase work early. His persistence is rewarded with a high-hopping grounder to second that moves Deegan over to third. Searer gets thrown out for the first of the inning.
Steranka also grounds out, but he is much less patient that Searer, striking the first pitch. Penn State with two outs, but Steranka chalks up an RBI as Deegan scores easily to knot this game at 1-1.
Junior Joey DeBernardis steps in next. He works a 3-0 count before taking a called strike than gets ball four and a free pass to first.
DeBernardis' walk brings Mario Eramo to the plate with a chance to keep the inning going for Penn State. The DH takes two quick strikes and is down 0-2. Haase pitches over to first, but DeBernardis is back in plenty of time.
Eramo takes ball 2 high and DeBernardis takes off running, getting into an uncovered second. Purdue catcher Payton Bieker's throw is high and DeBernardis gets up and hustles into third.
Eramo takes two balls after the error and walks, bringing up lanky catcher Alex Farkes.
Bieker with a passed ball that gets Eramo to second. Still two out and a 1-1 count to Farkes. A check swing brings him to 2-2 before he hits a hard grounder up the first base gap. Nice play by Purdue first baseman Kevin Plawecki to make the stop and get the third out.
***
Top 1
Greg Welsh on the hill for the Lions
Tyler Spillner starts the game off with a single to right.
Welsh throws a wild pitch that allows Spillner to advance to second. Eric Charles grounds out back to Welsh, but it moves Spillner 90 feet from home.
And he will score as Cameron Perkins grounds out to third base, Purdue leads 1-0.
Barrett Serratto pops up to end the half inning, but the Boilermakers did get a run across
***
Greetings again Penn State baseball faithful. Andrew Robinson here to provide running commentary on game 2 of this doubleheader at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Johnson got two quick outs before walking Charles to put the tying run on in the top of the ninth. Johnson, however, got the third out as Perkins flew out to right to seal the win.
PSU wins, 4-3
WP: Johnson (2-1)
LP: Mascarello (1-4)
We'll be back in 45 minutes with the live blog for Game 3 of the series and Game 2 of today's doubleheader. Until then, this is Zack Feldman signing off!
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EIGHTH INNING
Heath Johnson has been solid thus far in his relief outing, going 1-2-3 after a leadoff walk was erased by a 4-3 double play.
Penn State tried to get an insurance run across in the bottom of the eighth, with Glantz singling to open the inning. Searer bunted him over to second and Lynd got him to third on a groundout to second base, but Deegan lined to the second baseman to end the inning.
PSU leads going to the ninth, 4-3.
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SEVENTH INNING
Walter came out to walk the first man he saw in the seventh before being replaced by Jesse Alfreno. Walter walked eight in his outing, throwing 127 pitches in the game.
Alfreno allowed a line single to left to Talbott, but made a sharp play on a bunt from Spillner to get the out at third.
A single by Charles loaded the bases with one out for Perkins, who flew out to center, scoring a run to put Purdue back to within one.
Another single, this one off the bat of Plawecki, brought in the tying run. That's all Purdue would get in the inning.
PSU led off with Blake Lynd sliding into first safely after Purdue first baseman Sean McHugh couldn't handle the slow roller.
Luis Montesinos singled deep in the hole at short after Deegan struck out, then Steranka singled home a run.
DeBernardis walked to reload the bases, then Eramo struck out looking.
Farkes hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning.
PSU leads 4-3.
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SIXTH INNING
Walter came out for more and is seeing some success after getting Serrato to pop out to the left fielder and getting Cianfrocco to strike out hacking at a fastball out of the zone. Steranka picked up a slow roller off the bat of McHugh to retire the side.
Steranka got things started for Penn State in the bottom of the sixth with a walk, and DeBernardis grounded out.
Schreiber appears injured and came out of the ballgame in favor of Robert Ramer.
Following an Eramo walk, Farkes stroked an RBI single through the left side.
Glantz followed with a walk (12 today across both team for those of you keeping track), leading to the second pitching change of the inning, putting Blake Mascarello in, who immediately induces an inning ending double play.
PSU leads 3-1.
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FIFTH INNING
Walter starts the inning by walking Charles for the second time in three at bats but he was erased with a 2-6-3 putout.
Perkins grounded out to second base, and Plawecki popped to second for a 1-2-3 inning.
In the home half, Lynd and Deegan grounded out and Montesinos struck out looking for another 1-2-3 inning.
PSU leads 2-1.
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FOURTH INNING
Walter looked primed for a quick inning but walked his sixth man and hit one with two out before getting Spillner to flyout to left to conclude the inning.
Walter has put nine men on base through four innings, including one hit, six walks, a hit by pitch and a reach-on-error.
In the bottom of the inning, Farkes struck one well to center, but it was caught. Glantz and Searer struck out to end the frame.
PSU leads 2-1
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THIRD INNING
Tyler Spillner reached on a Michael Glantz error to start the inning for Purdue. After Spillner was caught stealing, Eric Charles walked - the fifth free pass issued by Walter in 2.1 innings so far.
An infield hit by Perkins put two on with one out while extending his hitting streak to 17 games.
Steranka made a nice play on a slow chopper to third to get the second out at first and with runners at second and third and two men out, Serrato flew out to center field.
In the home half of the inning, Montesinos led off with a walk, and a ground ball that could have been a double play pulled shortstop David Miller off the base, though Montesinos was still called out. Coach Robbie Wine came out of the dugout briefly to argue.
DeBernardis smoked a line drive to the warning track, but it was snagged for the second out of the inning.
Mario Eramo ended the inning with a flyout to left.
The wind is becoming a factor here, blowing straightaway to left field.
PSU leads 2-1.
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SECOND INNING
Walter had a shaky inning after walking the first two batters. Walter settled down a bit after, striking out Angelo Cianfrocco before walking Sean McHugh before to load the bases and walking David Miller to force in a run.
Walker got out of the jam thanks to pitcher's best friend - a 5-4-3 double play.
Eliot Searer chopped to the catcher and is now 3-for his last 31. Blake Lynd grounded sharply to third for the second out.
Deegan walked to start something with two outs but was caught stealing for the first time this season (he is now 8-9 in SB attempts this season).
PSU leads 2-1.
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FIRST INNING
John Walter starts strong to the Littany Lions, shutting the Boilermakers down 1-2-3 in the first.
Penn State answers with the top of its lineup. Sean Deegan knocked a 2-0 pitch well over the right field fence for his fifth home run of the season, tied for second on the team.
Luis Montesinos was hit by a pitch and Jordan Sterenka singled to put two on tiwh no out. Joey DeBernardis struck out, but Mario Eramo walked on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases before Scherer balked in Penn State's second run of the inning.
Now with men at second and third, freshman catcher Alex Farkes popped out to shallow right field and Michael Glantz struck out.
PSU leads 2-0.
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Good morning everyone,
This is Zack Feldman live blogging from Medlar Field at Lubrano Park where the field has drained and dried enough to play two games today. Action starts at 11 a.m. with John Walter (4-3, 2.38) opposes Purdue's Brad Schreiber (4-0, 3.64).
On April 8, the day leading up to Penn State’s two-game series against Indiana, the Penn State softball team formally dedicated its brand-new, state-of-the-art facility, hosting a crowd in excess of 300 people to take part in the ceremony.
Penn State President Dr. Graham Spanier, Director of Athletics Tim Curley, Board of Trustees chairman Steve Garban, softball coach Robin Petrini and lead benefactors Lee and Bill Beard were all on hand and spoke about anointing Beard Field at Nittany Lion Softball Park.
Curley spoke first in front of the large audience and acknowledged the positive turnout. Curley also said it was a special day for Intercollegiate Athletics, especially softball, as this is a dream come true for many people.
Guests were given the chance to take a tour of the $10.2 million complex, before the formal ribbon cutting took place.
Many former players and coaches took part in the crowd, and seemed to have a smile on their face, particularly when Penn State’s 15th-year coach took the podium after Spanier.
Petrini thanked the Beard family, whose gift of $500,000 helped put the project in motion, and spoke about the fine details included in the stadium.
Finally, senior outfielder Mary Ostman, selected as the team’s representative, put an appropriate close to the ceremony by thanking the audience, fans, boosters and other supporters of the softball program.
Afterward, the entire team was greeted by Spanier, Graban and the lead benefactors of the project to cut the official ribbon to formally inaugurate the brand new stadium.
Penn State swept conference-foe Wisconsin earlier in the season in the stadium’s first games ever played. Junior pitcher Lisa Akamine hit an unconventional, inside-the-park home run and found a way to seal both victories inside the circle.
Coach Mark Pavlik walks the sidelines during the Nittany Lion's 2-1 win over St. Francis Jan. 21 in Rec Hall.Kelley King/Collegian
Every Monday, the Collegian publishes its “Pondering with Pav” segment on the Above the Net blog. Each week the Collegian asks head coach Mark Pavlik to dispense some of his non-volleyball knowledge or give some insight into the life that is “Pav.”
After taking a look out his opened window on a 75-degree Monday, although NHL playoffs are but two days away, Pav decided to ponder about the spring season. Warm weather seems to come and go in State College as quickly as Joe Sunder can put away a perfect set, so people need to take advantage of the warmth while they can.
“This is the time of year where I think it’s pretty cool to be in State College.
“The spring starts to hit. The trees start to bloom. The weather’s better. The guys get a chance to wear shorts and sandals. The girls get a chance to wear shorts and sandals. Both the guys and the girls checking each other out now instead of head down, everybody bummed about the cold just trying to get inside.
