Penn State baseball (11-19) returned home to Medlar Field this weekend for a three-game series against the Ohio State Buckeyes (14-17).

Penn State snapped its four-game losing streak on Saturday, downing the Buckeyes 6-2. After Friday’s game was postponed due to snow showers, the teams set up a double-header for Sunday afternoon. Neither ended in the Nittany Lions’ favor as they lost by scores of 5-2 and 11-2, respectively.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions started off the series with an impressive win against Ohio State to earn their first Big Ten victory of the season. Sal Biasi got the start and pitched a gem from the mound. The junior went 6 and 2/3 innings allowing only three hits and one unearned run while striking out nine Buckeye batters.

Penn State did most of its damage in the second and third innings of this game, topped by a Ryan Sloniger triple in the third that brought home two runs. The Diamond Lions would tack on two insurance runs in the sixth inning en route to a 6-2 victory in game one of the series.

The double-header on Sunday wasn’t as friendly to the Nittany Lions as the first game, as Penn State was outscored 16-4 in a pair of losses.

Justin Hagenman performed phenomenally on the mound for Penn State in the first game Sunday. The sophomore pitcher went eight full innings allowing only one run and set the Nittany Lions up in a perfect position to win.

Eric Mock relieved Hagenman in the ninth, hoping to complete the save for Penn State. However, the Buckeyes had other intentions as Bo Coolen immediately hit a home run to tie the game 2-2. Mock gave up three additional runs in the inning and Penn State eventually fell to Ohio State 5-2.

In the final game of the series, Penn State jumped to a quick 1-0 lead after a Conlin Hughes home run in the first inning. The lead was short-lived, as Ohio State scored two runs in the top of the second inning and didn’t look back.

The Nittany Lions committed four errors as the Buckeyes piled on the runs leading to an Ohio State 11-2 win to clinch the series victory for the Buckeyes.

Player Of The Series

Justin Hagenman | Pitcher | Sophomore

Although Hagenman didn’t clinch a win when he got the start for the first game of the double-header, he undoubtedly marked the best performance of the weekend. The sophomore pitched eight innings, only allowing one Ohio State runner to score. He struck eight batters as he secured the best position possible for the Nittany Lions.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions are back in action Monday against Binghamton at Medlar Field at 6:30 p.m. Penn State will take the field again Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. against Bucknell, finishing off a streak of five games in four consecutive days.