Joshua Beckman The Daily Illini

Sunday’s matinee contest against Penn State was the type of game the Illinois baseball team had to have if it wants to compete in the upper echelon of the Big Ten. With head coach Dan Hartleb challenging them, the Illini came through with what the skipper called one of the squad’s most complete games of the year.

Illinois rolled past Penn State, 15-3, in the rubber match of both teams’ first Big Ten series. The Illini suffered an ugly 16-9 loss Friday and hung on for a 10-8 win Saturday

via Baseball takes Penn State rubber match with one of best performances of season | The Daily Illini.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Penn State baseball team hung tough early on, but a five-run Illinois sixth inning proved to be too much as the Nittany Lions went on to fall, 15-3 in the series finale on Sunday afternoon. Sophomore Sean Deegan (Readington, N.J.) hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning to even the score at three, but Illinois responded with 12 unanswered runs on its way to victory. Penn State (11-15, 1-2 Big Ten) now returns home to face Bucknell in a nonconference showdown on Tuesday before hosting Northwestern this weekend.

via Baseball Drops Series Finale at Illinois, 15-3 – PENN STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE.

Collegian Staff Writer

Eight strong innings were not enough to overcome a treacherous first inning for the Penn State baseball team, in which it gave up six runs against Illinois.

The large first-inning deficit was too much for the Nittany Lions, as they fell to the conference foe Illini, 10-8.

Penn State starter Ryan Ignas settled down after giving up those six runs and managed to pitch 5.2 innings in the loss.

But a day after scoring a season-high 16 runs against the Illini, Penn State (11-14) couldn’t muster enough offense to overcome the early deficit and fell to 1-1 in conference play

via Baseball team can’t overcome poor start – The Daily Collegian Online.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Despite allowing six first-inning runs, the Penn State baseball team slowly chipped away to pull within one, but could never even the score as Illinois held on for the 10-8 victory on Saturday. Junior catcher Ben Heath (Huntersville, N.C.) hit his team-leading ninth home run in the seventh inning to cut the lead to 9-8, but Bryan Roberts came in to throw a scoreless eighth and ninth inning for the save. The teams play the rubber game of the series on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. ET, streamed live on BigTenNetwork.com.

via Nittany Lion Comeback Attempts Fall Short in 10-8 Loss at Illinois – PENN STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE.

Eramo blasted two home runs for Penn State (11-13). The junior designated hitter went 3-for-6 in the game with five RBIs and three runs scored. Eramo homered in the sixth and ninth innings. Eramo has been average this season with four home runs in 67 at bats. On the season he has 20 hits and has driven in 21 runners, while scoring 10 runs.

The game was the largest margin of victory for Penn State this season and the most runs allowed by Illinois.

via Eramo blasts two home runs to lift Nittany Lions to victory over Fighting Illini – Big Ten Network.

Collegian Staff Writer

The Penn State baseball team’s bats came alive Friday night against Illinois to power the Nittany Lions to a conference-opening 16-9 victory.

The Lions hit four home runs, including two by designated hitter Mario Eramo, who finished with five RBIs and three runs scored.

The other two long balls came from catcher Ben Heath, who had four RBIs, and third baseman Jordan Steranka, who went 4-for-4 with four runs.

via Offensive effort carries Lions to victory – The Daily Collegian Online.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Penn State baseball team opened Big Ten play on Friday by scoring a season-high 16 runs on 18 hits to top Illinois in convincing fashion, 16-9 at Illinois Field. The Nittany Lions (11-13, 1-0 Big Ten) hit a season-high four home runs, led by two from junior Mario Eramo (Houston, Texas), on the way to their first Big Ten opening victory since 2006. In total, six different Lion hitters posted multiple hits, including four with three or more hits led by sophomore Jordan Steranka’s (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 4-for-4 performance. Penn State returns to the field on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. ET in game two of the weekend series.

“All facets of our game were on tonight,” said Steranka. “We have a chance to win the series tomorrow, so we're going to come out and play hard.”

via Nittany Lions Open Big Ten Play With Convincing 16-9 Win Over Illinois – PENN STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE.