Penn State trounces Panthers

Pitt baseball’s struggles continued with a 9-0 loss to Penn State in the inaugural Keystone… Pitt baseball’s struggles continued with a 9-0 loss to Penn State in the inaugural Keystone Classic on Wednesday at Blair County Ballpark.

Penn State starting pitcher Steve Cline (3-1) pitched his first career complete-game shutout in front of a crowd of 3,584. He struck out only two batters in his nine innings of work but kept the ball in the infield, forcing the Panthers to ground out 12 times in the game.

The Panthers (13-12 overall, 1-6 Big East) only managed six base runners in the game — five hits and a walk, with only one player, second baseman Jim Negrych, moving into scoring position. He moved to third on a groundout after he had reached second with a double in the top of the seventh. However, left fielder Sean Conley could not bring him home as he grounded out to second base.

Shaun Butler (1-3) started on the mound for the Panthers, but after two and two-thirds innings, he was pulled for pitcher Chad Baker. Butler allowed only three hits, but five Penn State (14-9, 2-2 Big Ten) base runners made their way home as result of his pitches.

The first two runs were unearned, as two throwing errors by shortstop Jimmy Mayer in the second inning let Scott Gummo and Brian Ernst score.

Penn State got right back to business in the bottom half of the third, scoring three runs on only one hit. Butler placed two Nittany Lions on base with a two-out walk and a hit batter. Catcher Aaron Greenfield made him pay by sending one of his pitches over the right field wall, giving Penn State a commanding 5-0 lead.

Again, in the fifth inning, Penn State scored three runs on only one hit. All three runs were unearned as the Nittany Lions took advantage of another hit batter, two wild pitches and a throwing error by relief pitcher Baker.

In the game, the Panthers’ pitchers struggled, combining to hit five batters and throw two wild pitches.

Freshman relief pitcher Robert Brant, however, was a bright spot for the Panthers, pitching for the final three and a third innings. In his brief time on the mound, he struck out seven batters and allowed only one run.

After striking out the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh, he gave up two consecutive hits — a single by Jim Leitgeb and a double from pinch hitter Colin Runt, which scored Leitgeb.

This comes after Brant recorded his first win of his collegiate career in his first start against Kent State on March 31. In the game, he pitched seven innings, struck out seven and allowed only one run on three hits.

On the season, Brant (1-1) has a 3.07 ERA in 14.2 innings and 19 strikeouts.

However, no matter how hard he threw, he could not aid the Panthers’ woes at the plate. On Wednesday, the Panthers offensively failed to get anything going as Cline set them down in order in the first, second, third, fourth, sixth and eighth innings.

Pitt had a few opportunities, but two double plays and a runner picked off by the pitcher in the first inning kept the Panthers away from scoring position.

The Panthers have now lost four in a row, and they are hovering just one game above .500. Pitt’s streak of three straight 36-plus win seasons is on the line if head coach Joe Jordano’s squad cannot turn it around.

They are also in ninth place in the Big East standings, a year removed from claiming third and playing in the Big East tournament.

Pitt takes on Connecticut (18-7, 3-2 Big East) in Storrs, Conn., over the weekend. The three-game series begins with a doubleheader tomorrow and will finish up with a single game on Sunday.