Penn State Silences Tartan Bats
Box Scores: Game one » Game two »
By RYAN COMES
March 25, 2006
The weather was cold and so were the Tartan bats, as they struggled to shake off the rust in their first games of the season. The club fell to Penn State 11-0 and 6-0 on Saturday.
Freshman Jon Coens got the start in game one and immediately got into a jam. A walk, a single, and another walk loaded the bases with no one out. Coens battled back, however, striking out the next batter and inducing a ground ball to short. The Tartans couldn't turn over the double play and a run scored. Before the inning was over, three more runs would cross the plate, putting the Tartans in an early 4-0 hole. Coens allowed one run over the next three innings, keeping the team in the game. But the bats never got going against Chalfin, and two errors in the fifth allowed 6 runs to cross, giving Penn State a mercy-rule-shortened 11-0 victory.
Senior Pete Sukits got the start in game two with the team looking to rebound. The teams traded scoreless first innings, but in the second the Lions plated 2 runs on 4 straight hits, but Sukits worked out of a bases loaded jam to limit the damage. Sukits allowed 2 more runs in the third on a single, a walk and a triple, before leaving with numbness in his pitching hand. Sophomore Sandy Williams came in to relieve and threw 4 effective innings, allowing only 2 unearned runs when SS Ryan Woodring lost an infield pop up in the snow that was falling. Penn State pitcher Ryan Frankeny help the Tartan bats in check all game, allowing only 2 hits in the complete game.