Penn State baseball (22-13, 4-7 Big Ten) took down Ohio State (20-19, 3-11 Big Ten) 7-2 after a rain delay Saturday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

Bobby Marsh and Thomas Bramley sealed the win with five runs in the seventh inning along with an impressive relief appearance by Travis Luensmann in the team’s first conference win of the season.

How It Happened

In the bottom of the second inning, Thomas Bramley led the inning with a double down the right-field line and Bobby Marsh brought in two batters by way of a double to left field.

Marsh made his way home after a Tayven Kelley single, but Kelley got thrown out at second trying to stretch the single into a double.

Jordan Morales opened the game with a solid three innings of work. The left-hander tossed a scoreless three innings, striking out three and didn’t allow any hits or walks. Travis Luensmann graced the mound in relief following Morales’ three innings.

Luensmann ran into trouble in the top of the fifth inning after a single and back-to-back walks. He fought back to pick up a huge strikeout but hit the leadoff hitter Trey Lipsey to force in a run to make it 2-1.

In the next inning, Ohio State scored again. A bad throw to first by Grant Norris allowed the runner to advance to third. A groundout to second base brought in a run to tie the game at two.

The Nittany Lions retook the lead thanks to a big seventh inning. Norris and Kelley led the inning with back-to-back strikeouts, but Billy Gerlott kept the inning alive with a walk. Kyle Hannon continued the rally with a single to left.

After a pitching change, Jay Harry walked to load the bases, and Josh Spiegel followed up with a walk of his own to bring in a run. Bramley stepped into the box and broke things open with a two-RBI single to right field.

The hits kept coming for Penn State. Johnny Piacentino smoked a single up the middle to score Spiegel, and Marsh hit followed up with a single to make it 7-2 Nittany Lions.

Luensmann hit his stride after giving up runs in back-to-back innings. He tossed two scoreless innings but was pulled in the ninth after two-straight walks to start the inning.

Steve Miller was called upon to close the door but hit the first batter he faced to load the bases. Miller worked back to get a pop-up for one out and a huge strikeout for his second out. He then closed the game thanks to a leaping catch by Gerlott to win the game 7-2.

Takeaways:

• While it scored seven runs in the game, Penn State’s offense was quiet for most of the game. It picked up an early two in the second inning and had a five-run rally in the seventh to retake the lead. However, the at-bats were lackluster in the other seven innings as it only managed to get three base runners in the innings where they did.
• Jordan Morales looked great during his three innings of work. The lefty struck out three batters and gave up no hits throughout his outing.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will attempt a sweep of the Buckeyes beginning at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 23, at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Folks can stream the game on BTN+.