Happy Valley Hardball with a sabermetrics twist

Nittany Lions wrap up and down campaign with hard-fought defeat.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Despite holding a 4-3 lead after six full innings, the Michigan bats exploded for four runs in the seventh to down the Penn State baseball team, 7-4 on Saturday’s Senior Day at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Freshman Steve Snyder (West Chester, Pa.) spearheaded the offense with a 3-for-5 effort, including a career-high two doubles. The Nittany Lions finish the season at 22-30, 9-15 in the Big Ten while the Wolverines (34-20, 14-10 Big Ten) now look ahead to next week’s conference tournament.

The 2010 season featured a number of highlights, including six walk-off wins, a comeback victory over nationally-ranked Pittsburgh and triumph over preseason top-40 squad Dallas Baptist. Junior Ben Heath (Huntersville, N.C.) broke the school’s 32-year home run record while redshirt freshman Elliot Searer (Lewistown, Pa.) tied the single-game record for hits in a game with five at Ohio State. Senior David Lutz (West Chester, Pa.) broke two appearance records while the team tied the school record for triples in a season with 18. The squad also won six straight conference games for the first time since 2007, outscoring its opponents, 87-31, in that span.

via Baseball Drops Season Finale to Michigan, 7-4 – PENN STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE.

By Ryan Loy

Collegian Staff Writer

Faced with a scenario every baseball player dreams about, Jordan Steranka came through for the Penn State baseball team to cap a 6-5 comeback win over Michigan Friday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

The Nittany Lions (22-29, 9-14 Big Ten) trailed 5-1 entering the bottom of the ninth but strung together four hits to set up Steranka’s heroics.

via Penn State eliminated from postseason despite dramatic win – The Daily Collegian Online.

Jordan Sterenka comes up with a two out full count bases loaded game winning single. As good as the moment was, the play at the plate was a lot closer than it ever should have been. Robbie Wine inserted pitcher Jesse Alfreno as a pinch runner for Sean Deagan after Deagon had smashed a ground rule double over the center field wall. That almost backfired as Alfreno’s inexperience on the base paths showed when he failed to get a full running start on the full count pitch to Sterenka. Fortunately, he scored anyway.

Despite the thrilling comeback, Penn State was eliminated from postseason contention due to scores in other Big Ten games.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Trailing by four runs heading into the bottom of the ninth and down to the game’s final strike, sophomore Jordan Steranka (Pittsburgh, Pa.) capped a furious five-run Penn State rally with a two-run walk-off single for a dramatic 6-5 victory over Michigan on Friday evening at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Penn State's (22-29, 9-14 Big Ten) sixth win in walk-off fashion eliminated any hopes the Wolverines (33-20, 13-10 Big Ten) had of winning the Big Ten Regular Season Title. The teams will close the series and regular season on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. on Senior Day.

“That’s one of those spots you love to be in,” said Steranka. “[A situation] you dream about when you’re a kid. We had a great comeback, played some good defense, good pitching. I was fortunate to get a hit.”

“It shows a lot from us that we didn’t give up when we were down 5-1 in the ninth,” said sophomore Sean Deegan (Readington, N.J.), who hit a huge double as part of the comeback. “It’s big for the seniors to get a nice win like this, especially against a team like Michigan.”

via Steranka’s Walk-Off Single Caps Five-Run Ninth to Lift Nittany Lions Past Michigan, 6-5 – PENN STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE.

From CTPost.com

Nate Bumps Lowers ERA to 2.29 — Nate Bump continues to get better in his quest to return to the major leagues.

The right-hander, who started last season with an 8-2, 2.49 run in a dozen starts for Camden, N.J., in the Atlantic League, turned in his best performance in a series of strong starts for Philadelphia’s Triple-A club in Allentown, Pa., this week when he limited Louisville to three hits and one run in his first eight-inning appearance. The 34-year-old could not improve upon his 4-1 record for Lehigh Valley because it took 16 innings for the IronPigs to earn a 2-1 victory. Bump did lower his ERA to 2.29 (fourth best in the International League) during his 100-pitch game.

