Penn State baseball (11-18) followed up Friday’s nail-biting victory over Michigan State (12-19) with a complete and utter slaughtering of the Spartans Saturday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

The final score of 27-4 tells you the story. From the get-go, there wasn’t a moment where it seemed like the Nittany Lions were going to lose this one.

How It Happened

Trent Farquhar led off the game with a double, and it appeared as if Michigan State was going to strike quick and early. That couldn’t be further from the truth, as Penn State would explode in the bottom half of the first for 10 runs.

The Nittany Lions had Michigan State starter Nick Powers rattled early. To lead off the game, Gavin Homer fought off a tough full count to be hit by a pitch, and Matt Wood followed it up by ripping a single into center. Justin Williams forced a walk, Johnny Piacentino smoked a double into left field, and Curtis Robison walked as well, putting up Penn State’s first runs of the game, loading the bases and prompting a mound visit.

Up 2-0, head coach Jake Boss must’ve foreseen what was coming next. But even with the pitching change, nothing seemed to phase the Nittany Lions.

Burrell Jones entered the game, but it wouldn’t matter as Penn State pushed across two more runs via a Parker Hendershot base hit. Piacentino and Williams scored, putting the score at 4-0.

Next up, Cole Bartels would get in on the action, squaring up on the first pitch he saw and slicing it into right field, scoring Robison. The ensuing at bat, Jay Harry fought off seven foul balls during a 12-pitch at bat, ultimately destroying a ball off of the right field wall, knocking in Hendershot to make the score 6-0.

The Nittany Lions batted through the order, yet were only halfway done on the scoreboard. Homer stepped inside the batters box again, and smoked a double into right field scoring Harry and Bartels. Williams followed that up with a base hit through the right side, scoring Homer and bringing up Piacentino for a second time.

Piacentino would record his second hit of the inning on a base hit to right center, moving Williams to third and prompting yet another pitching change for the Spartans. Jordan Beatson would take the mound to face Robison, who saw the first pitch in the dirt go past the catcher to score Williams.

The Nittany Lions poured it on the Spartans in the top of the first, scoring 10 runs on eight hits.

Michigan State hit the ball hard in the top of the second and had a couple of base runners, but still weren’t able to get on the board. The top of the third saw Piacentino flash the leather in center field, voiding any potential damage Michigan State could’ve done.

Penn State scored one in the bottom of the second on a fielder’s choice throwing error, but it was the bottom of the third where the Nittany Lions would really begin to pour it on.

Williams, Piacentino and Josh Speigel would each record a single to initiate the inning, setting up a Robison nuke over the right field wall to give the Nittany Lions their highest run total of the year, and a 15-0 lead in just the third inning. Robison’s homer also guaranteed that every single Nittany Lions starter would record a hit in the game.

It didn’t stop there, however as Hendershot and Bartels both got singles of their own to drop and Jay Harry followed in Robison’s footsteps by crushing another bomb to right, registering 3 RBI’s and putting the Nittany Lions up 18-0.

Both teams continued to hit the ball hard and put the ball in play, however no damage was done until the Nittany Lions would strike again in the bottom of the sixth.

After Harry and Ben Kailher reached on an error in the infield to kick off the inning, the Spartans recorded two quick outs and appeared to have mitigated the damage. Piacentino had other plans, however as he smacked a double scoring both baserunners.

Tyson Cooper got involved in the offensive attack with a double into right scoring Piacentino. Cooper would then cross later in the inning thanks to a bases loaded walk, and Harry would tack on one final run with a base hit to right field scoring Robison to extend the Nittany Lions’ lead to 23-0.

In the top of the seventh, Michigan State would erase that zero on the scoreboard due to a miscommunication amongst Penn State’s defense. An Adam Proctor pop-fly fell in-between three defenders and two Spartans crossed home plate making the score 23-2.

Penn State would get those runs back right away in the bottom half of the inning. A lead off Wood walk and proceeding Williams single would allow Piacentino to continue his monstrous afternoon. The freshman came up inches short of the wall, but was still able to plate Wood for another Penn State run. A series of walks and fielder’s choices allowed the Nittany Lions to score two more, making it three in the inning and 26-2 heading into the eighth.

Penn State added one final run to to its cushion in the bottom of the ninth on a ball that got away from the catcher. Michigan State brought two all the way around the bases in the bottom of the ninth, but it wouldn’t matter as Farquhar struck out to end the inning and the game.

Takeaways

• Penn State came to play, to say the least. It was an offensive onslaught from the outset. The Nittany Lions began the game scorching hot, plating 10 runs in the first inning, seven in the third, and finished the game with a total of 27 on 22 hits. Yes, 27. The Nittany Lions set a program record for runs scored against a Big Ten team, and came up just one run short against the overall record. It’s the biggest run-total the Nittany Lions have seen all year (scored or surrendered) and by far the largest margin of victory as well. This was Penn State’s most impressive and commanding victory of the season, without a question.
• It was a pretty flawless game put together by Penn State on both ends. Aside from two errors, Penn State played a game that was pretty close to perfect. All but two Nittany Lions that were sent to the plate recorded a hit, and every single one reached base at least once.
• In a 27-run outing, there are going to be some standout performers. Today, it was the freshman sensation Johnny Piacentino, who went 5-6, with three doubles, four runs and five RBI’s. Fellow freshman Jay Harry had a superb outing as well, going 3-4 with a three-run home run, four runs and six RBI’s.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions return to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park at noon Sunday. Rob Cooper’s squad will seek to build off of today’s historic performance and complete the sweep of the Spartans.