Penn State baseball (10-13) had a home clash Wednesday night against Cornell (9-5) for its last game before the start of Big Ten play. Coming off a four-game series split against Columbia, the Diamond Lions tallied 12 hits to take down the Big Red for a 8-2 victory in their lone game of the midweek after Tuesday’s matchup with Binghamton was canceled.

How It Happened

Penn State got going right in the bottom of the first inning when Jordan Bowersox singled home Conlin Hughes to give the Nittany Lions an early 1-0 lead.

With Schuyler Bates dealing on the mound tonight, Penn State was able to tack on a few more runs in the fourth inning when Alex Malinsky doubled down the left field line to drive in two runs. Logan Goodnight followed that at-bat with a sacrifice fly to deep left to bring home Christian Helsel, making it a 4-0 game after four innings of play.

Bates finished his first start of season on the mound after tossing a strong five innings, allowing only two hits while striking out three Cornell batters.

Cornell would finally get on the board in the seventh inning after a wild pitch by Penn State’s Dakota Forsyth. The Big Red followed that up with a sacrifice fly of their own off the bat of Kaleb Lepper to give them two runs in the inning to make it a 4-2 Nittany Lion advantage midway through the seventh inning.

The Nittany Lions got a few insurance runs in the bottom halves of the seventh and eighth innings to put this game away. Helsel drove in Bowersox after a double down the left field line. In Penn State’s next at-bat, Malinsky hit a single to center field to score another run. The Nittany Lions led the game 6-2 after the seventh.

Penn State put the nail in the coffin in the eighth inning when a Helsel single to left field plated two runs for Penn State, giving it an 8-2 advantage. Cole Bartels came into the ballgame to close things out in the ninth, shutting down Cornell during that final frame to give Penn State an 8-2 victory.

Player Of The Game

Alex Malinsky | Catcher | Senior

The senior from Apex, NC had a career night at the plate and on the bases in Penn State’s win over Cornell. Malinsky drove home three runs on three hits, which are both career highs. Two of his hits were good for doubles and the catcher also stole his second career base in the outing.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions open the conference slate in Ann Arbor for a three-game series against Michigan starting on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. Saturday’s game is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. while Sunday’s contest will begin at 1 p.m.