“Everybody now starts to countdown to finals and getting out of here and into summer. There seems to be a renewal of hope that all of a sudden you don’t have to spend your time in the dorms or in the apartment or in the classroom. Good things are just right around the corner.
"It just seems like people are happier. It’s like, ‘Spring is here, pretty soon we’re going to be at home or wherever we’re going, pretty soon I’m going to graduate.’ ”
*Reminder: Tuesday’s high is 49 degrees and rainy and next Sunday has snow in the forecast. Enjoy the weather while you can.
Alan Mars wins the Mike Anderson "We Are" Player of the Match.
6:47: There's domination, and then there's what just occurred here in Rec Hall. The Lions win the set 25-9 and the match 3-1.
6:45: Ohio State has left the building...basically. The Lions are up 22-8 (no typo).
6:42: Alan Mars really ramping it up here in the fourth. He has had a hand in a number of points including an ace to put the lead at 17-6 Lions.
6:39: The Lions have reeled off eight straight points and lead the Buckeyes 12-3...make it nine...and the Lions finally give up a point. The lead is now 13-4.
6:36: Timeout again Ohio State as the Lions up the lead to 9-3 here in the fourth set. Energy seems to be nonexistent from the Buckeyes. Three matches in three days getting to them.
6:34: Timeout OSU as Penn State takes the 7-3 lead. Reminder: OSU played both Friday night and Saturday night. Albeit against Princeton, the Buckeyes may be feeling some fatigue here.
6:33: Penn State has its first lead of the fourth set and now leads 4-2 on an ball out of bounds from OSU. Now 5-3 on the Ed Goas move.
6:30: First point of the fourth set goes to OSU on a kill from Sangrey.
***
6:27: The Lions take the third set 25-19 on a kill from Mars. Penn State leads the match two sets to one. Onto the fourth set we go.
6:25: Sunder making his presence be known now as he records two straight kills. The Lions' lead stands at 22-17
6:22: That's three straight points from Comfort as he aces it to give the Lions a five point lead. Teams trade points and the Lions' lead stands at 20-15.
6:20: Comfort seems to have re-found his groove as he notches two straight kills to up the Lions' lead to 18-14. It's their biggest of the set. Timeout OSU
6:18: Penn State now holds its largest lead of the set at 15-12 on the third service ace of the night off the hand of Sunder. He then hits it out of bounds to put the lead at two. 15-13 Lions
6:14: Sloppy set. Teams keep trading errors, match tied at 10-10. Penn State has now has its first lead of the third set at 11-10 on, what else but an error. A Nick Turko ace gives the Lions a two point lead. Timeout OSU, PSU up 12-10.
6:12: Neither team looking very sharp early in the third set. Alan Mars tallies a block for the Lions now to tie the set at 6-6. Sunder with the (float serve?) into the net gives the lead back to OSU, but the Lions get it right back. 7-7. Tight set.
6:10: Classic Ed Goas with the turnaround kill. Match is tied at 4-4. Nice cross court set from Sunder set Comfort on that last kill.
6:07: Ohio State takes the first point of the third set, but a serve out of bounds ties the match at 1-1 early.
Second set stats: The Lions hit an abysmal -.036 as a team, the Buckeyes hit .385. Comfort still leads the Lions in kills with 7, Sangrey still leads OSU with 9. Only three service errors in the set for the Lions compared to eight last set.
*INTERMISSION
5:53: And the Buckeyes take the second set in dominating fashion 25-18. The match is all square at one set a piece.
5:50 Timeout Penn State as a kill gives the Buckeyes their largest lead of the match with seven at 21-14. Don't see the Lions mounting a comeback in this set. Whatever momentum the Lions had in the first set is all but gone. Ryan Wolf in for Jace Olsen as the Buckeyes are up 23-15
5:47: The OSU lead is back up to six at 17-11. Set has been all OSU. Even when the Lions gain momentum, either a service ace, an overpass, or an OSU kill takes it right away. 18-13 OSU
5:44: The Lions now within three at 13-10, but a service ace takes away their momentum. 14-10 Buckeyes.
5:40: Comfort gets the Lions first kill of the second set, Ohio State leads the Lions now 9-4. Things obviously not going nearly as well for the Lions this set. Lions have little control of the ball this set. Scott Kegerreis now in for a struggling Comfort. How the tides change. 11-6 OSU.
5:38: Ohio State up 6-3 in the second set. Ball still going to Comfort, this time he's not putting it away like he was in the first. Kehoe blocks the ball for OSU, Buckeyes take a 7-3 lead. Timeout Penn State.
5:34: First point of the second set goes to OSU. Stats for the first set: Lions hit .407 as a team, OSU hit .238. Comfort led the Lions in kills with six, Sangrey led the Buckeyes with five. 3-2 OSU
*First set win bodes well for the Lions, and not just because they're up one set to none. OSU saw very little of Sunder in the set with Comfort getting the majority of the sets. Look for Sunder to see an increase in sets and the Lions to be even more balanced on offense. Service errors have to be curtailed, though.
5:30: The Lions take the opening set 25-21 on a kill from Joe Sunder (he actually hit it hard this time). Great start for the Lions.
5:29: Goas goes down, looks like he hit his head. Stays in the game though.
5:27: If Goas finds himself in a jam, he's going to Comfort. Sunder also doing his best little league pitcher impression -- throwing up softies and holfing the power for later.
5:25: OSU within two at 20-18 after another service error from the Lions. Penn State has EIGHT service errors already in the match. Pavlik calls a timeout as OSU comes within one at 20-19. Service errors need to stop for the Lions to be successful. The Buckeyes have only four so far in the match.
5:22: Sunder records his first kill in un-Sunder-like fashion. He goes up for a usual thunderous kill, hitting 11 feet in the air, and simply taps the ball over the blockers. 19-15 Lions
5:19: Comfort leading the Lions early with four kills (aside from his two service aces, Sunder has yet to tally a kill). Penn State up 18-15 on an Olsen kill.
5:16: Loudest the crowd has been on Rec Hall all season tonight. Lions extend their lead to 14-11 on an error from OSU. Comfort left wide open for the kill and the Lions reclaim their three point lead. Another service error though as Goas hits it into the net. 15-13.
5:15: Extended point goes to the Lions after Comfort had a number of chances to put it away. Now 11-10 Lions.
5:12: Problem for the Lions last time they faced the Buckeyes was handling the OSU serves. If the Lions want to pull off the minor upset, they're going to have to try to match the service game of OSU. Looking very good so far as the Lions stretch their lead to 10-7, putting the Buckeyes in bad returning situations.
5:09: Possibly getting some nerves out of the system with a number of errors early. And a service ace off the hand of Sunder gives the Lions their first lead since 1-0. Timeout OSU after another service ace from Sunder gives the Lions their largest lead of the match, 8-6.
5:08: OSU takes the 3-2 lead on a John Klanac kill. Now up 5-3 on an Overton block. Service error from the Buckeyes gives the Lions the chance to tie it again, but another ball into the net and OSU is up 6-4.
5:06: First point of the match goes to the Lions on a kill from Jace Olsen. Lions give it right back though on a service error from Comfort.
Penn State Starters: Goas, Mars, Turko, Olsen, Comfort, Sunder, Del Valle
Ohio State Starters: Kehoe, Heine, Overman, Klanac, Tobkin, Berzins
***
In undoubtedly the biggest home match of the season, the No. 10 Nittany Lions face off against the No. 9 Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Lions fell to the Buckeyes in sweeping fashion back on Feb. 9. The Lions hit only .232 in the match, while OSU hit .370. Sunder was the kills leader with 13, but the next closest hitter had only four.
Hey everyone. Dan Norton here at Beard Field at Nittany Lion Softball Park for game two of the Penn State Nittany Lions' series with the Indiana Hoosiers.
We're about 20 minutes until first pitch, and Indiana is doing some weird dance out in left field. Whatever it is, it worked yesterday, so why fix what's broken, right? Penn State is warming up on their side of the field, looking determined to split the series today. Coach Robin Petrini wasn't very happy with yesterday's lost, as her Lions only managed one hit through eight innings. I'll post the starting lineups as soon as I get them.
Indiana (21-15, 3-2 Big Ten)
1. SS Breanna Saucedo
2. 2B Ashley Warrum
3. 1B Sara Olson
4. P Morgan Melloh.
5. C Cassie Gogreve
6. RF Jenna Abraham
7. LF Heather Nelson
8. DP Meagan Murphy
9. CF Samantha Heyman
3B Shelby Gogreve
Penn State (18-15, 4-3 Big Ten)
1. CF Cassidy Bell
2. 2B Lauren Yao
3. 1B Kailyn Johnson
4. DP Danee Collett
5. RF Alyssa Sovereign
6. C Kasie Hatfield
7. 3B Lauren Rossi
8. SS Alyssa Renwick
9. LF Shannon Hutchinson
P Jackie Hill
Penn State is in their dark blues and Indiana is donning white. Both sides are starting the same pitchers as yesterday, so we'll see if anything is different (like the game pace, for instance). Penn State will have to do something different at the plate if they hope to stop Melloh in the circle. She had the Lions looking confused all game yesterday. Crowd is actually pretty big today despite the chilly weather. We'll have first pitch in just a few minutes.
