Today in Penn State sports: April 4, 2017

A roundup of all the Penn State sports and athletics happenings from April 4, 2017:

Pitt rallies to beat PSU

Penn State got another solid outing from pitcher Schuyler Bates on Tuesday, but the Nittany Lions couldn’t get him the win in a 3-2 loss to Pittsburgh.

Bates went through six innings, giving up just one run on three hits.

Penn State’s offense responded well by giving Bates a 2-1 lead. Thanks to back-to-back solo home runs from Christian Helsel and Jordan Bowersox in the top of the fifth inning, the Nittany Lions just needed to close things out.

The Panthers weren’t deterred.

In the seventh inning, Pitt opened with a single from Nick Banman, who then moved to third on a Manny Pazos double. Alex Amos followed with a grounder to the shortstop, scoring Banman — but Pazos also scored on the play thanks to a Penn State throwing error from first baseman Ryan Sloniger.

The Panthers closed things out easily as the Nittany Lions collected just one hit over the final two frames.

Sabia, Kneese earn Big Ten awards

ROSEMONT, Ill. Fresh off claiming the first No. 1 ranking in program history, Penn State had Chris Sabia and Colby Kneese collect Big Ten honors.

Sabia was named the Defensive Player of the Week with Kneese collecting Specialist of the Week and Co-Freshman of the Week.

Sabia, a sophomore defender, forced a game-high three turnovers in the Nittany Lions’ 9-4 win over Ohio State. He helped lead the defense that gave up just four goals on 35 shots.

Kneese, a freshman goalie, tallied 13 saves in the win over the Buckeyes. The four goals he allowed was the lowest for Penn State since 2014 — an 8-1 win over Townson.

The Nittany Lions travel to Maryland in a top-10 tilt against the No. 6 Terrapins on Saturday.

PSU hosting coaches training session

UNIVERSITY PARK Both the Penn State men’s and women’s soccer team will host a training session on April 13 open to coaches as part of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s (NSCAA) Open Training Week.

The Nittany Lions will be part of more than 200 college and professional programs hosting these sessions for coaches. The sessions are free to attend, and coaches do not have to be a part of the NSCAA. Coaches attending who are not a part of the NSCAA will receive a free six-month trial membership.

The men’s session will take place from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. and the women’s portion will be from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. at the Penn State soccer fields.

To attend, register with the NSCAA website and contact Penn State soccer to confirm. For more information regarding the men’s training session, contact Owen Griffith at omg5007@psu.edu and, for the women’s session, contact Kara Lowery at kdl163@psu.edu.

Carter honored by conference

ROSEMONT, Ill. The Big Ten released its weekly awards, and Penn State’s Madison Carter was selected as the Co-Offensive Player of the Week.

Carter claimed her third Offensive Player of the Week award this season as she shared the honor with Maryland’s Zoe Stukenberg.

The Nittany Lions’ sophomore tallied eight goals and 11 points in two games. Carter had three goals and two assists in a win over Drexel; she also tallied five goals and another assist over Big Ten foe Ohio State.

Carter leads the Big Ten with 48 goals.

Nugent earns national weekly award

LEXINGTON, Ky. After a big week personally in leading Penn State to three victories, Chris Nugent was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s National Player of the Week for Divisions I and II.

The award is the second in Nugent’s career, and he is the 17th Nittany Lion to pick up a weekly honor from the AVCA. He was honored after the Nittany Lions scored a 3-2 upset over then-No. 1 Ohio State, a 3-2 triumph over Princeton and a 3-1 win against NJIT.

The senior outside hitter averaged 3.21 kills per set on .430 hitting and totaled 23 digs, eight blocks and four aces. He registered a match-high 19 kills on .515 hitting to beat the defending national champion Buckeyes, added 14 kills on .346 hitting against the Tigers and 12 kills on .407 hitting against the Highlanders.

No. 12 Penn State visits Sacred Heart on Friday.

This story was originally published April 4, 2017 at 10:19 PM with the headline "Today in Penn State sports: April 4, 2017."