Penn State Baseball closed out its season in West Lafayette against the Purdue Boilermakers, but the series was as anticlimactic as one could be. Purdue won the first game of the series 8-2 on Thursday, then the next night’s game was pushed back a day due to inclement weather. Purdue won the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader 7-3, then the second game ended early due once again to inclement weather. Penn State ends the season with an 18-30 record (6-16 in the Big Ten).

How It Happened

Nick Hedge started on the mound for Penn State in game one, but his appearance wasn’t as successful as he’d have hoped. The left-hander was charged with six runs (five earned), and had two walks to go along with three strikeouts. Rightfielder Aaron Novak and pinch hitter J.J. White had the Lions’ only two RBIs, while Brandon Krieg, Kyle Johnson, and Kyle Wood had two each for the Boilermakers.

Friday night came and went as the two teams had an unexpected night off, thanks to lightning in the area and heavy rain on the field. The game was moved back to Saturday morning, and for the second game in a row, Purdue’s bats were hot and Penn State’s were not. The Nittany Lions led 3-0 after four innings, thanks in part to second baseman Taylor Skerpon’s three runs and a strong performance on the mound from starting pitcher Taylor Lehman. Lehman was pulled after six and two-thirds innings however, and when Jack Anderson took over, Purdue’s bats woke up. Penn State went through three more pitchers after Anderson as Purdue scored seven straight runs to win game two, 7-3.

That afternoon, Purdue scored three runs in the first three innings, but Penn State scored four in the top of the fourth. The comeback was for naught, however, as the skies opened up once again, the game was canceled, and the teams’ seasons ended with neither winning the last game.

Player Of The Series

J.J. White’s two-hit game Saturday morning was his team’s only multi-hit game of the weekend, and he contributed to the scoreboard with an RBI on Thursday as well as a run on Saturday. Pitcher Taylor Lehman also had a solid game on Saturday, as his only appearance of the series saw him allow four hits and one earned run through six and two-thirds innings.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions’ season comes to an end, but head coach Rob Cooper will wrap up the season on “The Inside Pitch With Rob Cooper,” which will air on Monday at 6 p.m. on State College’s ESPN Radio 1450 and GoPSUsports.com.