Penn State baseball (7-2) was in Florida at the IMG Academy during the first weekend of spring break for a series against No. 21 Duke (9-2). The Nittany Lions lost two of three games, but pulled off an upset in the second game of the series.

An on-and-off mix of strong offense and good pitching for both teams proved to be the difference makers in each of the three games.

How It Happened

Game One

The first game was a wake-up call for Penn State, which had been cruising through its first six games of the year. Not only did the Blue Devils blow them out 14-0, the three pitchers for Duke combined for a no-hitter as the Nittany Lions whiff throughout the contest.

Pitching was the focus for the Blue Devils, with projected top 10 MLB draft pick Graeme Stinson opening the game with five strikeouts. Offense was also a strength as the Duke bats lit up an unprepared Penn State pitching staff. A nine-run seventh inning stunned a seemingly overconfident Nittany Lions squad. Two errors by the Penn State defense didn’t help, either.

The Nittany Lions’ bullpen did show some promise after the offensive onslaught of the seventh inning. Freshman Brendan Mullins got Penn State out of the inning, only allowing one other run. Fellow freshman Steven Miller pitched a spotless eighth and senior Blake Hodges struck out three and didn’t allow any extra runs to sneak through.

Game Two

The shock of being no-hit in game one seemed to give Penn State the kick in the butt it needed. In a tight game, Penn State was able to grind out an 8-7 win against the then-No. 21 team in the country.

Sophomore Kris Kremer was a big contributor to the win; he blasted his first career home run in the first inning and hit two other clutch dingers — including a two-run shot in the seventh that gave Penn State the victory.

Duke seemed to regain control with a two-run third inning, two-run fourth, and three-run fourth. But Kremer wouldn’t be denied a win, as his career day helped put through all the runs Penn State needed.

Mason Mellot got credited with the victory after starter Bailey Dees. Mellot looked solid in his 4.2 innings, only allowing hit four hits and a single run while striking out five other batters.

Game Three

The third game was a disappointment for Penn State. The Nittany Lions wasted a fantastic outing from starting pitcher Eric Mock, who struck out six and only let up two hits with no runs.

But while he kept a shutout going, Duke was playing tough by running up pitch counts and tiring out Mock. After his pitch count reached 100 by the sixth inning, the starting pitcher was replaced by Tyler Shingledecker, and this proved to be the Nittany Lions undoing.

The Penn State bullpen had been solid for most of the season so far, but it dropped the proverbial ball after Mock was taken out of the game. Penn State’s bats had only been able to get in two runs on top of Mock’s shutout. Kremer, the hero of game two, was held hitless on three at bats. Gavin Homer had a solo home run in the first and a triple from Parker Hendershot gave Penn State a 2-0 lead going into the seventh.

With a narrow lead to protect, Shingledecker couldn’t contain the hungry Duke offense. Shingledecker was taken right out after giving up three runs on two hits. Penn State’s bullpen was torched for seven more runs, including a seventh-inning grand slam, that handed them a 9-2 defeat.

Takeaways

• Mac Hippenhammer showed he can hit a baseball as well as he can catch a football, going 3-for-4 in his first start of the season and providing crucial batting in game three.
• The game one no-hitter from Duke was the team’s first in 64 years. Oof.
• Eric Mock continues to shine as Penn State’s ace. He’s started the season with a 1.31 earned-runs average and 21 strikeouts, good for third in the Big Ten.
• Penn State’s offense continues to be inconsistent and has now been outscored 45-39 so far this season. The group showed promise against a solid team in Duke, but it’ll have to keep swinging as the season progresses if the team will take advantage of solid pitching.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions will continue their spring break in Florida as they head to Orlando to take on UCF. The series will start at 6 p.m. March 8.