Top of the 1st
Deja vu from yesterday as Jackie Hill starts in the circle again today for the Lions against an almost identical lineup. Both Hill and Melloh threw well over 100 pitches yesterday, but have the stamina to go back out today because softball pitching is not like baseball pitching. The underhand throw is much more natural on the arm, and doesn't tire it out as easily as an overhand baseball pitch does.
Hill looks ready to go, forcing two ground outs to third early. Now she faces No. 3 hitter Sara Olsen, who went 3-for-4 yesterday for the Hoosiers. For the first seven innings yesterday, Olsen was the only sign of life for either offense. She has daunting numbers at the plate, batting .362 and slugging .629. She hits a single to left, but is stranded after Melloh grounds out to second baseman Lauren Yao.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Bottom of the 1st
Melloh back in the circle, and no Lion is happy about that. Bell is at the plate, and she went 0-for-3 yesterday. Bell needs to get on base for this team if the Lions are looking to score runs. She hits the ball hard, but right at the shortstop and is thrown out at first.
Yao steps up in the No. 2 hole, an interesting move by Petrini since Yao has been struggling with the bat of late. She grounds out to Melloh for out number two.
Johnson's up now. She and Bell had a big road trip recently, but have not been able to get anything going against the Hoosiers this weekend. She grounds out to short, and Penn State resumes their trend of 1-2-3 innings from yesterday.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Top of the 2nd
We got the Nittany Lion in the crowd today, much to the delight of the kids present. Maybe he can bring some luck to the struggling Penn State offense. But for now, Hill is back to work in the circle. She forces an early ground out to second. She's throwing some fastballs and off-speed stuff now to Abraham, catching her off balance and striking her out.
It should be interesting whether or not Petrini will use Lisa Akamine at all today. She didn't play at all yesterday, and there were a few situations towards the end of the game where her presence in the circle and at the plate could have been helpful. But for now, Hill is in control, striking out Nelson for the final out of the inning.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Bottom of the 2nd
Collett up now for the Lions. She had a rough game yesterday, going 0-for-2, missing one big opportunity at the plate late in the game to get some RBIs. She hits the ball hard this time, but grounds out hard to second.
Sovereign strikes outs, but Hatfield rips one hard up the middle. Where did that come from? She's batting .164 on the year, but that was rocket. Now Rossi comes up, and she lays down a bunt with two outs. I'm not really sure why she did that, whether she forgot the outs or was just trying to get something going. I like the idea, but not with 2 outs against a power pitcher like Melloh. She bunts straight to Olsen at first, who makes the out unassisted.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Top of the 3rd
Murphy grounds out to first, followed by Heyman grounding out to second after a hard foul back into the stands, scattering some fans. Rules here at Nittany Lion Softball Park require fans to return all foul balls. I guess they're a little expensive, and who's not for conserving money (especially after $10.2 million went towards building this wonderful facility)? Innings moving fast like yesterday, and Hill retires the Hoosiers in order.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Bottom of the 3rd
Renwick steps into the box for the Lions as Melloh continues to throw gas. She fouls one back into the screen, scaring the fans in the front row. Renwick is right on it, and she forces the count full. Nice at-bat, forcing the walk.
Hutchinson is up now with Renwick on first. Wouldn't be surprised to see Renwick swipe second here, as the Lions need to get runners in scoring position any way they can. Hutchinson goes down swinging, but now Bell steps up to the plate. If anyone can spark this lineup, it's her.
Bell goes down swinging, sporting an Ichiro running start swing. I have to say, I'm not a big fan. Maybe that's just Melloh being Melloh. Yao's up now with two outs.
She grounds out, stranding one.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Top of the 4th
Danee Collett in to catch for the Lions, as Hatfield now becomes the designated player. Ashley Warrum starts the inning off with a single to right, and now Olson is up. Hill has to be careful, knowing how dangerous Olson can be at the plate.
Olson looks very rigid at the plate, standing straight up with the bat resting on her shoulders. Hill was focused on trying to retire Olson, and Warrum on first swipes second. Collett makes the throw, but it sails over Renwick's head into center.
Hill in a bit of a jam now, but gets Olson swinging on a nasty pitch outside of the plate. That's a big step, as Melloh grounds out on the first pitch to Yao at 2nd base. Yao makes the easy out at first, but Warrum advances to second.
Gogreve up now, and Hill is one out away from keeping this game scoreless. Hill gets her on the ground out to second, stranding Warrum on third. Guess what? We're scoreless through four (shades of yesterday).
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Bottom of the 4th
Johnson up now for the Lions, and she rips one down the third base line for a single. That could be a good sign, because Johnson was right on that ball. Ostman will come in to pinch run for Johnson, and I like the move by Petrini. Ostman is quick on the basepaths, and you need as much speed as you can get in a game like this.
Ostman steals, and the cleanup hitter Collett sacrifices her over to second. This is probably something you wouldn't see against another pitcher, but with Collett struggling and Melloh dominating, there's no questioning the call.
Sovereign grounds out to second as Ostman advances to third with two outs. Hatfield up now, and she already has a big hit on the day. She's swinging for the fences, and she needs to settle down and make some contact if she wants knock Ostman in. One run could be the difference in a game like this. She strikes out swinging, stranding Ostman on third.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Top of the Fifth
Hey everyone, I'm Greg Garcia and I'll be live blogging the remainder of this Big Ten contest. We head to the fifth inning here at Nittany Lion Softball Park. Still no score as Hill and Melloh have done a great job of stifling hitters for the second consecutive day.
The next two Hoosiers' hitters are retired in order and Hill records another scoreless frame.
Bottom of the Fifth
Rossi leads off the inning for the Lions and she seems very active at the plate. The third baseman has fouled off a couple of pitches and it seems she's more confident facing Melloh this time around.
Melloh ends the long at bat with a soft ground out. Solid at bat from Rossi, working Melloh and eventually putting the ball in play.
Despite the day game after night, Melloh has showed no signs of fatigue. After yesterday's loss, Petrini said her players would get a better look at the lefty's delivery with more lighting, compared to under the lights.
Still, Melloh is progressing right along at a nice pace, and finishes Penn State in order to end the fifth.
Top of the 6th
Hatfield will use her re-entry, replacing Collett behind the plate.
Heyman lays down a quick bunt to start the inning, but it rolls just foul. Heyman has some speed on the bases, it would be vital for Hill to record this lead-off out.
Hill finally gets the out on a sharp grounder to shortstop. With the way this game's going we may be destined for extras once again.
Another quick out and Hill is simply rolling. The Hoosiers' hitters are putting the ball in play, but mostly weak ground balls.
A strikeout ends the top half. Big out for Hill with the dangerous Olson looming on deck. Now, Olson will have to lead off the next inning, rather then giving her a chance with someone on the basepaths.
Bottom of the 6th
Bell leading off the inning for the Lions, but is quickly retired on just three pitches from Melloh before recording the strikeout.
Petrini said her team would've liked to get a better jump on Melloh in the extra inning loss yesterday, but today seems to be the same. Just two hits on the board, and no signs of the Big Ten stud stopping.
Johnson makes the last out of the frame. We will head to the seventh and see if one of these teams can take the lead and end it in regulation.
Top of the 7th
Olson leads the top half off with a single, but is forced out at second after a ground ball from Melloh.
Gogreve lines a single into left field. Now the Hoosiers have runners on both first and second and may look to attempt a double steal. Hill has a quick delivery from the circle, so it'll be interesting to see if the Indiana base runners want to test their luck.
The bases are now loaded and there is just one out on the board. Hill struggling here after giving up a couple of singles. Almost the exact same situation occurred in Saturday's contest, where the senior let up three runs in the eighth inning.
Indiana gets on the board with a single to center field. Bell made a beautiful play throwing a dart to home plate to record the second out of the inning with the assist. Still, the damage was done as the Hoosiers finally scratch out a run.
Bottom of the 7th
Collett will step into the box, final chance for the Lions to get a run or they will be swept on the home turf. Melloh has been superb and would love to get another compete game shutout.
Collett looks focused in the box and is taking sharp cuts after every pitch. Still, no answer for Melloh as she throws a high heater right by the catcher for the first out.
Another quick out with a soft liner to second from Sovereign.
Hatfield will step to the plate with the Hoosiers just one out away from the victory.
No question, Melloh is going to come right at Hatfield and the count is quickly 0-2.
Hatfield shows bunt but grounds out to third and the Hoosiers will leave Happy Valley with two wins.
Hey everyone. Dan Norton and Greg Garcia here bringing you live coverage of the Penn State Nittany Lions' (18-14) matchup with the Indiana Hoosiers (20-15). This is the Nittany Lions' second Big Ten series on the brand-new Beard Field at Nittany Lion Softball Park. Here are your starting lineups for each team:
Indiana
1. SS Breanna Saucedo
2. RF Lindsay Callanan
3. 2B Ashley Warrum
4. 1B Sara Olson
5. P Morgan Melloh
6. LF Jenna Abraham
7. DP Meagan Murphy
8. C Cassie Gogreve
9. CF Samantha Heyman
3B Shelby Gogreve
Penn State
1. CF Cassidy Bell
2. 3B Lauren Rossi
3. 1B Kailyn Johnson
4. C Kasie Hatfield
5. RF Alyssa Sovereign
6. 2B Lauren Yao
7. DP Danee Collett
8. SS Alyssa Renwick
9. LF Mary Ostman
P Jackie Hill
The Nittany Lions will look for some more production out of the bottom half of their order today, which has hit very poorly in their last six games. Jackie Hill will be in the circle for the Lions, fresh off her record-breaking win to take sole possession of first all-time for the Lions in wins. On the Hoosiers side, watch out for their cleanup hitter Sara Olsen, leading Indiana in nearly every offensive category. They're just finished up the national anthem, so first pitch should be in just a few minutes.
