Today in Penn State sports: April 8, 2017

A roundup of Penn State sports from April 8, 2017:

Penn State uses 2nd-half rally to beat Virginia

Senior goalie Cat Rainone put on a show for Senior Day with a career-high 14 saves as the No. 5 Penn State women’s lacrosse team knocked off No. 15 Virginia 12-8 Saturday in front of a record 922 at the Penn State Lacrosse Field.

A big second half propelled the Nittany Lions (13-1) as they rallied from a 6-4 halftime deficit.

Katie O’Donell paced the offense with four goals while Abby Smucker had two goals and two assists. Kayla Brisolari also scored twice while one goal each came from Maggie Gallagher, Steph Lazo, Kelly Daggett and Madison Carter. The goal for Carter extended her goal-scoring streak to 21 games. Gallagher and Taylor Bleistein added assists.

Maggie Jackson, Avery Shoemaker and Kasey Behr each scored twice for the Cavaliers.

Penn State heads to Northwestern on Thursday.

Biasi shines on mound as Nittany Lions drop Buckeyes

UNIVERSITY PARK Sal Biasi delivered a strong performance on the mound Saturday afternoon as Penn State beat Ohio State 6-2 at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

Biasi struck out nine while allowing three hits, three walks and an unearned run over 6 2/3 innings as the Nittany Lions (11-17, 1-3) earned their first Big Ten win and ended a four-game losing streak.

Christian Helsel was 2 for 4, Braxton Giavedoni was 3 for 4 with a double, Ryan Sloniger belted a two-run triple and Joe Weisenseel was 2 for 3 with an RBI for Penn State in a game that drew 1,614 fans.

Ohio State’s Dominic Canzone hit a solo homer and drove in both Buckeye runs.

The teams close the series with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Lions, Spartans split doubleheader

YPSILANTI, Mich. Penn State beat Michigan State 7-3 in the first game of a doubleheader before the Spartans took the second contest 11-3 in five innings.

Tori Dubois led the Nittany Lion offense with five hits, three runs and three RBIs and Rebecca Ziegler picked up doubles in both games, while Kaitlyn Eveland led the Spartans with four hits, two home runs, four RBIs and a pair of runs.

Shelby Miller drilled a three-run home run in the opening game while Dubois ripped a solo shot.

Toni Polk had a two-run single in the nightcap while the Spartans took advantage of seven walks by Penn State pitchers.

The teams close their series Sunday.

Lions bounce back to blank Crimson

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Penn State put up a big block and rebounded from a tough loss the night before to beat Harvard 25-22, 25-20, 25-21 Saturday night.

The No. 12 Nittany Lions, who were beaten by Sacred Heart for the second time this season on Friday, posted a 10.5-4 advantage in blocks, hitting .349 while holding the Crimson to .253 hitting. Luke Braswell directed the offense with his 35 assists.

Cal Mende’s 14 kills on .462 hitting led the Nittany Lions (17-10, 9-3) while Chris Nugent added nine kills and eight digs. Braswell, Kevin Gear and Matt Callaway each had four blocks and Royce Clemens picked up 10 digs.

Riley Moore’s nine kills led the Crimson.

Penn State returns home to close the regular season next weekend, hosting Charleston and George Mason.

PSU has strong day at LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. Penn State posted plenty of top-three finishes at the Battle on the Bayou at Louisiana State on Saturday.

Wins were earned by Danae Rivers in the 800 meters in 2:04.99; Megan McCloskey in the high jump at 5 feet, 11 1/2 inches; Kelsey Vieria in the triple jump; Stephanie Sievers in the javelin at 159-9 and Michael Shuey in the men’s javelin at 238-3.

Isaiah Harris took second in the 1,500, Hannah Mulhern and Lexi Masterson were 2-3 in the pole vault; Madeline Holmberg was second in the long jump; Olivia Giambra was second in the women’s triple jump while State College’s Bryce Williams and Darian Alston were 2-3 on the men’s side; Jon Yohman was second in the shot put while Alyssa Robinson was third; Obeng Marfo was third in the discus and David Lucas was second on the men’s side; Morgan Shingo and David Lucas were 2-3 in the hammer throw; Kayla Zoschg was second in the women’s javelin while the men saw Ryan Kerr and Michael Biddle take second and third, respectively.

Also, the 400 relay team of Karson Kowalchuk, Dan Chisena, Xavier Smith and Malik Moffett finished second, and State College’s Victoria Crawford placed fourth in the 1,500.

Penn State next competes at Bucknell on Friday and Saturday.

Ohio State wins Big Ten title

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Ohio State captured the team title at the Big Ten Championships on Friday night while Penn State was fourth.

The Buckeyes had 418.600 points and the Nittany Lions had 411.200. Five Nittany Lions qualified for event finals Saturday with Stephen Nedoroscik (pommel horse), Dominic DiFulvio (still rings), Sam Zakutney (parallel bars), Wyatt Tyndall (parallel bars and floor exercise) and Christian McSwain (floor exercise).

Purdue drops Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK Purdue beat Penn State 5-2 Friday at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center.

The lone Nittany Lion points were earned in singles by Aws Laaribi and Ben Lieb, while one doubles win was registered by Constant De La Bassetiere and Christian Lakoseljac.

This story was originally published April 8, 2017 at 10:43 PM with the headline "Today in Penn State sports: April 8, 2017."