Penn State baseball (14-4, 4-2 Big Ten) split its Saturday doubleheader against Northwestern (8-10, 1-2 Big Ten) at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park in Evanston, Illinois.

After the Nittany Lions were down 5-2 through four innings, they showed their resilience and came back to win game one 10-7 to clinch the series win. Northwestern returned the favor in game two as it overcame a 5-2 deficit to roll to a 13-5 victory to avoid the sweep.

Game One

Penn State got off to a fast start, scoring two runs in the top frame of the first inning to take an early lead. However, Northwestern responded back, and Trent Liolios hit a three-run home run to take the lead. The struggles for Penn State pitcher, Matt Morash, continued as the Wildcats scored two more runs to take a 5-2 lead before the inning came to an end.

The Nittany Lions went scoreless in the second inning and Morash continued to struggle. He allowed Northwestern to load the bases with two outs but managed to get out of the inning unscathed by striking out Tyler Ganus.

Penn State loaded the bases in the third inning with two outs. However, it didn’t capitalize as Cole Wagner flew out to right field to end the top frame. Mason Butash came in to replace Morash for the Nittany Lions in the bottom half and managed to retire the Wildcats in order.

Matt Maloney hit a double to get things started in the fourth inning, but Penn State could not convert on this opportunity as it hit three groundouts in a row. Northwestern made things complicated for Butash in the bottom frame as it had bases loaded with one out. However, Butash was able to minimize the damage as he managed to get the last two outs to end the inning.

This gave the Nittany Lions some momentum going into the fifth inning as Paxton Kling hit a solo homer to trim their deficit to two. After Joe Jaconski got on base with one out, Jack Porter hit a huge two-run home run to tie the game at five.

Jack Porter launches this one over the wall in left! Two-run blast to tie the game!

T5 | PSU 5, NW 5#WeAre pic.twitter.com/b80ZWLr6FG

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) March 15, 2025

Maloney and Jesse Jaconski got on first and second base with two outs before the Wildcats decided to go to their bullpen. This move paid off as Northwestern pitcher Alex Grant forced Cohl Mercado to ground out to end the top frame. Butash began to settle into the game as he retired the Wildcats 1-2-3 to keep the game tied at five.

After Ryan Weingartner drew the walk and stole second base, Bryce Molinaro singled to left to bring in Weingartner home. This gave Penn State its first lead since the top of the first inning. Wagner’s RBI single extended the lead to two before the Nittany Lions loaded the bases with two outs. Jesse Jaconski came up big and his single brought in two more runs to give Penn State a 9-5 lead before the top of the sixth inning came to an end.

Jesse Jaconski drives in two with a single!

T6 | PSU 9, NW 5#WeAre pic.twitter.com/B7NuxY2pLe

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) March 15, 2025

Ben DeMell relieved Butash and continued the dominance of Penn State’s bullpen by keeping Northwestern scoreless in the bottom frame. Both teams went scoreless in the seventh inning, and this continued in the next inning as we went into the ninth inning with the Nittany Lions holding a 9-5 lead.

The ninth inning got underway, and Jesse Jaconski hit a solo homer to extend Penn State’s lead to five before the top of the inning came to an end. Dimond Loosli came in for DeMell to pick up the save. However, things started to get tricky for the Nittany Lions as the Wildcats had bases loaded with one out.

After Loosli got the second out, Jack Lausch hit a ground-rule double to bring in two runs for Northwestern and get within three of tying the game. With runners on third and second, it looked like Preston Knott hit the ball far enough to tie the game, but Mercado managed to make the catch for the final out as Penn State survived 10-7 in game one.

Mercado tracks it down at the wall for the final out!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/MLGN2LXnli

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) March 15, 2025

Game Two

Penn State’s batters were retired in order as game two got underway. In the bottom half of the opening frame, Northwestern got runners on first and second base with no outs. The Wildcats couldn’t capitalize as Penn State pitcher Matt VanOstenbridge got the three outs needed to end the inning.

This scoreless trend continued in the second inning. In the top of the third inning, the Nittany Lions had the opportunity to score the first run of the game with runners on third and first base and one out. However, they couldn’t score as Jesse Jaconski was caught stealing second base and Mercado flown out.

In the bottom frame, the Wildcats got their first run as Knott grounded out to bring Bennett Markinson home after he tripled. This was the only run they could generate in the inning. Penn State’s offense continued to struggle as Northwestern’s pitcher, Sam Hliboki, retired the Nittany Lions 1-2-3 in the top of the fourth inning. As the bottom of the inning began, Liolios hit a solo home run to increase the Wildcats’ lead to two before it came to an end.

Penn State had another chance to get on the board when it had base runners on third and first base with two outs. However, Jesse Jaconski lined out to infield as Northwestern got out of the jam. Harrison Lollin relieved VanOstenbridge in the bottom frame and he got the three outs needed to keep the Nittany Lions within two runs.

The Nittany Lions finally broke through in the sixth inning as Weingartner hit an RBI double to decrease their deficit to one. Penn State seized its momentum and Kling’s RBI single tied the game at two. Then, Molinaro gave the Nittany Lions their first lead of the game as he hit a two-run home run. Penn State’s offense continued to attack, and Porter hit a solo homer to extend its lead to three before the top of the inning ended.

Bryce Bomb

Molinaro goes yard to give us the lead!

T6 | PSU 4, NW 2#WeAre pic.twitter.com/lStCzyJ5kP

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) March 15, 2025

Northwestern refused to let that deter it and responded by scoring two runs in the bottom frame to trim its deficit to one. The Nittany Lions could not score in the seventh inning before Skip Shenosky replaced Lollin in the bottom of the inning. This move backfired as he loaded the bases with no outs before Riley Weatherwax came in to minimize the damage.

The Wildcats retook the lead as Freeman hit a two-run single. Then, they broke the game loose as Kucherak hit a three-run home run to increase their lead to four. The scoring rampage continued for Northwestern as it brought in three more runs before Penn State finally stopped the bleeding trailing 12-5.

The Wildcats continued their scoring rampage in the eighth inning as Liolios hit his third home run of the game before the inning came to an end. Northwestern managed to retire Penn State’s first two batters before Weingartner hit a double to keep the Nittany Lions alive. Kling drew the walk before Molinaro struck out as game two came to an end with the Wildcats winning 13-5.

Takeaways

• The gamble by Penn State’s manager Mike Gambino in game one paid huge dividends. He went to his bullpen early after Matt Morash struggled through two innings with the Nittany Lions down by three runs. The bullpen did its job, only letting the Wildcats score two runs, and Penn State’s offense followed that up by scoring eight runs throughout the rest of the game. This allowed it to clinch the series before the final game of the series.
• Penn State’s offense is really special. After facing early deficits in both games, it always found a way to generate runs when it needed most. In game one, the Nittany Lions scored seven runs combined in the fifth and sixth innings after trailing through four innings to seize control of the game. In game two, it could not generate any runs through five innings until it finally broke through in the sixth by scoring five runs before its pitching let it down.
• After a dominant pitching display in yesterday’s game, Penn State’s pitching struggled in the doubleheader as it allowed seven runs in game one and 13 runs in game two. Coming into the day, Northwestern didn’t have any five or more run innings this season and just today it was able to get two during the doubleheader.

What’s Next?

Penn State will return to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park when it takes on St. Bonaventure at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18.