Penn State baseball (20-21) defeated Omaha (19-21) 4-3 in a home matchup at Medar Field at Lubrano Park Saturday night.

Jay Harry and Matt Wood each had two RBI’s, as Tyler Shingledecker pitched three shutout innings to secure the Nittany Lions’ victory.

How It Happened

The first inning was relatively quiet, as neither team recorded a hit due to some solid pitching. After another quiet inning, the Nittany Lions struck first in the third inning, as infielder Jay Harry hit a single to give Penn State a 1-0. Matt Wood followed that up with a two-run single of his own to right field, bringing into runs to extend Penn State’s lead to 3-0.

Omaha had a chance in the top of the fourth inning, as the Mavericks had a runner in scoring position with two outs, but Steven Miller, who replaced Shindledeck in the inning, got the final out to keep Omaha scoreless.

The Mavericks then exploded after a quiet fifth inning from both teams. Will Hanafan started the scoring, as he launched a sacrifice single to score one run, and Jack Lombardi followed that up with a two-run single to right field to tie the game at 3-3.

However, the Nittany Lions responded in the seventh inning. Jay Harry hit a single through the right side to bring Derek Cease across home plate, giving Penn State a slim 4-3 lead on his second RBI of the game. Penn State later had a chance to further extend its lead in the bottom of the seventh inning with two runners on base, but first baseman Josh Spiegel left them stranded with an infield fly-out.

The rest of the game was relatively uneventful, as Omaha couldn’t record a hit throughout the rest of the contest, sealing a 4-3 win for Penn State.

Takeaways

• Jay Harry had one of his best games of the season tonight. Recording two hits, two RBI’s, and one run in three at-bats, Harry had himself a game and was pivotal in Penn State’s victory.
• Besides a shaky sixth inning by Steven Miller and Mason Mellot, the Nittany Lions had solid pitching tonight, an area that has plagued them all season. Singledeck and Jordan Morales combined for six innings pitched while giving up only one hit.
• Matt Wood also had himself a game tonight, as he had two RBI’s along with Harry. Wood still leads the team in batting average (.415), hits (59), and RBI’s (37) after tonight’s victory.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions will close out its three-game home set with Omaha at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 1, at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The game can be streamed on BTN+.