Overview: Sophomore Scott Donley inserted himself into Indiana baseball lore, as he hit the first home run in Bart Kaufman Field history. as his three-run shot in the first inning gave the Hoosiers a lead they would not surrender in a 9-3 victory Friday afternoon in both teams' conference-opening contests. The win extended IU's winning streak to nine games, the longest in IU Coach Tracy Smith's tenure in Bloomington.
Junior ace Joey DeNato limited Penn State to one run on five hits in 7 1/3 innings of work. IU plated five runs of insurance in the final three innings to secure DeNato's third win of the season.
Game ball goes to: DeNato, for the second consecutive season on March 23, silenced the Nittany Lions' bats, keeping them off-balanced. The San Diego native struck out a season-high 10 hitters. Four of the five hits he allowed were hit weakly, as DeNato mixed up his pitches well.
Stat of the game: 7. The hoosiers won seven in a row on two different occasions: The final six regular season games in 2012, plus a victory in the Big Ten Tournament against Michigan State and seven consecutive games to conclude the 2008 regular season.
Stat of the game II: 15. Of their last 15 games, the Hoosiers have won 14.
Turning point: The way DeNato was pitching, Donley's home run provided sufficient offense to help the Hoosiers maintain the top spot in the conference. The Nittany Lions added two tallies in the ninth, but the game had been in hand.