Top of the 1st
Hill looks strong in the circle early, getting the Hoosiers quickly 1-2-3. Two groundouts from Saucedo and Warrum and strikeout from Callanan are all she needs. Penn State's coming to bat looking to get something started quickly.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Bottom of the 1st
Melloh in the circle for the Hoosiers has the Lions whiffing at the plate. She leads the Big Ten in both innings pitched and strikeouts, and she holds her opponent to a measely .186 baa. She strikes out Rossi and Johnson and resigns Bell to a soft groundout to second. Another easy 1-2-3 inning, games moving quick so far.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Top of the 2nd
Another quick inning for Hill as she gives up her first hit but retires the rest of the side in order. The cold weather doesn't seem to be bothering her, as the California-native is now dealing with it for her fifth year at Penn State. She has said before that this is just what Big Ten play is like. Hatfield, Sovereign, Yao due up for PSU.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Bottom of the 2nd
Melloh looking really sharp on the Hoosiers' side. Penn State hitting the ball hard but its staying in the infield. Indiana's got some players running sprints in foul territory, we don't really know what that's about. Maybe they're just trying to stay warm.. this Big Ten weather is a little chilly. Hill right back in the circle after a short break.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Top of the 3rd
Indiana trying to play some small ball in the bottom of the order, but can't get their bunts down. We've never seen a game move so fast before. Three ground balls from Indiana, three more outs. We're laboring trying to keep up with this pace, but we'll do our best.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Bottom of the 3rd
Collett swinging for the fences, and rips one hard to left field but foul. Melloh capitalizes and gets her swinging. Collett gets a day off today from behind the plate, but coach Robin Petrini still has her in the lineup as the designated player.
To Melloh's credit, she is throwing gas in the circle, and it doesn't look too good for the Lion's bottom half of the lineup today. That fastball is flying through the zone, and the Lions are lagging. She strikes out the side.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Top of the 4th
Hill is no stranger to pitcher's duels, so she will try to keep the Lions' in it with some finesse in the circle. Hill has been hitting her spots, and as opposed to Melloh's power arm, she has successful thus far changing speeds. If she can keep the Hoosiers guessing, then she should be okay. However, she has demonstrated some control problems at points in the season, and she has a small margin for error today with Melloh pitching for Indiana.
Hill causing a little more contact than Melloh, but she's still getting the outs. Two flyouts and one K for Hill leads to another 1-2-3 for the Lions.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Bottom of the 4th
30 minutes and we're already halfway into the game here. We'd love to see just how fast Melloh is throwing in the circle, because from up here the press box she looks untouchable.
Rossi tries to make something happen with a drag bunt attempt, but she's just another out as Melloh goes perfect through 4 innings.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Top of the 5th
Hill looks nonchalant in the circle as she fields a sharp ground ball right at her. She's sending Melloh and the Hoosiers a message this evening as their bats are just as ineffective. You don't see much more of a pitcher's duel than this. Both hurlers are throwing as if they got other plans and want to end this game early. But the bats have to jumpstart, or else both teams are going to be here for a while.
Hill fans 2 as she gets the Hoosiers in order.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Bottom of the 5th
Lion hitters look totally confused at the plate as Melloh continues to overpower them. Yao walks with two outs, and she's the Lions first baserunner. Collett steps up to the plate with some purpose, and instead of hitting the ball hitting her bat, it hits her in the helmet. She jogs down to first uninjured, and the Lions have something going with 2 outs. Petrini sees the opportunity, and pinch hits Ellen McNair for Alyssa Renwick.
McNair strikes out swinging, leaving two stranded as Melloh gets out of a small jam. Greg Garcia points out that Beard Field might as well be Madison Square Garden, with the way Melloh is lighting up the scoreboard.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Top of the 6th
Renwick re-enters the game at shortstop, using her one reentry after McNair struckout swinging for her in the 5th. Hill gets another 1-2-3 inning. Here are the lines of both pitchers (there's a lot of 0's):
Hill: 6 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Melloh: 5 IP, 0 R, 0 ER. 1 BB, 6 K
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Bottom of the 6th
Ostman is at the plate showing bunt, trying to get something started since they're not doing anything swinging the bat. She can't lay it down, and strikes out swinging.
Bell shows patience at the plate and walks to get on with one out. The Lions need a runner in scoring position and Bell has six stolen bases on seven attempts. Indiana catcher tries to pick her off at first.
Rossi flies out, and we have to think Bell has to try to swipe one here. She goes, and is thrown at second by Indiana catcher Cassie Gograve. Nice call by Petrini, however, because now Johnson will leadoff the bottom of the 7th as the winning run if Hill can hold Indiana here.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Top of the 7th
Hill looks a little fatigued in the circle as she lets up a 2-out hit to Sara Olsen. It's Olsen's second hit of the day as she supplies the only offense of this game thus far. Brannon pinch runs at first, but it does no good as Melloh grounds out at the plate to her counterpart Hill.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Bottom of the 7th
Johnson and Soveriegn are due up first and third this inning, and both have a little pop in their bats. They will try to end the game now, even though Penn State has no hits so far.
Soverign ends the no-hit bid at the last out before extra innings with a single up the middle off of Melloh's leg.
Hutchinson pinch runs for Sovereign as Yao is hit in the elbow. The winning run is in scoring position, as Collett steps up to the plate with purpose.
After a brief visit from Indiana's coach, Melloh throws one pitch and forces a groundout from the bat of Danee Collett, stranding two.
Indiana 0 PSU 0
Top of the 8th
Hill walks the leadoff batter and Indiana DP Murphy sacrifices Jenna Abraham over to 2nd with one out. Gogreve up and she's ripping the ball left and right, before finally getting it fair on rip to left. There are runners on the corners now with one out.
Hill is laboring in the circle, and you have to wonder how much longer Petrini can go with her. They have junior Lisa Akamine fresh on the bench, and we'll see how a long of a leash Petrini has with Hill.
No. 9 hitter Samantha Heyman taps one to left to drive in the first run of the game. Saucedo sends one the same way right after, and Ostman bobbles the ball in left for an error to let a second run score.
Petrini doesn't seem to have any intention of yanking Hill, so she has to finish the job here in the top of the 8th.
The wheels are coming off as she hits Callanan to load the bases for Ashley Warrum at the plate. Olson looms darkly in the on-deck circle. Warrum strikes out, but even through there's 2 outs now, Olsom comes to the plate. She has 7 home runs and 26 runs batted in, leading the Hoosiers in both by far.
Olsom shoots one to left to drive in another one for the Hoosiers, bases are still loaded with 2 outs.
Inning is finally over, but not after the Hoosiers jump out in front 3-0.
Indiana 3 PSU 0
Bottom of the 8th
As Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer plays over the speakers at Nittany Lion Softball Park, Penn State realizes they will need three runs to tie when they only have one hit on the day. Petrini will send Liz Presto to the plate to leadoff the inning.
Presto walks but is not known for her speed, so Petrini will pinch run with Rachel Myers.
Myers will advance to second on a wild pitch, but Ostman will strike out swinging for the first out of the inning. Penn State will have their best hitter in Cassidy Bell step up to the plate, with Myers on second. Rossi is in the on-deck circle, but you have to wonder whether Petrini will pinch hit with Lisa Akamine, who hasn't been active yet today and is a much better hitter than Rossi.
Bell strikes out and Rossi will hit. Melloh tosses a nasty breaking ball that just misses for a ball. The count is full and she goes down swinging to end the game. Melloh holds the Lions to 1 hits and 0 runs while striking out 12.
The NCAA has announced the 12-team field that will compete to qualify next Thursday for the NCAA championships in Columbus, Ohio. Two sessions each consisting of six teams are displayed below (there is a one bye rotation in each session):
Session I
Floor Exercise- Penn State
BYE- University of Illinois- Chicago
Pommel Horse- Independent/All-Around
Still Rings- Air Force
Vault- Minnesota
Parallel Bars- Oklahoma
High Bar- Illinois
Session II
Floor Exercise- Iowa
BYE- Michigan
Pommel Horse- Independent/All-Around
Still Rings- Ohio State
Vault- California
Parallel Bars- Stanford
High Bar- Nebraska
Procedure: The top three teams from each session will advance to the NCAA championships in addition to the top three all-around competitors not already on an advancing team and the top three gymnasts in each event not already on an advancing team or advancing in the all-around. All regular season scores hold no significance in determining qualifiers.
Team Breakdown: Penn State will start on floor exercise and end on high bar -- a rotation cycle they are used to. Coach Randy Jepson is happy with the Lions' session placement because Penn State is the third best team in its group on paper. The Lions are happy they are not ending the meet on pommel horse like at Big Ten championships. They will look to rebound on the apparatus after their worst performance in over a year at Big Tens. The Lions have been a force on rings all season, and the adrenaline of NCAAs should bring out their best routines. They should command the apparatus and place first in their session. If the Lions can control their nerves, they should also do well on high bar, an apparatus they've gradually improved upon towards the final stretch. With minimal damage on the parallel bars , the Lions have the potential to post decent scores in floor exercise. Vault is anybody's guess -- the Lions have been Jekyll and Hyde in this event all season.
