Penn State baseball (14-8) overwhelmed Indiana (18-8) 7-2 on Saturday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

Dominant performances on the mound from Travis Luensmann and Jaden Henline highlighted the afternoon. Big home runs by Billy Gerlott and Tayven Kelley help the Nittany Lions secure their first Big Ten conference win on the season.

How It Happened

Jaden Henline began on the mound for Penn State. The Hoosiers put the pressure on Henline right away at the top of the first inning. A two-out triple by Devin Taylor and a single by Brock Tibbitts gave Indiana an early 1-0 lead.

The Nittany Lions tied it in the bottom of the second thanks to Billy Gerlott, who smashed his second home run of the year over the left-field wall.

Gerlott's homer in the 2nd!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/XIgRPQyTc9

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) April 1, 2023

Tibbitts gave Indiana the lead once again from an RBI double to left center. During the bottom half of the third, Tayven Kelley joined the home run parade himself, sending a pitch 440 feet over the left field wall to tie the game once again.

One run wasn’t enough as Kyle Hannon hit a double down the right-field line and Thomas Bramley’s infield single put runners on the corners. Jay Harry continued his hot streak with an RBI single through the right side. Johnny Piacentino’s groundout double play brought Bramley home to make the game 4-2.

Henline threw an impressive five innings for Penn State, allowing six hits, two runs, and two strikes.

The Nittany Lions added some insurance runs during the seventh inning as Piacentino ripped a single up the middle to make it 5-2. A stolen base by Piancentino put runners on second and third with two outs. Grant Norris brought in two more runs with an RBI single increasing the lead to five.

Travis Luensmann entered the game to relieve Henline and was a strikeout machine all afternoon. The junior right-hander allowed only two hits and no runs and recorded a season-high 11 strikeouts in only four innings of work to close out the game.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will play a new doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 2, at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The game can be streamed on BTN+.