I Wednesday; April 7, 2010 Philadelphia at Washington 7 p.m., TCN L.A, Dodgers at Pittsburgh 7 p.m.. FSP N.Y. Yankees at Boston 7 p.m., ESPN2 Philadelphia at Miami 7:30 p.m.. CSN Utah at Houston 8 p.m., ESPN Toronto at N.Y. Rangers 7 p.m., Versus For full stories: psucollegian.com Women rise 8 spots to No. 6 in rankings Penn State's women's squad moved into the top-10 in the USTFCCCA polls. Rankings mean little when title at stake Don't count the Nittany Lions out of the national title chase yet. writes Jim Maum. Defensive middies step up vs. UMass The short-stick defenders help the Lions play their ideal six-on-six defense Woods’ tee time set for 1:42 p.m. Thurs. Thousands of fans are fol lowing Tiger Woods around Augusta National ' during practice rounds. Millions more around the world will be able to watch when he officially makes his return to golf at the Masters on Thursday. Woods was put in the next to-last group for the opening round his first meaningful shot since his private life i””aveled in sordid tales of ifidelitv five months ago. His 1:42 p.m. tee time fits perfect ly into ESPN's live television coverage. Joining the world's No. 1 player will be K.J. Choi and Matt Kuchar. Barcelona’s Messi’s performace unreal Lionel Messi scored four goals yesterday and made it look easier than a game of foosball. EC. Barcelona's Messi, arguably the best player in Europe, had a hat trick in the first half of his team's 4-1 vic tory over Arsenal. He single handedly ensured that his Spanish club advanced to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League. Arsenal's defensemen looked silly trying to guard Messi, but it was expected. He deeked a defender from 10 feet outside the goal and it didn’t even result in a goal. His first goal was a ridicu lous strike to the top of the net. “FIFA 2010” goals don’t look nearly as good. Q: Which program has the most NCAA champi onships? Tuesday's answer: The Cleveland Indians’ Bob Fteller threw the only Opening Day no-hitter in 1940. PSU wins on walk-off walk By Paul Casella COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Trailing bv a run entering the last inning of Tuesday night's game, the Penn State baseball team failed to record a hit in the bottom of the ninth. But the Nittany BASEBALL Lions ! 12-la) still managed to push two runners across the plate and walk off with a 7-6 win. „ r^ t their lfith-straight renn 3iaie against the in state rival Bucknell Bison With the game Buckne|| tied in tne bottom and ninth and run ners on second and third, Bucknell issued consecutive walks, including a free pass with the bases loaded to Bobby Jacobs to end the game on Penn State's fifth walk-off victory' of the season. "When you've done it before, it's in the back of your mind that you can do it again." said freshman Elliot Searcr. who went 3-for-4 and scored a pair of runs. "So this team is never going to give up. and we knew w e had a shot to win it going into that last inning." Of the sev en Penn State hitters who went to the plale in the ninth, five walked one intentionally and the other two flied out. one on a game-tying sacrifice fly. After back-to-back walks to start the inning, a tlv out by sophomore first baseman Joey Deßernardis who also pitched a scoreless ninth inning lor the win moved the runners to second and third with one out. Bucknell intentionally walked Jordan Steranka, bringing backup first baseman Jack Greenberg to the plate, who had not recorded a hit this season. Greenburg lifted the first pitch he saw into right field for a sacrifice fly. allowing Steve Snyder to tag up from third and tie the game. "I was looking for a pitch on the outer half of the plate, to drive it the other way." said Greenberg, who picked up his first RBI of the season on his game-tying sac fly. “I just did n't want to be the guy to put a ball on the ground and let them get a dou ble play to end the game. It just worked out for us this time.' - Though Penn State finished the game with nine hits and had anoth er nine runners reach base on walks, the Lions scored only one of its seven runs oft a base hit an RBI single by Searer in the sixth. The other six runs came off two bases-loaded walks, a fielder's choice, two wild pitches and Greenberg's saciifice fly. to e-maii reporter: plcso32@psu.edu Steph Witt/Coliegian Freshman Kailyn Johnson connects on a pitch against Pittsburgh