Gymnasts to Watch:
Senior Matt Albrecht - The captain had one of the worst meets of his career at Big Ten championships, spotlighted by a career-low 10.100 on pommel horse. Jepson confirmed at practice on Wednesday that Albrecht has been suffering from long-term shoulder strain throughout the season. Junior Miguel Pineda said the gymnasts poke fun at him for it, calling him an "old man." Pineda also said that it is hasn't been a detriment to his performance during competition, since the adrenaline usually overrides any pain. In Albrecht's last meet in a Nittany Lion uniform, expect him to try and end his career on a high note.
Sophomore Felix Aronovich- The Israeli-native is the only Lion to have consistently competed in every event all season. He joined the all-around towards the end of the regular season, and has been working on increasing his endurance so he can get his scores up. Aronovich might be the Lions fiercest competitor on the mats, and a hard-working perfectionist. Sometimes he has to stop himself from overdoing it so he doesn't injure himself. He is key for the Lions on pommel horse despite falling from the apparatus at Big Tens. He is the only Lion to score over a 15.000 on horse during the season. He is a sleeper pick in the all-around simply because of his unadulterated athleticism, but it is unlikely he will break the top three.
Freshman Wasef Burbar- Burbar didn't really come into his own until early March, when he strung together three straight 15+ high bar scores to shoot him to No. 10 in the country on the apparatus. Burbar has cooled down a bit of late, but he is no stranger to the limelight, competing at the international level before arriving at Penn State. He is a sleeper pick on high bar, but must first past No.2 Ian Makowske of Michigan, No. 4 Jacob Dalton of Oklahoma and No. 5 Jordan Valdez of Illinois.
Sophomore Mackenzie Dow- Dow went under the radar at Big Tens because of the Lions' abysmal pommel horse rotation, but he scored a career-high 16.050 on vault. Dow boasts a very high start value in vault, meaning the level of difficulty is high. He is known to miss and fall on his butt, but when he lands on his feet, he can give the Lions a lot of momentum.
Junior Miguel Pineda- He is a key component to the Lions' stellar rings team and arguably their most reliable gymnast. He will hammer out a next-to-none rings routine, followed by a solid parallel bars performance only 20 minutes later. One of the Lions' strongest gymnasts, he is poised to take a leadership role next season with the departure of Matt Albrecht.
Sophomore Parker Raque- He was a workhorse at the beginning of the season, making an attempt at the all-around, but has gradually decreased in his workload so that he can mainly focus on floor exercise, still rings and vault. He is a big part of a largely underrated Lions floor squad, almost always posting in the high 14's to low 15's. He can hold his own on vault, too, having been one of the few Lions to have broken 16.000 this season. Rosenthal could easily medal in the still rings individuals.
Sophomore Scott Rosenthal- He is No. 3 in the country on still rings, his signature event. Not the most artistic gymnast, Rosenthal walked onto the team last season after Jepson identified his absurd amount of upper body strength. Jepson molded him into a rings specialist, and now is the Lions highest scorer on the apparatus. Despite all his success, Rosenthal has yet to break 16.000 this season, and he may be ready to do so at NCAAs.
Freshman Francisco Vazquez- The Puerto Rico native may be the Lions most improved gymnast on the season, scoring career-highs on floor, pommel horse and vault in his last meet of the regular season at Oklahoma. When he is at his best, he can compete with anybody in the field. He did strain his back at Big Tens, but Jepson doesn't believe it will be an issue come time for NCAAs.
Junior Warren Yang- Yang is the Lions' most artistic gymnast, leading the team on floor exercise. Jepson has kept tabs on Yang's start value in floor since the redshirt junior is in his first season back from shoulder surgery. Nonetheless, the passes Yang can land on floor are among the best in the country. Having extensive experience on the international level for his native Canada, Yang is always a passionate competitor on the mats. He could sneak away with a medal in the individual floor competition, simply because some of the things he is capable of are borderline unbelievable.
Predicted Session I Winners:
First- Oklahoma
Second- Illinois
Third- Penn State
Sleeper- Not really one in this session. If anybody other than those three schools advanced, it would be classified as a major upset.
Predicted Session II Winners:
First- Stanford
Second- California
Third- Michigan
Sleeper- Ohio State. Based on the Buckeyes third-place performance at Big Ten championships, they are not as out-of-it as many think. Don't forget, they have home gym advantage.
Final notes: Pre-practice shenanigans Wednesday consisted of trying to shoot a volleyball into a garbage can from one side of the gym to other. Sophomore Tony Beck and redshirt junior Logan Wyman tried, but ultimately failed.
The Nittany Lions can’t complain too much about the way they’ve performed at home.
This season the Lions are 10-1 within the friendly confines of Rec Hall.
But after last week’s sweep of George Mason, coach Mark Pavlik said he was excited for the Lions’ match Sunday with No. 9 Ohio State. Not because it is essentially the Lions’ Big Ten championship or because the Buckeyes dismantled the Lions in a 3-0 sweep on Feb. 9 in Columbus, but for a more important reason.
Pavlik is excited for Sunday’s match because it gives Penn State the chance to finally put together a complete match against a quality opponent at home.
The Lions have played a ranked opponent 10 times this season. In those 10 matches, Penn State is 5-5. At Rec Hall, the Lions are 2-1 against ranked opponents, but even with the above-.500 record, Pavlik isn’t satisfied with the way his Lions have performed against quality opponents in Penn State’s home gym.
In those three home matches against ranked opponents, the Lions showed glimpses of what Pavlik would like to see out of his team for a full match. But each match also showed the coach areas in need of improvement:
Slow Start:
On Jan. 28 againt then-No. 14 Loyola-Chicago, the Lions dropeed the first set after the Ramblers hit .571 to start the match. Although the final score of the first set was 25-21, the set belonged to Loyola-Chicago from the start. A 3-0 run by the Lions evend the set a 14 midway through, but from that point the Ramblers’ attack proved to be too much for the Lions.
Slow starts were a problem for the Lions early in the season, but Penn State has since picked up its intensity in the early stages of a match thanks to an increased focus on starting strong in practice.
The Lions can’t afford a slow start against the Buckeyes Sunday. Ohio State will be playing its third match in as many days when they face Penn State, a quick start for the Lions against a tired Buckeyes squad could set the tone for the match.
No Net Play:
The Lions welcomed two West Coast schools to Rec Hall in early February, but the opener against then-No.7 UC Irvine on Feb. 4 pointed out a glaring problem for the Lions. Against Irvine, Penn State failed to register a block, prompting Pavlik to say he couldn’t remember the last time his team went without a block for an entire match.
Irvine’s big hitters Carson Clark and Cory Yoder had their way with the Lions front line, hitting .476 and .538 respectively and combining for 25 kills.
Since that match, the Lions have focused on blocking perhaps more than anything. And the work is showing results, but the Lions net play will have to be strong this weekend with Ohio State boasting the fifth-best hitting percentage in the country.
Finishing Matches:
Penn State has often found itself in position to bury teams in the third and deciding sets of matches. At times, the Lions have done just that — put an opponent away and leave little hope for a comeback.
But at other times, like Feb. 5 when the Lions swept then-No. 13 Cal State Northridge, the Lions find a way to let an opponent back into a match. Against the Matadors, the Lions failed to keep up the intensity from the first two games and nearly dropped the third. Penn State had to battle back to force a duece game before coming away with a 26-24 win in the third set.
Should the Lions get off to a hot start and play a strong match against the Buckeyes, it will mean nothing if the Lions can’t find a way to put the Buckeyes away at the end of the match. Ohio State is a senior-laden squad that knows how to comeback from adversity if the situation calls for it.
Sunday’s match with the Buckeyes can have huge implications when it comes to the seeding for the NCAA championships. But if the Lions are able to buck the trend of not playing a complete match at home against a ranked opponent, they can have a say in which team they will play in May.
Assistant coach Randy Monahan was named the Regional Assistant Coach of the Year after the Lions placed third at the Tuscaloosa regional of the NCAA national championships.
Monahan is in his second year with Penn State, and his first year working with Jeff and Rachelle Thompson, the new coaches of the Nittany Lions.
Monahan works with the gymnasts on uneven bars every day in the gym, correcting their form and ensuring their handstands are straight. He also spots the gymnasts during their routines in the gym and at meets, playing an integral role on the team.
Monahan competed for Ohio State gymnastics from 2001 to 2005 and was a seven-time All-American with the Buckeyes.
Monahan's wife, volunteer assistant coach Jillian Monahan, coaches alongside Randy on the team.
Penn State's associate athletic director Susan Delaney-Scheetz, who recently announced her retirement, was also named the Regional Administrator of the Year.
The top three stayed the same- USC, BYU, and Stanford all held serve.
The big question that will be answered in the next three weeks is who will get the at large bid for the NCAA tournament. USC, if they fail to win the MPSF tournament, will receive the bid. If USC wins, however, it will come down to Stanford and BYU and their performance in the stretch run and tournament. Whoever goes the farthest will likely get the bid, so both teams need to play will for the rest of the season.
Ohio State lost to Lewis and continues to slide, losing three times in the last two weekends. The so called 'Big Ten Championship' is this weekend, as Penn State will welcome OSU to Rec Hall. Ohio State slid to No. 9 in this week's poll and Penn State will most likely jump them with a win. The Buckeyes swept the Lions, 3-0, in Columbus in February.
Here are this week's rankings.
