By Anthony Fiset and James Turchick

Penn State baseball (6-9) had a five-game homestand starting Saturday against the New Jersey Institute of Technology with a three-game set. The NJIT Highlanders (8-7) couldn’t keep up with the Nittany Lions in the doubleheader on Saturday, but rebounded to grab a win in the final meeting on Sunday.

How It Happened

Game One

Penn State’s offense got early production in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader. After striking out the first two Nittany Lions he faced in the bottom of the first, NJIT pitcher Sean Lubreski loaded the bases on two walks and a hit by pitch. Mason Nadeau capitalized with an RBI single through the right side. Connor Klemann scored before Shea Sbranti was gunned down trying to score from second to end the inning. Penn State built on its early lead in the bottom of the third when Sbranti launched an RBI triple over the center fielder’s head to extend the lead to two.

The Highlanders scored their first run of the day on a sacrifice fly to deep right center field, reducing the lead to 2-1. Jordan Bowersox and Ryan Sloniger set the table for the Nittany Lions in the bottom of the fifth, as the offense combined for two runs on three hits to extend the lead to 4-1. NJIT retaliated in the top of the sixth inning on a two-out, two-RBI single by Pietronico. Justin Hagenman struck out his sixth of the day to strand a runner at third and escape the inning with the lead intact.

Rob Cooper turned the ball over to his bullpen, and it delivered down the stretch. Marko Boricich dealt a scoreless seventh before Mason Mellott shut the door in the eighth and ninth, earning his third save of the young season.

Game Two

After defeating NJIT in the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday, the Nittany Lions hoped to keep things rolling in their second matchup against the Highlanders. Shea Sbranti got Penn State on the board early in the first inning with an RBI single that brought Ryan Sloniger home. It didn’t take long for NJIT to answer,3 with a Paul Franzoni RBI fly out that brought in Jesse Uttendorfer in the top of the second. Penn State got their chance to tally another run in the bottom of the same inning, with Curtis Robison doubling to center field and driving in Conlin Hughes.

Penn State maintained a 2-1 lead until the top of the fourth inning, when a double play allowed Uttendorfer to advance home and tie up the ball game. The game remained a draw until the Nittany Lions put up two runs in the bottom of the sixth, with a Mason Nadeau double that brought in infielder Braxton Giavedoni. Nadeau subsequently scored on a Hughes fly out. The Highlanders deficit stayed at two until a solo home run was hit in the top of the eighth by Uttendorfer. There was no hesitation from Penn State to get that run back though, as a Logan Goodnight double allowed Robison to score, making it a 5-3 game.

This ended up being the final score of the ball game, with no action happening in the ninth for the Highlanders, giving the Nittany Lions a 2-0 record in the series so far.

Game Three

Penn State’s leading three batters struck out at the hands of NJIT’s Tyler Stafflinger to start Sunday’s game and set the tone for 19 consecutively retired batters. The game’s first action happened in the fourth inning, when NJIT’s Evan Pietronico singled to right field. Jordan Bowersox led Penn State into the bottom of the fourth as Penn State returned to the top of the order with no hits yet for the day, but plenty of foul balls and flyouts.

The Nittany Lions remained hitless until designated hitter Mason Nadeau doubled off a ground ball that slipped past NJIT’s second baseman Tom Brady in the bottom of the fifth inning. Following Nadeau, Stafflinger walked Penn State second baseman Conlin Hughes. Despite an attempted double-steal by Nadeau and Hughes, Stafflinger walked right fielder Curtis Robison to load the bases for shortstop Logan Goodnight. Another walk by Stafflinger brought in the first score of the day with Nadeau walking over home plate. Jordan Bowersox’s third strikeout of the day stranded the remaining three men on base and sent the game into the sixth inning.

After the Lions put away the Highlanders in the top of the sixth, Connor Kleeman homered to give the Lions a 2-0 lead. Braxton Giavedoni became the next Nittany Lion to reach base after being walked and stealing second, but a strikeout by Nadeau ended the sixth inning. Penn State’s Dante Biasi finished his day pitching with seven strikeouts through six innings and was replaced by Marko Borocich.

Three Highlanders got on base against Borocich. After he hit NJIT’s Tom Brady, a run walked home bringing the score to 2-1 with bases still loaded. The seventh inning saw a defensive meltdown for the Lions, when a single by Michael Anastasia brought in two runs to give the Highlanders their first lead of the game at 3-2. Evan Pietronico singled to left field and drove in the remaining two Highlanders on base, bringing the score to 5-2. After another two RBI singles, two Highlanders were pushed home and brought the lead to 7-2.

Conlin Hughes led off for the Lions in the seventh inning and tripled to right field. After two more players made it to base, Ryan Sloniger hit a gland slam to bring the score to 7-6 in NJIT’s favor. NJIT held onto the lead however, and won the game 8-6.

Player of the Series

Shea Sbranti | Junior | First Baseman

Sbranti had a decent weekend against NJIT, going 3 for 11 with all of his hits being RBIs. One was a standup triple, making him an impact player in the first two games of the series.

What’s Next

Penn State takes on Bucknell Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and faces Pittsburgh Wednesday at the same time. Both games will be held at Medlar Field.