Illini takes Big Ten lead | Centre Daily Times

UNIVERSITY PARK — The third round of the Big Ten men’s golf championships on Saturday spread out the field with Ohio State and Illinois swapped positions to give the Illini the lead entering today’s final round. Penn State fell three slots to ninth place and is 18-strokes behind Illinois at 30-over par (882). Nittany Lion Kevin Foley is tied for second.

Eric Chun of Northwestern remains in first place at four-under par with a four-stroke cushion. Chun shot even par (71) to follow his second round, tournament-best 68.

Foley shot his second 70 of the tournament (-1), to give him a three-round total of 213, even par. He is tied with Wisconsin’s Dan Woltman and Illinois’s after moving up five spots from Friday.

Also for Penn State, Chad Bricker (71 Saturday) is 21st, Jim Markovitz (81) is 37th, Nick Archambault (76) is 49th and T.J. Howe (79) is 51st.

The final round begins this morning at 8 a.m.

Women’s lacrosseNorthwestern dumps Penn StateUNIVERSITY PARK — Fifteenth-ranked Penn State was downed by No. 1 Northwestern 13-3 in the title game of the ALC Championship, held at Jeffrey Field on Saturday afternoon.

Laura Lesnick scored 49 seconds into the match for the Nittany Lions (9-8), but the Wildcats (19-0) followed with six straight goals and closed with a 5-0 run.

Mariel Bryan and Kerry Shea also had goals for Penn State.

Goalkeeper Stephanie Ellis registered seven saves and faced 27 Northwestern shots.

The Nittany Lions will learn their postseason fate tonight when the Division I Championship bracket is announced on CBS College Sports Network between 10 and 11 p.m.

Men’s lacrossePenn State closes season with winWASHINGTON — Penn State closed the regular season with a 12-11 double-overtime victory at No. 16 Georgetown on Saturday.

Senior Rob Forster scored four goals, including the game-winner, and added an assist to spark the Nittany Lions (9-5, 4-3 ECAC) to their sixth straight win.

Brian Shea had two goals and Matthew Mackrides chipped in a goal and two assists for Penn State.

Winning goalie Drew Adams made 19 saves, including four in the overtime periods.

The Nittany Lions trailed 8-7 going into the fourth period, but Earl Ross gave them an 11-10 lead with 5:35 to play. Ricky Mirabito scored with a half second to play in regulation to force OT for the Hoyas (7-7, 3-4).

Forster won it with 58 seconds left in the second overtime on a feed from Mackrides.

The 16-team NCAA Championship bracket will be announced today (9 p.m.) on ESPNU.

BaseballMichigan State shuts down Nittany LionsEAST LANSING, Mich. — Penn State was held to one run for the second consecutive day as Michigan State dumped the Nittany Lions 9-1 on Saturday.

Penn State catcher Ben Heath had two hits, an RBI and threw out three Spartan runners trying to steal second base. Rick Marlin reached base in all four at-bats, with two walks and two hits for the Nittany Lions, who lost their seventh straight conference game.

Mike Lorentson took the loss. He let up two earned runs in 21⁄3 innings.

AJ Achter pitched eight innings and did not allow an earned run while collecting five strikeouts on 128 pitches for Michigan State.

Penn State scored its only run in the eighth inning. Jordan Steranka reached on an error and Heath brought him home with a single.

The teams finish their three-game series today at 1 p.m.

SoftballPenn State splits with IndianaUNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State split a doubleheader with the Hoosiers Saturday, falling 4-3 in the first game before explosive hitting propelled the Nittany Lions to a 9-1 victory in the nightcap.

Shana Madura went 4-for-6 on the day while Danielle Kinley and Danee Collett each added a home run for Penn State (19-25, 7-11 Big Ten).

Jennifer Glueckert had a two-run double in the third inning and added an RBI triple in the fifth to key the Hoosiers (10-37, 4-14) in the opener.

Jackie Hill (13-10) struck out seven in the loss.

Madura went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and Kinley knocked in two runs on two hits to key the Nittany Lions in the second game. Penn State recorded a season-high 15 hits.

Winning pitcher Lisa Akamine had two hits and an RBI. She struck out five in picking up her sixth win of the season.