Blue White Illustrated

V A R S I T Y V I E W S Goodbye, Columbus Nittany Lions make a quick exit from Big Ten baseball tournament P enn State had momentum on its side heading into the Big Ten baseball tournament last month in Columbus, Ohio. The Nittany Lions won two of three games from Michigan State in the teams' regu- lar-season-ending series May 17-19, securing the No. 3 seed at Big Tens and improving their record to 22-7 since April 1. They kept riding that wave all the way to central Ohio and into their first-round matchup with host Ohio State May 23. But things started to come unraveled in the sixth inning of that game, and the Lions never recovered. Going into the late innings, Penn State appeared headed to its first tournament victory since 2007. In the game's first four innings, the Lions amassed 11 hits and five runs against Ohio State's ace, sophomore Jaron Long. Penn State's hitters were so effective that Ohio State coach Greg Beals pulled Long from the game. "He wasn't sharp," Beals said. "His cutter was flat, and his fastball was a little flat. Penn State had a great plan against him." But the Nittany Lions didn't have a plan for the Buckeyes' incoming reliever, junior right-hander Brett McKinney. With McKinney on the mound, the Lions failed to score another run, mustering only four hits over the next 4.2 innings. The Buckeyes, on the other hand, were just finding their groove. Battling back from a 5-1 deficit, Ohio State scored two runs in the sixth inning to chase Penn State sophomore starter Joe Kurrasch from the game. Kurrasch was 36 J U N E 2 8 , 2 0 1 2 relieved by Greg Welsh, but Welsh didn't fare much better than his classmate. After holding Ohio State scoreless in the seventh inning, Penn State gave up the lead in the eighth, as the Buckeyes rallied for three runs. All told, Ohio State scored 11 unan- swered runs to pick up a 12-5 victo- ry and force Penn State into the elimination round. "Their bullpen held and ours didn't, and that's the bottom line," Penn State head coach Robbie Wine said. "McKinney did a great job to settle things down and let them peck away." Pitted against Nebraska the next day, the Lions weren't able to pro- long their tournament run. Senior SOFTBALL Bell sets PSU record season with a .423 average to become Penn State's new sin- gle-season batting champion. Bell, a center fielder from Bakersfield, Calif., broke Nan Sichler's 24-year- old record of .413. She went 41 for 97 for the BELL Nittany Lions this past season, totaling a team-high 23 runs, nine home runs and 76 total bases. Despite missing 18 games with .423 average Cassidy Bell finished her junior outfielder Sean Deegan scored the first run of the game on his Big Ten- leading 12th home run of the sea- son, but once again, the Lions were unable to hold onto an early lead. The Cornhuskers piled on 12 runs to pick up the 12-3 victory and advance to the next round. The back-to-back losses brought an end to the Nittany Lions' season. They struggled in February and March, losing 14 of their first 17 games during a season-opening road swing through the South. But once they headed north, their results improved. The Lions finished 29-27 overall and 15-10 in the Big Ten. It was the team's second consecutive winning season. this season following an emer- gency appendectomy, she tied for the team lead in RBIs with 20 while slugging .784, earning 18 walks and a .529 on-base per- centage. She also was impressive on the base paths, stealing five in six attempts. Following the season, Bell was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's All-Great Lakes first team. It was her first All-Region honor and Penn State's first since Danielle Kinley was recognized in 2007. Bell is now eligible to earn All-America recognition. She was also named first-team All-Big Ten for the first time in her career. Penn State finished its season with an 18-32 overall record. The Nittany Lions went 9-15 in the Big Ten and were 10-4 at Beard Field. N O T E B O O K MEN'S GYMNASTICS Aronovich qualifies for Summer Games Penn State's Felix Aronovich officially qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics based on his performance at the European Gymnastics Championships in Montpellier, France. A rising sen- ior at Penn State, Aronovich will compete as an individual, repre- senting his native Israel. In January, the International Gymnastics Federation awarded Aronovich an individual spot for the Games based on his perform- ance at the Olympic test event in London. However, to participate in London, the Israeli Olympic Committee required him to prove himself again at the European championships. He passed that test by placing 11th in the all- around with a score of 80.623. The gymnastics competition at the 2012 London Olympics will take place July 28-Aug. 7 at North Greenwich Arena. In 2012, Aronovich was a key member of a Penn State squad that finished third at the NCAA championships, the program's highest placing since the Nittany Lions won their NCAA-record 12th national title in 2007. During the team finals, Aronovich secured his first career All- America award, placing seventh in the all-around with a score of 86.750. At the individual finals, Aronovich was one of six Lions to earn All-America honors. TRACK & FIELD Loht, Kenney finish 1-2 at Big Ten meet Sophomore Laura Loht took top honors in the women's javelin, with freshman teammate Lauren Kenney finishing second at the Big Ten outdoor track championships at Wisconsin. In third place overall going into the final, Kenney unleashed her W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

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