No. 8 Seed Penn State Baseball Defeats No. 4 Seed Michigan 9-5 In Big Ten Tournament
Penn State baseball (28-23, 12-12 Big Ten) defeated Michigan (31-27, 14-10 Big Ten) 9-5 in its second game of the 2024 Big Ten Tournament.
Jaden Henline dazzled in his first start of the tournament as the senior struck out nine Michigan batters over six innings of work. Bryce Molinaro destroyed a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning and made dazzling plays at third base throughout the night. Adam Cecere reached base four times and made a heroic diving catch in the outfield, while also throwing out a runner at home plate in the seventh inning.
How It Happened
Henline got the start for the Nittany Lions and struck out the side to retire the Wolverines in the top half of the first inning.
In the bottom half of the inning, Marr reached base via a walk and was moved to third after a booming double to left field by Cecere, giving Penn State runners on second and third with one out. Facing the fourth and fifth batters in the order, Michigan starter Chase Allen bounced back to record the final two outs of the inning and strand the base runners in scoring position.
Henline recorded a second consecutive clean inning to open the second, forcing three easy outs on balls in play.
The Nittany Lions’ bats continued to hum in the bottom half of the frame as Matt Maloney ripped a one-out double into the left field corner and was driven in thanks to an RBI single off the bat of Tayven Kelley, who advanced to second on an error by AJ Garcia and to third after Kevin Michaels grounded out. With Jaconski batting and two outs, Allen won the battle against the Nittany Lions’ lead-off batter to end the inning.
Michigan made Henline work in his third inning of work as the final two batters in the Wolverines’ order reached base via a single and walk. With one out in the inning and runners on first and second, Henline continued to rack up the strikeouts by sending the next two batters down swinging to strand the baserunners and end the Michigan threat. Cecere reached base for a second time in the bottom half of the inning, but was thrown out on the basepaths for the final out to send Henline back to the mound.
The Penn State star made right on his base running mistake in the third inning as he made a spectacular diving catch in right-center field to save a leadoff extra base. With the help from Cecere, Henline dealt another scoreless inning that included two more strikeouts, bringing his total to eight through the first four innings.
In the bottom half of the fourth inning, Allen worked around a one-out double by Molinaro to once again keep Penn State from expanding its lead. After Cole Caruso ripped a double down the left field line, Will Rogers deposited a 1-0 breaking ball from Henline into the left field bullpen to give Michigan a 2-1 lead. Keeping the line moving, Kyle Dernedde smacked a single into left field to set up the top of the Wolverines’ order with a chance to expand their lead.
After a quick mound visit to calm the Penn State starter down, Henline retired the next two batters he faced to escape further damage while recording his ninth strikeout of the ballgame.
Michaels led off the Penn State half of the inning with a line drive single back up the middle and advanced to second on a wild pitch to set up the middle of the order with one out. Marr continued his hot hitting by lacing an RBI double down the right-field line to drive in Michaels and tie the game at two per side.
After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Marr scored on a Cecere RBI single to right that gave Penn State a 3-2 lead. The Cecere hit forced Michigan to make a change on the mound, with Ricky Kidd called upon to record the final two out of the fifth inning. The right-hander did just that, as he struck out Bobby Marsh and forced Grant Norris to ground out behind second base.
The Wolverines tagged Henline for some loud contact in the sixth inning, with Collin Priest smacking a double off of the wall in right-center field to give Michigan a runner-in-scoring position with one out. Molinaro picked up his pitcher to record the final two outs of the inning as the third baseman made a pair of nice plays at the hot corner.
Molinaro led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a line drive single to center field but advanced no further as Kidd induced a strikeout and a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat. As Henline worked into his seventh inning of the night, the Wolverines hit a pair of base hits to put runners on first and second with two outs and the middle of the order due up. Already at a season-high for pitches thrown, Henline appeared to have surrendered the game-tying base hit, but a laser from Cecere in right field caught Rogers attempting to advance home for the final out.
The Nittany Lions went down in order in their half of the seventh and trotted out a new pitcher in the top half of the eighth with Anthony Steele taking the ball from Henline. After walking the first two batters he faced, Steele surrendered a long home run to Mitch Voit that landed over the bullpen in left field to give Michigan the 5-3 lead. Steele recorded two outs and allowed two more baserunners before he was replaced on the mound by Matt Morash, who recorded the final out of the inning via strikeout.
Cecere continued his outstanding game to lead off the eighth inning with a single back up the middle and was moved to third after a single by Marsh. After the base hit, head coach Mike Gambino opted to have Billy Gerlott enter the game for Marsh as a pinch runner. With runners on the corners and no outs, Norris worked a five-pitch walk to load the bases.
Kidd left a 1-0 fastball over the plate and Molinaro did not miss this mistake as he deposited the ball into the left-field seats for a grand slam to give Penn State a 7-5 lead. The infielder could not contain his excitement as he rounded the bases and let out a jubilant yell as he crossed home plate.
Threatening for more, Kelley smacked a single and advanced to third after Derek Cease cruised into second thanks to a throwing error from Dernedde to give the Nittany Lions a pair of runners in scoring position with one out. Facing a new pitcher in Brandon Mann, Marr drove both runners in with an RBI single to extend the Nittany Lions’ lead to four. Mann eventually recorded the final out to send the Wolverines up to bat needing four to extend the game.
With Penn State just three outs away from advancing to the semifinals, Morash struck out one batter en route to a scoreless inning to give the Nittany Lions the win.
Takeaways
- Henline had been extremely effective down the stretch for the Nittany Lions and the right-hander continued to deal against the Wolverines. The senior set a career-high in single-game strikeouts by recording nine over six innings and surrendering just two runs.
- Cecere and Marr continued their scorching hot play and proved why they are among the best players in the conference on Thursday. Marr reached base for a 23 consecutive game and laced an important RBI single to add insurance runs late, while Cecere smacked a double of his own and tacked on an RBI single with a pair of web gems in right field.
- Molinaro tends to fly under the radar on a team with players like Marr and Cecere, but the infielder is just as good as anyone in the conference. Smacking three hits including a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning, Molinaro has caught fire to end the season and showcased the potential that Gambino has stated to have seen.
What’s Next?
Penn State baseball will take on the winner of the Illinois/Michigan game in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. The game is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 25, and will be televised on Big Ten Network.
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