IU drops series to Penn State

The Hoosiers 21-20 (5-7) faced slightly different problems and saw slightly different victories in this weekend’s Big Ten play against the Nittany Lions of Penn State 13-23 (5-7).

In game one Saturday, the Hoosiers picked up 12 runs on their way to a 12-6 victory against the Nittany Lions. The Hoosiers have not scored that many runs since they scored 14 against University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in April 2008.

Walks were ever present during this game as Penn State issued 13 total. Three of these were issued to junior Amanda Wagner, who finished the day 1-for-1 with a run and three RBI.

Senior Samantha Berenter knocked in three runners, as well, while going 1-for-3 and adding two runs herself.

Despite winning by six runs, the Hoosiers did not necessarily have it in the bag early in the game. A late Penn State four-run rally in the bottom of the fifth put the Nittany Lions up 6-5 going into the sixth.

The Hoosiers took that opportunity to end all doubts by picking up five runs in the top of the inning.

The second game of the day, however, was a different story. Gone were the Penn State pitching errors for walks, and the Hoosiers missed some early scoring opportunities.

Despite hitting well picking up 10 hits for .333, the Hoosiers were bested by Penn State from the box as the Nittany Lions also picked up 10 hits, averaging .385.

The tie-breaker Sunday ended in a 9-4 loss for the Hoosiers after the damage was done in the bottom of the second inning.

During the bottom half of the inning, the Nittany Lions picked up seven runs. The first three runs occurred after a double scored three runners following an error and a walk.

The next four runs occurred in a grand-slam home run.

The Hoosiers attempted another late inning rally after sophomore Shelby Gogreve scored freshman Brianna Meyer on an infield single up the middle. The Hoosiers weren’t finished, however, cutting the lead to four in the top of the sixth.

Senior Lindsay Callanan picked up the fifth run of the game on a loaded bases walk. Shortly after, junior Kelsey Brannon reached home on a wild pitch to Meyer. With two runners in scoring position, senior Cassie Gogreve laced one to the outfield, almost catching the gap. However, the play was made for the final out.

Indiana will play one more game away at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Ball State.