1 Southern California (16) 240 18-1 1
2 BYU 223 18-7 2
3 Stanford 206 18-7 3
4 UC Irvine 182 15-10 6
5 Long Beach State 175 12-12 4
6 UC Santa Barbara 147 13-11 8
7 UCLA 142 15-11 5
8 Hawai’i 132 14-11 9
9 Ohio State 119 18-5 7
10 Penn State 95 20-5 10
11 UC San Diego 79 9-17 12
12 Loyola-Chicago 56 17-6 11
13 Pepperdine 51 9-13 13
14 Lewis 40 17-9 15
15 Pacific 17 10-17 14
Nick Turko was announced EIVA Tait Player of the Week Monday.
In the Lions only match of the weekend, Turko posted eight kills, good for second on the team, on fourteen swings with no errors.
Turko also had four blocks and two service aces, contributing to the Lions win over George Mason, helping them clinch their 27th EIVA title since 1976 and 13th in a row.
Hey folks. Emily Kaplan here at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park for a midweek matchup between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Kent State Golden Flashes.
These teams are certainly familiar with eachother as they've faced off in each of the past two seasons -- both series were a split. But beyond that, the Lions actually traveled to Kent, Ohio last Wednesday to take on the Golden Flashes.
Freshman Greg Welsh made what was his first collegiate start, and sparkled. The Holland, Pa. native threw three shutout innings, surrendering only one hit. However none of that will go in the books, as the game was canceled after the third inning, due to snow.
Welsh will have a chance to finish what he started today, as he'll get the start today. We're just about underway, so stay tuned for updates.
Top of the 1st
Welsh starts out strong, inducing the first Golden Flash Batter into a groundout. Yet he's not getting much help from his teammates, as an error by shortstop Michael Glantz allows Jimmy Rider to reach first safely. It's followed by a double from Travis Shaw, putting runners on second and third with just one out.
The Golden Flashes will capitalize, mostly by the expense of Glantz, who commits his second error of the inning. The batter will reach first safely, and Rider will score, giving Kent State a 1-0 lead.
Welsh will escape the inning mostly unscathed, as he retires the final batter by way of a lineout.
Kent State 1, Penn State 0
Bottom of the 1st
Penn State's most consistent batter, Sean Deegan, starts off the inning striking out swinging.
There was a light flurry at Medlar for most of the first inning. That seems to have vanished, fortunately. It's still chilly and overcast, though.
Meanwhile, Glantz -- who committed two errors in the top of the first -- is up next. He redeems himself by singling to left field. He'll advance to second on an error.
Pittsburgh native Jordan Steranka is up next. He hits a high fly ball to center field, advancing Glantz to third.
Glantz will be stranded, though, as first basemen Joey DeBernardis flies out to end the inning.
Kent State 1, Penn State 0
Top of the 2nd
Welsh allows a leadoff double, but recovers by retiring the next three batters to keep the Golden Flashes off the scoreboard here in the second.
Meanwhile, the snow is back. SID Kenny Kline, who was at the Kent State game last Wednesday, said it's nowhere as intense as it was for that game, which was canceled. Kenny also added that Kent State has an all-turf field, which got really slippery really fast.
Kent State 1, Penn State 0
Bottom of the 2nd
Mario Eramo leads off with a walk, putting a runner on first with no outs.
However the next three Lions are retired -- including two strikeouts -- leaving Penn State scoreless for another inning.
Kent State 1, Penn State 0
Top of the 3rd
Welsh allows three straight hits to Golden Flashes, and Kent State tacks on another run here in the third.
That prompts coach Robbie Wine to take a visit to the mound. Looks like Welsh's day is done. Wine has said previously that he's not afraid to use a variety of pitchers in midweek games, mainly so that nobody gets too tired for conference play.
Meanwhile it looks like Neil Herring will come in to pitch for the Lions. Herring is off to a strong start, striking out the first batter he faces.
He quickly closes out the inning by inducing the next batter into a groundball, and Penn State will make the force out at second.
Kent State 2, Penn State 0
Bottom of the 3rd
A few technical difficulties here in the press box -- aka, internet connection is pretty shaky -- so I'll be playing catchup for the next inning or so.
Main story of this inning is that Penn State cut the lead in half, by way of a Jordan Steranka RBI double.
Kent State 2, Penn State 1
Top of the 4th
Still playing catchup here due to another internet outage -- eek -- but Herring really struggled in the fourth. The sophomore loads the bases, prompting a trip to the mound from coach Wine. Looks like they still have faith in the righty, and will keep them out there. They might regret that decision.
On Herring's first pitch to Klafcynski is a fastball -- and is crushed out of the park. Grand slam.
I wouldn't consider myself a golf expert, heck I just started following the sport three years ago.
Still, I've become pretty obsessed with professional golf. This includes checking my Yahoo! Fantasy Golf team at least once a day. After the winter season, which I'm sure not many of you even knew was going on, I finished first out of 14 fantasy teams in my league.
Now is when the actions really heats up. The Masters starts in two days, the PLAYERS Championship played at TPC Sawgrass is a little more than one month away, the U.S. Open starts in 72 days, and the The British Open starts in 99 days.
Here's my early picks for the greatest golf tournament on Earth:
(Based on Yahoo! groups)
A group: Starter: Luke Donald | Reserve: Phil Mickelson (next choice would be Nick Watney, my sleeper pick to win)
B group: Starters: Paul Casey, Hunter Mahan | Reserves: Justin Rose, Ben Crane (next choices: Steve Stricker, Bill Haas)
C group: Starter: Rory McIlroy | Reserve: Zach Johnson (next choice would be Gary Woodland)
There ya go, take my picks for what they're worth (likely nothing)
Coach Mark Pavlik walks the sidelines during the Nittany Lion's 2-1 win over St. Francis Jan. 21 in Rec Hall.Kelley King/Collegian
Continuing every Monday for the rest of the season, the Collegian will be introducing a “Pondering with Pav” segment on the Above the Net blog. Each week the Collegian will ask head coach Mark Pavlik to dispense some of his non-volleyball knowledge or give some insight into the life that is “Pav.”
With the Opening Day of the MLB season having passed last weekend, Pav decided to ponder about his Pittsburgh Pirates, who stand at 2-1 after winning two of three against the Chicago Cubs over the weekend. The Pirates are already 1/5 of the way to their total road series wins from last year.
“Break out the Buccos. Neil Walker, the most impressive thing he said when he was told ‘do you realize the only other grand slam on Opening Day in Pirate history was Roberto Clemente?’ His response was, ‘Now that’s an honor.’ And I thought, Walker knows what the Buccos are all about. Walker’s a Pirate through and through.
“[Assistant coach Colin McMillan], who’s a huge Cubs fan. He grew up in Chicago said, ‘Yeah, Pirates beat the Cubs. Pirates had 45 wins last year, and 30 of them were against the Cubs.’
“So let’s see what they do with Albert [Pujols] and the boys [St. Louis Cardinals] this time.
“They’re in the upper half of the NL Central race. How far back are we in the Wild Card? Outside of [Kevin] Correia pitching the great opener and [Paul] Maholm pitched great. I think [Ross] Ohlendorf was kind of rocky but pitched well enough to hand in there.
“April’s always a good time for Pirates baseball, but then May hits.”
Last April the Bucs went a respectable 10-13, three games less than .500. But as Pav said, in May the Pirates went 11-18 and found themselves 10 games below .500 and in a place they usually find themselves by the end of May — right around the cellar of the National League.
Will it be a different season for the Pirates this year? Pav sure hopes so, but it’s likely pretty unlikely.
Penn State overcame a 3-run deficit to score 13 times after the second inning.
W: Heath Johnson (1-1)
L: Corey Klimes (1-3)
This is Zack Feldman signing out. Have a good rest of the weekend!
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NINTH INNING
Penn State closes it out in good fashion. Wine brought in Neil Herring, who shut the door, sending Illinois down 1-2-3 to end the game. More coming soon.
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EIGHTH INNING
Illinois goes quickly in the top of the eighth, stranding a lone runner at first after a one out single.
Penn State quickly tries to add to its lead after Ell reaches on a booted grounder to short, Deegan doubles and Clark walks to load the bases for Sterenka.
Sterenka hit a shot off the pitcher's mound, which bounces over the second baseman's head for a two-run single. DeBernardis followed by hitting into a 5-3 double play.
Eramo popped out to end the frame.
13-4 PSU is still up.
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SEVENTH INNING
Welsh hit a man with two outs in the seventh for the sixth hit batter of the game between the two teams. None appear intentional and no warnings have been issued.
Before Welsh could finish his second inning of work, manager Robbie Wine brought in right hander Jesse Alfreno, who closed the inning on a single where Matt Dittman was thrown out on a close plate at the plate.
Penn State went 1-2-3 for the third consecutive inning. The offense is playing like a team that is just trying to finish a ballgame as quickly as possible.
PSU leads 11-4
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SIXTH INNING
Both teams go down quickly, with Illinois putting two runners on against reliever Greg Welsh before a 6-4-3 double play ended their inning.
Penn State went 1-2-3 to bring the game to the seventh inning.
PSU leads 11-4.
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FIFTH INNING
Illinois is trying to scrap back in to the game as the team did Friday, leading off with a walk and singling the run home after a stolen base and a 4-3 putout.
A hit by pitch (Johnson's third in as many innings) puts two runners on before a strikeout looking. Johnson then hit a fourth batter before a 6-3 putout (on a nice pick by Glantz) to end the half inning.