Down 5-1 in the ninth, they come back to score five to top Michigan. Jordan Steranka lines a two out bases loaded single up the middle to score two for the win. Despite getting a poor jump on the 3-2 pitch, pinch runner Jesse Alfreno scores the winning run on a close play at the plate.

Junior catcher a semifinalist for prestigious award named in honor of the former Cincinnati Reds great.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State junior catcher Ben Heath (Huntersville, N.C.) has been named one of 16 semifinalists for the 2010 Coleman Company-Johnny Bench Award delivered by Papa John’s Pizza, as announced by the Wichita Sports Commission on Wednesday. The award is presented annually to the top Division I collegiate catcher. The semifinalists were chosen from an original watch list of 80 while three finalists will be announced on June 2.

Heath is batting a team-leading .372 with 18 home runs and 55 RBI, also tops on the squad. His home run total is a new single-season school record, going deep once every 10.4 at-bats. Heath’s on-base percentage has continued to rise, now standing at .453. He also has 15 doubles and a triple, good for a .750 slugging percentage and 1.203 OPS.

via Heath Named a Johnny Bench Award Semifinalist – PENN STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE.

Johnny Bench Award Semifinalist Ben Heath blasts his 19th home run of the season in the loss.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team sent the go-ahead run to the plate in the eighth and ninth innings, but fell short in a 6-3 setback to Michigan on Thursday night in the opening game of the final regular season series at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Juniors Ben Heath (Huntersville, N.C.) and Mario Eramo (Houston, Texas) both homered in the fourth inning, but the Nittany Lions (21-29, 8-14 Big Ten) were unable to cross the plate over the final five frames. Despite the loss, the Lions remain alive for a Big Ten Tournament berth heading into a must-win scenario on Friday at 5:35 p.m.

Heath’s home run also marked his 100th career hit. It was the third time this season that a Nittany Lion hitter recorded his 100th career hit, with all of them leaving the yard. Sophomore Jordan Steranka’s (Pittsburgh, Pa.) came against Kent State while senior Louie Picconi’s (North Merrick, N.Y.) was a grand slam at Ohio State.

via Baseball Falls to Michigan in Series Opener; Remains Alive For Postseason Berth – PENN STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE.

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Penn State enters the weekend two games out of a postseason berth.

• Despite struggling at Minnesota last weekend, the Penn State baseball team is still very much in the race for a Big Ten Tournament berth heading into a key series vs. Michigan to close the regular season. Gametimes are set for 6:35 p.m (Thursday), 5:35 p.m. (Friday) and 1:05 p.m. (Saturday) at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

• It is also Senior Weekend with six seniors set to be honored prior to Saturday’s finale: Gordon Atkisson, Jack Greenberg, David Lutz, Louie Picconi and Mike Wanamaker along with Director of Baseball Operations Sebastian Saraceno.

via Nittany Lions Host Michigan in Must Win Final Series Beginning Thursday – PENN STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE.

A forecast of rain has caused today’s game at Villanova to be cancelled.

Penn State junior continues to climb the list of top catchers in the nation.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State junior catcher Ben Heath (Huntersville, N.C.) has moved up to No. 3 in the Rivals.com weekly college baseball power rankings. He jumped from sixth to third following a weekend which included his Penn State record-setting 18th home run of the season. With just one week remaining in the regular season, Heath only trails Miami’s Yasmani Grandal and LSU’s Micah Gibbs for the distinction of top catcher in the nation.

Rivals.com, powered by Yahoo, unveils weekly positional power rankings throughout the college baseball season. Heath had been ranked sixth the last two weeks before making the jump to No. 3.

via Nittany Lion Catcher Ben Heath up to Third in Rivals Weekly Power Rankings – PENN STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE.