Penn State baseball (16-11, 1-5 Big Ten) defeated Delaware State (6-22, 2-10 MEAC) 9-2 Friday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. With this victory, the Nittany Lions won their first series since the home opener against Georgetown.

Jay Harry led the offense with three hits, and Grant Norris smacked his third home run of the season. Backing up the offense was junior right-hander Travis Luensmann who tossed 4.1 shutout innings to pick up the win for the Nittany Lions.

How It Happened

Jordan Morales was on the mound attempting to bounce back from last weekend’s poor performance against Indiana. Josh Spiegel hit a single in the bottom of the second, and Grant Norris blasted a two-run home run over the batter’s eye.

The runs weren’t done yet for Penn State. With runners on the corners, Kyle Hannon scored a run after an error by the Hornets’ second baseman. Jay Harry continued the inning with an RBI single and two runs, making the game 5-0 to start.

The Hornets got a run in their half of the third. A single and a walk by Brady Daniels and Myles Eaddy put two runners on for Delaware State. Evan Bouldin floated a single that scored Daniels from second to put the Hornets on the board.

In the bottom of the fourth, Penn State got the run back. Tayven Kelley led off the inning with a double to left center. Two batters later, Hannon drove in another run on an RBI single to right field making it a five-run lead once again.

Delaware State scored in the top of the fifth after a misthrow to first base by Morales, which brought home Jancarlos Colon 6-2. Travis Luensmann came in relief after the Morales error.

During the bottom half of the inning, Penn State grabbed two runs back. Harry led off the inning with a double down the right field and was brought home after a single by Spiegel up the middle. Gerlott came up three batters later and smacked a single up the middle to take an 8-2 lead.

Penn State extended its lead during the sixth inning. Hannon scored from third with a pass ball and bases loaded, extending the lead to seven.

Luensmann remained in the game after coming in for Morales. He tossed 4.1 shutout inning, picking up seven strikeouts. During the ninth, the junior shut the door for a comeback, winning the game 9-2.

Takeaways

• Jordan Morales had a bounce-back game after struggling the previous week versus Indiana. The senior left-hander tossed 4.2 innings, recording four strikeouts and only allowing two runs off four hits.
• Travis Luensmann looked unhittable once again. During his 4.1 innings of shutout baseball, he record seven strikeouts and allowed only one hit.
• Kyle Hannon reached base safely three times during the game. He also reached 20 stolen bases on the year, which puts him tied for sixth place for most steals in a season by a Nittany Lion. It’s also the first 20 stolen base season for Penn State since 2016.

What’s Next?

Penn State will finish the Delaware State series at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 8, at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.