Penn State goes down easy in the bottom of the fifth on a pair of flyouts to right field and a halfhearted strikeout swinging by Ryan Clark.
PSU leads 11-4
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FOURTH INNING
A leadoff double from Brandon Hohl is wasted as Illinois makes three consecutive outs following the hit.
Penn State answers with a big rally in the bottom half. Two walks to leadoff the inning helped the cause. Luis Montesinos pulled back a fake bunt and knocked a line single up the middle to score Mario Eramo to give Penn State the lead. Still with no out, Glantz narrowly misses a gap shot as his line drive was robbed on a diving play by McMurray.
With one out, Zach Ell works a 11-pitch walk to load the bases, which ends Kimes' day. Chris Pack came in to clean up the mess.
Deegan greeted Pack with a two-run double to dead center, which was almost gloved by center fielder Willie Argo. A 5-2 putout erased Ell at the plate, but Sterenka singled home Deegan to make is a four run PSU lead.
With two-out, DeBernardis tripled home two runs, then scored on a wild pitch. Eramo singled for the fifth hit of the inning.
A pitching change closed Pack's night as Will Strack is being brought in to pitch for the second time in the series.
Strack hit his first batter, and Montesinos, the 12th batter of the inning, singled in another run.
The final tally for the inning is 8 runs on 6 hits.
11-3 PSU
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THIRD INNING
Illinois' works the bases loaded on two walks and a hit batsman, and Johnson hits a second batter in the inning to bring in the first run in. A second run scores on a 6-4 putout.
Penn State's defense continues to let the team down as Penn State had Josh Parr in a rundown during a double steal. But the ball went off third baseman Jordan Sterenka's glove and into the outfield, allowing Parr to score.
Illinois scores three without a single hit.
In the bottom of the frame, Michael Glantz and Zach Ell were both sent down looking. Sean Deegan walked and a bloop single fell in fair territory off the bat of Ryan Clark to advance Deegan to third before Jordan Sterenka makes up for his error in the top of the inning by smashing a 3-run home run about 400 feet to right field.
Now with two hits combined in the game, we have a 3-3 score.
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SECOND INNING
Johnson is coasting for Penn State, having faced only seven batters now, through the first two innings. The Fighting Illini went down in order in the second.
Penn State's Joey DeBernardis worked a leadoff walk, but didn't advance beyond there.
Scoreless after two.
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FIRST INNING
Both teams have lready let opportunities slip away.
Illinois' Casey McMurray worked a two-out walk, but ended up at third after a successful stolen base and an errant throw from Bobby Jacobs sailed into the outfield. Illinois four hitter Adam Davis, however, struck out to end the inning.
In the home-half of the inning, leadoff hitter Sean Deegan got the best of the lefty-on-lefty matchup to draw a walk, but was erased on a one-out double play ball off the bat of Jordan Sterenka.
No score after one.
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Hi everyone, this is Zack Feldman coming to you live with the rubber game of the Penn State vs. Illinois series.
Illinois took Game 1 in dramatic fashion, coming from six runs down to overtake Penn State in the 9th inning, 7-6.
Game two went to Penn State yesterday, 3-1, thanks to a complete game performance from pitcher John Walter.
The weather is 47 degrees at game time, the warmest start of the weekend, and approximately 150 people are in the stands.
Heath Johnson (0-1, 4.81) gets the nod for the Nittany Lions.
That will do it for us at Rec Hall. The Lions finish their third straight season without a loss in the EIVA, and clinch the regular season title.
Goas the solo block and that will do it for our match. The Lions win 25-21.
Sunder a huge kill off the overpass, Lions now lead 23-21. Great comeback here for PSU, showing a lot of fight in tight spots.
Long rally ends with another block from Turko and Goas, their second straight block. Service error by Kegerreis ties the score back at 20-20.
Wolf with the kill, the Lions climb back, only down 19-18 now.
Ball goes long, 19-16 Mason lead.
Sunder hits it long but a net violation on Mason, who leads 16-14.
Lions trail 15-12 and take timeout.
Lucas the kill for Mason, puts the Patriots up 13-11.
Sunder serves long, 9-8 Mason.
Kegerreis continues his strong start to the third set, 8-8.
Lions claw back, now trail 7-5 after Perez taps the second ball over.
Wolf in for Olsen this set, gets his first kill to make the score 4-2 Mason.
Two early blocks and an ace by Mason gives the Patriots a 3-0 lead early in the third.
Sunder the emphatic kill coming up the middle, then Joyner gets a kill for the Patriots. 24-20 Lions.Kegerreis the kill to end the set, 25-20.
Olsen and Kegerreis with a kill each, Lions lead 23-18.
Kegerreis the kill after a long rally, his first, Lions lead 20-15.
Lions call timeout after a Sunder overpass, 18-14 Lions lead.
Sunder long again, Mason down 18-13 now.
Olsen blocked after a Mason overpass, 17-10 and the Patriots have some life back. Olsen is having a much better second set.
Turko and Olsen the block, then a kill by Joyner makes it 16-8 Lions.
15-7 Lions lead, Mason calls its 2nd timeout of the set.
Mason gets a little life back after four hits on the Lions, 12-7 PSU.
Goas in on the block, then gets his first ace of the night. 10-4 Lions.
Scott Kegerreis in for Comfort this set, Lions up 8-3 after a Mason kill.
Turko the ace, 7-2 Lions as George Mason calls timeout.
Olsen gets two more aces, one that deflected into the back stands and one right down the line from his left. 5-2 Lions.
Olsen the ace, Sunder the kill off the overpass, 3-1 Lions early in the second.
The Lions have just clinched their 13th straight EIVA title with the win in the first set.
Sunder with the ace, couldn't be dug up by Mason and it goes out of bounds. Sunder was huge down the stretch of that game, hasn't missed a beat after sitting out most of last weekend.
A Lucas kill and a block by Joyner and Kvidahl on Sunder. Then a Sunder kill, 26-26.
Sunder two more kills, Goas serves for the set, 25-24.
Sunder puts the ball down of the overpass and gets the crowd riled up. Jones comes back with a kill for Mason 24-23 Patriot lead.
Sunder gets the kill, Lions trail 23-22.
Sunder the kill after a good rally, point PSU, who trails 21-10. Timeout Mason.
Olsen lets the ball go over his head on the serve, lands in, 20-17 Patriots.
Block headed out of bounds hits Comfort in the shoulder, timeout PSU, who trails 18-17.
Olsen's kill catches a Mason player in the face, gets some energy into the crowd in Rec Hall.
Sunder the ace, 16-14 as Mason calls timeout.
Goas shaking out his hand after a ball touched the top of his block, but no problem setting the next ball for a Sunder kill. 14-13 PSU.
Block by Mason gets them fired up, tied at 11-11 now.
Sunder the big kill to tie the match at 9-9.
Jones the kill for Mason, Comfort the kill for the Lions, 8-7 PSU.
Goas and Mars get the block, 6-4 Lions early in the first.
Ball hit long by Mason, 3-3.
Illegal back row attack on Sunder and a ball tapped over the Lion block gives Mason the early edge, 2-1.
Ian Hendries is dressed after missing the past two weeks with a sprained ankle, but is not in the starting lineup.
The Lions go with GOas, Mars, Turko, Olsen, Sunder and Comfort with Del Valle at libero.
George Mason goes with Lucas, Joyner, Lucas, Perez, Maloney, Jones, and Kvidahl to start.
We're here at Rec Hall for the Penn State men's volleyball team's final EIVA contest of the season, against George Mason. The Daily Collegian writers will be bringing you updates from the match.
Walter is back out to start the 9th. Steven Hill went nine last weekend, can Walter match the feat?
Davis leads off the inning. Walter sits him down with a swinging strikeout.
Dittman is next. He rips one into left that Lynd takes a delayed start to but is still able to rip it down.
2 outs.
Hohl is Illinois' last hope here. He pops it up and Searer calls it for himself, wrapping it in the glove and ending the game.
***
Bottom 8
Steranka with a good hustle play after the ball gets by the first baseman he scoots around into second, beating the throw.
DeBernardis follows him up, hitting a ground to short. DeBernardis is thrown out but he gets Steranka to third.
Steranka comes around on a passed ball and gives the Lions a 2--run lead.
Jacobs steps up and hits a pop up into center for the third out.
PSU 3 - Ill 1 and this game is 3 outs from being over.
***
Top 8
Illinois first two guys up get out, the third guy gets on.
McMurray is up. Josh Parr, who got on, steals second. McMurray hits one which takes a tough hop but Steranka makes a nice play on it to end the frame.
***
Bottom 7
Lynd up to start it for Penn State. He gets called for strikes and is out.
Deegan rips one to second and gets tossed out
Montesinos hit his first pitch to right and it is caught for the third out.
***
Top 7
Dittman at the plate for Illinois, grounds out to second.
Nohl grounds to thrid, Steranka's throw is a bit high, but DeBernardis makes the tag in front of the base.
Hendrickson the third man up this inning. He gets his first hit with a flare into left.
Lindauer up. Walter strikes him out to complete his seventh inning of work
***
Bottom 6
First baseman DeBernardis leads off for Penn State. He gets caught looking and strikes out.
Huh, there's an ad for the Fraser Centre on the right field wall. You know, that thing they're never ever going to actually build because it's super expensive and students won't be allowed to live there.
Eramo gets hit by a pitch and goes to first.
