Penn State baseball (16-12, 4-5 Big Ten) dominated Northwestern (10-18, 0-6 Big Ten) 15-1 on Sunday afternoon at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

The game ended via the mercy rule in the seventh inning. Penn State’s offense exploded while the pitching held it down to complete the series sweep.

How It Happened

Frankie Sanchez cruised through the first inning by getting the top of the order out. Bobby Marsh doubled to center field and tagged up to reach third the next at-bat. However, Adam Cecere struck out to strand him at third base.

Vince Bianchina singled, but a three-four-three double play ended Northwestern’s hopes of scoring in the second inning. Grant Norris and Matt Maloney each got on base. Bryce Molinaro drove Norris home with an RBI single to give Penn State a 1-0 lead. Then, Tayven Kelley followed suit with another RBI single to score Maloney, making it 2-0. Bobby Marsh kept it going with another single, scoring Molinaro and sending Kelley to third. The second inning ended with the Nittany Lions up 3-0.

Preston Knott got the Wildcats on the board in the third inning. With two runners on base, he doubled to score one to make it 3-1.

Molinaro homered in the bottom of the fourth inning to make it 4-1 Penn State. Kyle Hannon tripled and Kelley scored, and the Nittany Lions took a commanding 5-1 lead. Joe Jaconski reached base on an error by Owen McElfatrick, and Hannon capitalized on the opportunity and scored to make it 6-1.

Luke Benneche struggled on the mound for the Wildcats in the fifth inning. He loaded the bases with three consecutive walks, and proceeded to give up four runs. The first was a walk, the second came after he plunked Bobby Marsh, and the next two came off an RBI single from Adam Cecere to extend the lead to 10-1.

Kellen Pate replaced Benneche in the sixth inning, but it wasn’t any easier. He loaded the bases and was swiftly replaced by Peter Michael. He walked in a run before facing Jaconski. Jaconski hit it deep to right field and over the wall for a grand slam, giving Penn State a whopping 15-1 lead.

The sixth was the game’s last full inning. The Nittany Lions got through the top of the seventh with ease, and the mercy rule was applied to end the game before the seventh-inning stretch, giving Penn State a 15-1 win and its first Big Ten series sweep of the season.

Takeaways

• Sanchez had an impressive outing. Through six innings, he allowed just one run and struck out a batter. He’s continuing to trend upward for Penn State.
• Marsh had a nice day with three hits. He’s continued to prove to be a valuable asset to the Nittany Lions’ offense.
• A whopping 35 runs were scored by Penn State this weekend. It’s an encouraging sign that this team is getting back on track following a rough last couple of weeks.

What’s Next

Penn State hosts Lehigh at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9, at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. It’ll be broadcast on BTN+.