Penn State baseball (18-11, 1-5 Big Ten) defeated West Virginia (23-10, 3-3 Big 12) on Tuesday night with an 11-6 victory.

An inside-the-park grand slam from Kyle Hannon marked the high point of the night as the Nittany Lions overcame a five-run deficit.

How It Happened

West Virginia got on the board early in the first inning. The Mountaineers’ first batter, J.J. Wetherholt, reached second base on a ground-rule double and made it home on poor fielding from Penn State on the next batter. However, Penn State avoided any further damage with a double-play and a ground-out.

The Mountaineers earned another run in the second inning when Braden Barry made his way around the bases with help from Sam White and Logan Sauve. White was later tagged out at second base, but Sauve reached home on a wild pitch soon after.

Penn State ran into trouble again in the third inning, when Ben DeMell loaded the bases after hitting two batters and allowing a single. DeMell allowed just one run, but he was pulled for reliever Ryan Partridge after two outs. Partridge closed out the inning with a strikeout, but the Nittany Lions were down 4-0.

Penn State gave up another run in the fourth inning, as Sauve reached home for a second time. The Nittany Lions almost gave up a sixth run, but an impressive diving grab from Tayven Kelley secured the final out of the inning.

Tayven Kelley goes a loooooong way to make this snag!

Bramley leads off the Bottom 4th.

M4 | PSU 0, WVU 5#WeAre pic.twitter.com/MwwpRJfFA4

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) April 11, 2023

Penn State got its first run on the board in the fourth inning when Bobby Marsh knocked a double down the right foul line, allowing Thomas Bramley to trot home. Billy Gerlott had a chance to add to the total but struck out looking on a full count.

West Virginia recorded its sixth run in the sixth inning after a triple from Tevin Tucker was followed by a deep sacrifice fly by Wetherholt to send Tucker home. While Penn State avoided giving up any more runs, it was trailing still 6-1.

The Nittany Lions had a chance to turn the game around when West Virginia’s Keegan Allen loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the sixth. The Mountaineers replaced Seigel for Noah Short, but Short gave up two runs before securing an out.

When Short loaded the bases again after hitting Gerlott on a pitch, he was pulled for Cole Fehrman. Ferhman proceeded to walk the first batter he faced in Ben Kailher, which allowed Spiegel to score. Ferhman was then pulled for David Hagaman.

Hagaman recorded one out, but then disaster struck for West Virginia. Kyle Hannon dinked a ball down the right foul line, but Hagaman fumbled the ball in the toss to first base. Two runners scored as Hannon touched first, and another wild throw allowed Kailher to go home. Hannon kept running and initially stopped at third base, but the throw that allowed Kailher to reach home let Hannon get home for a grand slam. When the inning ended, Penn State held an 8-6 lead.

LITTLE LEAGUE HOMER!!! Kyle Hannon with a grounder down the right line and errors bring home everyone!

B6 | PSU 8, WVU 6#WeAre pic.twitter.com/8QWNIFkeOu

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) April 12, 2023

Penn State wasn’t done scoring. Jay Harry hit a moon shot in the seventh inning for a solo home run, and the Nittany Lions had a chance to keep going with two runners in scoring position late in the inning. A hit from Tyson Cooper dropped over third base sent both Gerlott and Marsh home for an 11-6 lead.

Those last two scores closed out the game for Penn State and the Nittany Lions left the night with an 11-6 win.

Takeaways:

• What a game for Thomas Bramley. He may have ended Penn State’s run in the sixth inning, but the catcher was most of the Nittany Lions’ offense before then. Bramley went 3-3 on his first at-bats and scored two runs on the day.
• What else can you say about that sixth inning that isn’t just: wow. It was clear that Penn State was heating up, but a seven-run inning was just incredible for the Nittany Lions.
• Medlar Field at Lubrano Park has a 10/10 atmosphere. The crowd, which was the biggest of the season thus far, was electric in the bottom of the sixth inning. Baseball isn’t always described as the most exciting sport, but try telling that to this crowd after Kyle Hannon’s grand slam.

What’s Next?

Penn State will hit the road over the weekend to take on Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana. The first game will be played at 6 p.m. on Friday, April 14, and can be streamed on BTN+.