Penn State baseball (10-17, 0-3 Big Ten) traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers (14-12, 6-6 ACC) in a non-conference matchup Tuesday night. Offense was hard to come by in this one as the teams combined for only five runs in the game. The Nittany Lions took the loss for the fourth consecutive outing, falling to Pitt by a score of 3-2. Schuyler Bates took the loss for Penn State pitching 6.1 innings while allowing three runs.

How It Happened

Pitt’s starting pitcher, Dan Hammer, came out of the game on fire for the Panthers — striking out four of the first six Nittany Lion batters to start the contest. In the top of the second, Nick Riotto got on base with a single, but was caught stealing second a batter later.

Penn State threatened in the top of third, but left two men on base when Conlin Hughes flew out to the end the inning. In the bottom of the frame, Pitt got on the board first after a sacrifice bunt brought home Alex Amos to make it a 1-0 game in favor of the Panthers.

Two innings later, Penn State found some life in the bats of Jordan Bowersox and Christian Helsel. In the top of the fifth, the duo hit back-to-back solo bombs to right field to give the Nittany Lions a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, Pitt regained the lead for good when an Amos groundout to the shortstop turned into two runs for the Panthers. An errant throw attempting to get the runner out at third resulted in the second run scored and Pitt found itself with 3-2 advantage late in the ballgame.

Riotto made a diving save in left field that ended the bottom of the eighth to prevent Pitt from tacking on any insurance runs. Ryan Sloniger led off the top of the ninth with a single to provide some hope for the Diamond Lions.

Pitt then brought in Isaac Mattson who shut the door and retired the final Penn State batters to end the game and give Pitt the 3-2 victory.

Player Of The Game

Alex Amos | Second Base | Freshman

The freshman was an integral part for sealing the victory for Pitt on Tuesday as he was involved with each run that the Panthers scored. The Winchester, VA native scored the first run of the game after safely reaching home plate on a sacrifice bunt. Then he drove in the tying run in the seventh, which turned into the go-ahead run thanks to a Penn State error.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions return home for a three-game weekend series against Ohio State at Medlar Field. Penn State will look to end its current four-game losing streak at 6:30 p.m. on Friday against the Buckeyes. Saturday’s game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. and Sunday’s game is set to begin at 3 p.m.