Penn State baseball (2-1) defeated UConn (0-3) in its final game of the Puerto Rico Challenge series.

Penn State jumped out to a quick lead thanks to a pair of early home runs by Ryan Weingartner and Joe Jaconski and never looked back. Ryan DeSanto was dominant in his first outing as a Nittany Lion, as the left-hander allowed just one run and zero hits across four innings.

How It Happened

Paxton Kling led off for Penn State and Tommy Ellison retired the outfielder on three pitches. Then, Weingartner smacked a solo home run off the scoreboard in center field on a 1-2 count to give Penn State the lead. With two outs, Bryce Molinaro and Cole Wagner drew walks to set the Nittany Lions up with runners on first and second.

Jack Porter stepped up to the plate with a chance to break the game open early, but Ellison forced the designated hitter to fly out to left-center field and escaped. In the bottom half of the opening frame, DeSanto retired the Huskies in order.

Matt Maloney led off the second inning and reached base on a dropped fly ball by Carter Groen. With Maloney on second, a pair of groundouts allowed him to score and put Penn State ahead by two runs.

After Kling smacked a single through the left side of the infield and moved to second on a passed ball, Weingartner drew a four-pitch walk to give the Nittany Lions runners on first and second base with two outs. On a 2-1 count, Jaconski deposited a ball over the 374 marker in right-center field and gave Penn State a 5-0 lead.

Needing an out, Ellison fanned Molinaro on a high fastball to end the Penn State surge. With the Huskies due up, DeSanto struck out the side to secure the shutdown inning. Cayden Suchy replaced Ellison on the mound after two innings, and the freshman retired Penn State in order.

In the bottom half of the third inning, DeSanto struck out two more batters en route to another one-two-three inning. Mercado drew a one-out walk to open the fourth inning, but Suchy worked around the baserunner to retire the next two batters.

Molinaro and Wagner combined for a web gem to secure the first out of the UConn half of the inning, but DeSanto allowed his first baserunner of the evening one batter later after he walked Biller on a 3-2 count. The right fielder advanced to second on a wild pitch and later stole third before Grant MacArthur reached on a walk, giving the Huskies runners on the corners with one out.

On a 1-2 count, DeSanto spiked an offspeed pitch and MacArthur successfully took second, with Hiller scoring the Huskies’ first run after Weingartner dropped the throw from Maloney at second. DeSanto got Maddix Dalena swinging to secure the second out and forced Bryan Padilla to fly out to deep left field to escape the inning.

Jaconski led off the fifth inning with a single up the middle and stole second with one out to put himself in scoring position. After Suchy struck out Molinaro swinging, Jack Porter smacked a line drive double that rolled to the left field wall and scored the run. Maloney rolled over the very next pitch and Suchy stranded the runner to get out of further trouble.

Wake Forest transfer Skip Shenosky replaced DeSanto on the mound, and Ryan Daniels greeted the pitcher with a line drive single to right field. Shenosky struck out Groen for his first in a Penn State uniform but walked the next batter to give UConn runners on first and second with one out. With the Huskies threatening, Shenosky struck out the next two batters with nasty offspeed pitches to end the inning.

Suchy worked around a two-out single off the bat of Kling to keep Penn State off the scoreboard in the sixth inning, and the Huskies began to come alive in the bottom half of the inning. After a single by MacArthur and Padilla reached on a walk, Daniels drove the runner from second in on a single to make it a 6-2 game. One batter later, Shenosky forced a fly out to right field and escaped trouble.

Jaconski led off the seventh inning with a booming opposite-field double and chased Suchy from the game. With Jude Abbadessa on the mound, the right-hander plunked Molinaro to give Penn State runners on first and second with no outs.

With a chance to extend Penn State’s lead, Wagner rolled a weak ground ball to the right side of the infield that moved the runners over. Abbadessa got Porter to chase a slider down and away for the second out and made a nice play on a comebacker to hold Penn State scoreless.

Needing nine outs to secure the victory, Mike Gambino called on Anthony Steele in the bottom of the seventh inning. The left-hander issued a leadoff walk but retired the next three batters.

Jesse Jaconski led off the eighth inning after he reached on an error by Padilla, and Derek Cease replaced the infielder as a pinch runner. Cease immediately found his way to third base with no outs, and Kling worked a walk with one out to give Penn State runners on the corners. Weingartner drew a walk to load the bases, and Jesse Jaconski drove in a run on an RBI groundout.

After Molinaro walked and again loaded the bases, Sam Hutchinson appeared to plunk Wagner to drive in another run, but a replay review determined Wagner leaned into the pitch, and he was called back to the plate. The inning ended after Wagner flew out to left field.

Will Andrews replaced Steele on the mound and allowed the first two batters he faced to reach base, but the right-hander forced Padilla to ground into a 6-4-3 double play leaving a runner on third. Daniels singled up the middle to score the runner, and Groen reached on a walk one batter later.

With UConn threatening, Gambino opted to pull Andrews for Ben DeMell. The right-hander proved his manager right by getting the final out after snagging a comebacker to the mound. In the top half of the ninth, UConn worked around a Cease single to hold Penn State scoreless.

Rob Rispoli led off the UConn half of the inning with an infield single and Caleb Shpur followed it up with a double down the left field line, giving UConn runners on second and third with no outs. Biller worked a walk on a full count to load the bases, and MacArthur smacked a double that scored two runs and got the Huskies within two runs. Upon review, MacArthur was called out at second base.

With one out and a runner on third base, Dalena hit a double down the line to score the runner and make it a 7-6 game. With the tying run in scoring position, DeMell struck out Padilla for the second out and Kling made a highlight reel sliding catch in right-center field to secure the win for Penn State.

Takeaways

• With the loss of key contributors in its lineup from last season, there were questions about how Penn State could replace the production from those who left the program. While they have played in just three games, it seems the offense has not skipped a beat. Penn State scored seven or more runs in two of its three games and smacked 27 hits over the weekend.
• After transferring from Saint Joseph’s, DeSanto was primed to be a key cog on Penn State’s new-look pitching staff. The Pennsylvania native delivered in his inaugural outing in a Penn State uniform, as he struck out six batters and allowed just one run on zero hits across four innings.
• Of the few returners to Penn State’s lineup, Joe Jaconski is primed to be among the best and the infielder had himself a huge day. He finished the day 3-5 and drove in four runs with two extra-base hits, including a three-run homer in the second inning to break the game open.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions travel to Virginia for a four-game series against Longwood, with game one set for 3 p.m. on Friday, February 21. Additionally, the game will be streamed on ESPN+.