Jacobs hits a gapper up the first base side and puts men at first and second with 1 out and Michael Glantz up.
Glantz unable to advance the runners, flying out to right
Searer up with one in scoring position and another on and two down. Hr grounds out to the first baseman who takes it himself.
End 6 PSU 2 - Ill 1
***
Top 6
Josh Parr gets a re-do on his at-bat and then promptly flies out to Deegan.
McMurray up next. He gets on.
Davis hits a laser right back to Walter, who grabs it, spins and fires to first base for the double play. Quick inning
***
Bottom 5
For the third time this game, Deegan leads off an inning. I guess that's his job, but, nevermind, I don't get baseball.
The junior centerfielder hits one right to the Illinois centerfielder, Argo for the first out.
Montesinos up next and he grounds out quickly.
Steranka the third man up. Penn State's third baseman grounds to second and that'll end that.
***
Top 5
Hendrickson, he of starting triple plays fame, up for Illinois. He grounds one to thrid and gets thrown out easily at first.
Lindauer next up and next down as he strikes out.
Justin Parr rips one over Deegan's head and off the wall in dead-center for a stand-up double.
Argo steps in and he loops one over Searer for an RBI single to score Parr from second.
Josh Parr comes up with a man on and two out. But Argo gets thrown out trying to steal second
***
Bottom 4
DeBernardis starts Penn State's fourth with a single through the third base gap off the first pitch.
Eramo with a high fly ball to the left fielder. 1 out.
Catcher Bobby Jacobs gets plunked by a 75 mph pitch off the back and takes his base.
Glantz up with two men on. He gets a single to load 'em up with 1 out and Searer due up.
Searer can't get the big hit, striking out to put two outs on the board.
It's up to Lynd with a chance to blow the lead open. He tries a bunt, which the umpire calls foul, but he would have been out by a few steps. Anderson throws a wild pitch and DeBernardis scores easily while Jacobs and Glantz move up.
So that's two outs, men at second and third and Lynd striking out to end the inning.
PSU 2 - Ill 0
***
Top 4
McMurray starts it off for Illinois and Walter strikes him out after McMurray fouled off the first four pitches he saw. That's three K's for Walter so far.
Davis starts his at bat trying to kill a window then hits a fast roller to short, but DeBernardis can't come up with the throw and Davis is on through error.
Dittman back up with a man on but he quickly goes down 0-2 then 0-3 for Walter's second strikeout of the frame.
Hohl hits one right to Glant and he is tossed out at first.
***
Bottom 3
Deegan leads off ...again.... to get the third inning started for Penn State. The junior hits a towering fly into left where it is caught McMurray.
.315 hitter Luis Montesinos is up second, and he grounds out, hitting it up the third base line and getting thrown out.
Pittsburgh man Jordan Steranka walks up to "Black and Yellow" with two outs and nobody on. He gets a good hack in, driving one into deep center but Argo reels it in on the run at the track.
End of inning PSU 1 - Ill 0
***
Top 3
Lindauer starts it off for Illinois. He is also the first out, hitting a fly ball to Montesinos a few steps in front of the warning track.
Justin Parr follows him, his brother John will likely make an appearance this inning, as Justin hits a single into shallow center.
Argo, the leadoff man, is up for the second time. Argo fouls off the first two pitches he sees then Walter rings him up for his second strikeout of the day.
John Parr steps in, he is a right-handed hitter while his brother hits left-handed. Parr hits a liner right to Searer and the half-inning is up
***
Top 2
Dittman leads off for Illinois and he gets a single that splits the gap between DeBernardis and Searer.
Hohl rips on into the gap in right-center with both Deegan and Montesinos converging. Of course, they run into each other and Hohl walks into second with Dittman on first. Dittman is the first baseman, but dude should have scored there.
With runners on first and second, Walter looks to be in a jam, and then a triple play appears. Hendrickson hit a weak dribbler up the firstbase line, which DeBernardis fields, looks Dittman back then tags Hendrickson. Hohl overran the play, so he got tagged out trying to slide back into second, and in that time, Dittman tried to take off again and Glantz hits Steranka with a good throw to tag Dittman out.
That's a 3-6-5 triple play and yes, it was that ridiculous.
Bottom 2
Eramo leads off with a grounder to first base, 1 out.
Bobby Jacobs follows him up to Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" and the senior catcher draws a walk to give the Lions a baserunner.
Glantz, fresh off the final throw of that triple play steps up to the plate. The shortstop hits a high flare into right-center that the centerfielder should have caught, except he stumbled over himsefl and couldn't get there, giving Glantz a single.
Searer is next up with runners on first and second. He hits one to the exact same spot as Glantz, but Willie Argo was ready this time and made the catch.
With two outs and two on, Blake Lynd is up with a chance to extend the Penn State lead. However, he flares one into shallow left and the inning is over
1-0 Penn State over Illinois after two
***
Walter gets off to a good start, fielding a bunt by Argo for an out, gettin John Parr to fly out to center, walking McMurray then striking out Davis.
In the bottom of the inning, Deegan gets a leadoff hit for the second day in a row, but this one is a double down the third base line.
Montesinos strikes out, but Davis bobbles the ball, allowing Deegan to advance to third. Steranka grounds out, but Deegan crosses the plate and Penn State leads 1-0.
DeBernardis rips one right to the secondbaseman who makes the routine play and the inning is over
***
It's Saturday, which means it's game two of three between Penn State and Illinois.
A two-out walk by DeBernardis (his third walk of the game) couldn't get things going for the hoome squad as Eramo strikes out looking to end it.
WP: Strack (1-1)
LP: Ignas (2-2)
SV: Braun (3)
Penn State went hitless in the final three innings, only knocking one hit, a single by Lynd, in the final eight innings.
A six-run first wasn't enough as the wheels came off defensively, with two errors doing the team in.
This is Zack Feldman saying goodbye until tomorrow, when Penn State takes on Illinois again at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in State College, with a 2:05 start time.
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TOP of the NINTH INNING
A two-out triple from Argo led to an RBI single by Josh Parr, putting Illinois up 7-6 before Ignas worked out of the inning.
Illinois up 7-6.
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EIGHTH INNING
Ignas seems to be just what the Penn State squad needed as he settles in to a 1-2-3 inning, PSU's first since the third inning.
Penn State, however, strands Glantz after a leadoff walk.
Still tied up, 6-6.
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SEVENTH INNING
Illinois' Justin Parr doubled with one out to chase Hill from the game. An RBI single from leadoff hitter Willie Argo off of reliever Greg Welsh closes the line on Hill, who departs with a line of 6.1 innings, 9 hits and 5 runs, 3 earned.
Following the two consecutive hits off of Welsh, Ryan Ignas comes in to allow one of Welsh's runs to score before a remarkable 5-4-3-5 double play to close the inning. The seventh inning stretch doesn't happen as
DeBernardis highlights the offense with his second walk (and third time reaching base) before he and Eramo are stranded.
Illinois ties the score as the sun is coming out for the first time today.
All tied up, 6-6.
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SIXTH INNING
Illinois opens up an inning with a hit for the fourth time this game as McMurray singles through the left side. After an Adam Davis single, McMurray is erased on a pickoff at second base. The miscue could come back to haunt them.
Illinois continued their rally with a Dittman single, which bounced off of Blake Lynd's glove, allowing Davis to score. But Hendrickson bounced into a 1-3 putout. Illinois scored only one run on three consecutive hits.
Penn State's Blake Lynd hit an infield single with two-out, the team's first hit since the 6-run first inning, before stealing second. Sean Deegan struck out, though, to end the frame.
Illinois squandered a major opportunity here in the fifth, but they continue to inch closer.
6-4 PSU ahead
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FIFTH INNING
Illinois scores a third run, thanks to a failed pickoff attempt from Hill. The ball sailed into right field beyond DeBernardis' glove, putting Thomas Lindauer at third. He was knocked in on a Justin Parr sacrifice fly.
Penn State advances DeBernardis to second following a one-out walk, however he would be stranded at second.
6-3 PSU ahead
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FOURTH INNING
The snow has started falling as Illinois puts together another rally, this time in the fourth inning, starting right off the bat with an RBI triple from Casey McMurray. With two outs, Brandon Hohl doubled, but Hill came back, getting Hendrickson to fly out to left.
Penn State goes in order again in the fourth. The team has no hits since the 6-run, 6-hit fourth inning.
6-2 PSU ahead
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THIRD INNING
Illinois goes down in order as Hill settles back in.
Penn State's Michael Glantz earns a walk, but that is all they would get after being struck out twice and flying out to right field.
6-1 PSU ahead
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SECOND INNING
An Illinois rally gets them on the board. A leadoff single by Adam Davis started the inning. A stolen base set up Davis Hendrickson's RBI single, however that is all Illinois was to get in the inning.
Penn State Went 1-2-3.
6-1 PSU ahead
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FIRST INNING
Following a 1-2-3 inning to open up the Big Ten season, Penn State jumped out to an early 6-0 lead after the team's first seven men reached base.
The inning was highlighted by a Sean Deegan home run on the second pitch he saw.
The 2-through-7 batters also reached base with all scoring except Michael Glantz, who singled in Mario Eramo.
6-0 PSU ahead
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Hello everyone, welcome to Inside the Dugout. This is Zack Feldman coming to you with live coverage of Penn State's first Big Ten matchup of the season against Illinois.
Action got underway on time in front of a sparse crowd of about 70.
