Penn State baseball (23-23, 9-12 Big Ten) was demolished by Pitt (24-26, 8-19 ACC) 10-0 on Tuesday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Both teams had solid pitching until the seventh inning, when the Panthers exploded for eight runs. Penn State stranded the bases loaded in the eighth inning, and Pitt walked it off to mercy-rule the Nittany Lions in the bottom half of the inning.

How It Happened

JT Marr doubled to right field to kick things off. However, a lineout double play shut the door on any potential runs. James Lordi took the mound for his first career start and pitched a scoreless inning for the Nittany Lions, which included a strikeout.

Aidan Coleman, a freshman from San Antonio, Texas, remained solid in the second inning for the Panthers. He struck out Grant Norris en route to another scoreless frame.

Coleman struggled slightly with his command in the third inning. Marr hit another single for his 25th multi-hit game of the season, and he advanced to second base on a wild pitch right after. However, the game remained scoreless.

Lordi had also been strong, but the bottom of the third inning didn’t go as smoothly. He allowed two base runners, including one on a hit-by-pitch. That came back to bite Lordi, as CJ Funk hit an RBI single to score Dom Popa, making it 1-0.

Coleman fanned Bobby Marsh and Bryce Molinaro in the fourth inning. Chic DeGaetano replaced Lordi, and although he allowed a double, he got through the inning unscathed.

Tayven Kelley led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a single, and advanced to second base on a balk the next play. However, he was caught trying to steal third base. Kevin Michaels suffered the same fate at second base to end the frame.

Former Nittany Lion Ryan Partridge took the mound against his old team to end the fifth inning, but he got Penn State’s lineup out in order in the sixth. Mason Butash held Pitt scoreless in the bottom of the inning, too.

David Lee entered for Butash in the seventh inning. He allowed two runners on for Jayden Melendez, who took full advantage with a three-run homer to give Pitt a 4-0 lead.

Pitt wasn’t done yet, though. Ben DeMell came in, immediately loaded the bases, and walked in a run. He allowed a single that scored two runs, and then a double that drove in another two runs to make it 9-0. Connor Throneberry entered to get the last out of the inning.

At a crucial juncture in the game, Penn State looked as if it were going to answer the bell. Michaels, Joe Jaconski, and Adam Cecere all singled to load the bases with one out. But Marsh struck out and Norris fouled out to strand all three runners in the eighth inning.

Melendez led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a home run. Pitt took a 10-0 lead, which was enough to mercy-rule the Nittany Lions.

Takeaways

• Guess what? The primary culprit behind today’s loss was…the bullpen. It was responsible for eight of the nine runs allowed.
• Penn State had a huge chance to get back in the game in the eighth inning. However, the Nittany Lions stranded the bases loaded. That simply can’t happen.

What’s Next?

Penn State begins its final series of the regular season against Maryland at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 13, at Shipley Field in College Park, Maryland. It’ll be available on BTN+.