Penn State baseball (11-3) lost its third game of the season against Georgetown (7-9) 14-10 during the first game of a two-game series at Capital One Park in Tysons, Virginia.

Georgetown came out heavy early, and the Nittany Lions didn’t catch up. Despite a late-inning comeback, Penn State could not get the remaining runs to beat the Hoyas.

How It Happened

After Penn State quickly went down in order in the top of the first, starting pitcher Harrison Lollin began his multi-inning struggles. After a groundout from Dylan Larkins, Lollin walked Keith Savoy and Kavi Caster. Jeremy Sheffield singled and scored Savoy, and Caster scored on a wild pitch a batter later. Lollin ended the first inning damage allowing only those two runs.

In the second inning, it looked like Penn State was setting up to fight back when Joe Jaconski and Cole Wagner both walked, but a strikeout and a line out ended their threat.

Georgetown continued their rally with a three-run bottom of the second inning. Noah Lieb was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a single from Jaden Sheffield. Lieb scored on a single from Blake Schaaf, and Jaden Sheffield scored on a fielder’s choice from Savoy.

After Lollin’s day was done, Mason Butash couldn’t stop Georgetown either. The Hoyas scored four runs on five hits, including a solo home run from Ashtin Gilio to lead off the inning. Ben DeMell came in to replace Butash and allowed two runs while striking out two.

In the top of the fourth, Jaconski hit a solo home run to get the Nittany Lions on the board, but Georgetown immediately got that run back when Schaaf singled and stole second, third, and home.

The Nittany Lions put two unearned runs on the board in the fifth after two throwing errors by Georgetown and continued to take advantage in the sixth when Bryce Molinaro hit a solo home run. In the seventh, Georgetown’s lead was officially cut in half when Ryan Weingartner hit a two-run home run.

However, Georgetown scored again in the bottom of the seventh, when Savoy walked and scored on a double from Caster.

Penn State rallied in the eighth inning, starting out with Jaconski getting hit by a pitch, Wagner walking, and Jack Porter getting hit by a pitch. Jaconski scored on a Matt Maloney single, Porter scored on a walk by Paxton Kling, and Maloney scored on a Molinaro single.

While it seemed there was a chance for Penn State to come back and win, a sacrifice fly from Georgetown in the eighth officially put the game out of reach.

Georgetown pitcher Jack Volo retired Penn State in order and ended the first game in the series by a score of 10-14.

Takeaways

• Despite the late-inning attempt to get back in the game, the early runs off Lollin were too much to overcome.
• Penn State’s offense is formidable, but the pitching needs to back it.
• The offense needs to find itself taking advantage of opportunities earlier in the game. It cannot always come down to the end.

What’s Next?

Penn State will look to split the series against Georgetown tomorrow evening, with first pitch at 4 p.m.