on t esday at Nittany Lion Field. The Lions and Panthers split Tuesday’s doubleheader, with Pitt winning Game 1 anc Penn State taking the nightcap. Akamine’s arm yields victory By Wayne Staats COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Lisa Akamine just kept climbing the ladder. The pitcher went up in the zone and struck out nine batters while giv ing up only four hits to help Penn State win the sec ond game of Tuesday's double header, 5-1, and split Pittsburgh Akamine “That's kind of how I attacked their hitters,” Akamine said. “It just depends on the day. Today, my rise ball just happened to be working well. Chloe Elmer'Collegian Freshman Steve Snyder speeds into second base during Tuesday night's game against Bucknell at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Penn State won, 7-6, on a bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning. Position players take hill By Ryan Loy COLLEGIAN S Fans of the Penn Stale baseball team may look twice when they see who’s listed in the box score as the winning pitcher from Tuesday's victory against Bucknell. Regular first baseman Joey Deßernardis pitched a scoreless ninth inning to help the Nittany Lions (12-15) defeat Bucknell in come-from-behind fashion. 7-6. Deßernardis wasn't the only position player to pitch. Heath Johnson, who normally plays right field, didn't allow anv runs and struck out one while pitching the fourth. Lions coach Robbie Wine said the two players were a crucial part of the win. “I wonder if wo would have won the game without the two of them," Wine said Those guys stepped up and did some things to help us.” Other days, if my drop is working well, then I'll just go low, you know?” Akamine, handed a 3-0 lead after the first inning, won her seventh straight start and, for the third time since March 24. won the latter game of a doubleheader after the Nittany Lions (23-11) lost the first. In fact, the sophomore had thrown 14-consecutive innings w.thout surrendering an earned run before Yvette Bravo hit a solo home run in the seventh inning Tuesday Plus, in these three recent starts in the second half of a doublehead er, Akamine has given up just four runs three earned in 20 innings. When it comes to explaining her success in such games, Akamine Chioe Elmer./Cotlegian Michael Glantz evades a tag by Bucknell's catcher Tuesday night. Tuesday's win over the Bison Lions' March 13 loss to Texas wasn't the first time Deßernardis State. has pitched this season. He pitched a scoreless inning in the said it didn't have a lot to do with watching the other team's hitters in the first games, when starter Jackie Hill takes the mound. Instead, it seems to be just about the basics. Akamine’s strong sec ond-game performances in double headers has also coincided with her overall improvement. She has given up only one earned run in eight of her last 11 starts. Coach Robin Petrini summed up the pitcher’s success as confidence and simply hitting spots. Against Pittsburgh (18-15), those spots were often the high ones. “She took advantage of some of their weaknesses and thought they might chase a few high pitches,” Petrini said. “If you think they’re See AKAMINE, Page 10. The Daily Collegian However, Deßernardis was in a See PITCHING. Page 10. Lions take one of two vs. Pitt By Jake Kaplan COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER With Pittsburgh runners on first and third base and just one out, the Penn State softball team found itself in its first jam of the game. Moments later, SOFTBALL Niki Cognigni - broke from first base to try and get two runners in scoring position. But the Panthers’ p en n State steal attempt backfired. Nittany Lion catcher Danee Collett fired the Pittsburgh ball to shortstop Alyssa Renwick, who promptly tagged out Cognini. That swung the momentum in Penn State’s favor on its way to a 5-1 win on Tuesday at Nittany Lion Field. The Nittany Lions split their doubleheader against Pittsburgh losing the first game, 6-3. Penn State pitcher Lisa Akamine’s ensuing inning-ending strikeout killed Pittsburgh’s threat in the third stanza of the second game and preserved the Lions’ three-run lead. “Now instead of having second and third, we’ve got a runner on third, two outs,” left fielder Ashley Griffith said of the third-inning momentum shift. See SPLIT, Page 10.
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