UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State had a rare double dose of triple plays against Michigan State on Friday.
The Nittany Lions became the second team in NCAA Division I history to turn two triple plays in one game, performing the feat in the fourth and eighth innings of a 4-2 loss to Michigan State in the opener of a doubleheader.
The only other school to do it was Gonzaga in 2006 against Washington State. It has happened only once in the major leagues: by Minnesota in 1990 against Boston.
In the fourth inning and runners on first and second, shortstop Jim Haley caught Blaise Salter's liner, stepped on second and then threw to first for a 6-3 triple play. With runners again on first and second in the eighth, Jimmy Pickens lined out to second baseman Taylor Skerpon, who started a 4-6-3 triple play — Penn State's third of the season.
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