Penn State baseball (15-5, 4-2 Big Ten) fell to Lafayette (3-16) 5-3 this Wednesday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. What looked like a pitching duel opened up for the Leopards in the seventh inning, scoring three while Penn State’s bats stayed quiet.

How It Happened

Penn State opted for junior righty Skip Shenosky on the mound to start the game. He and the infield handled the top of the Leopards’ order with two ground outs to second and a pickoff-turned-rundown to retire the side. Freshman Trey Zaffiro manned the mound for Lafayette and forced two swinging strikeouts out of the Nittany Lions to close the first inning.

Lafayette opened the scoring in the second inning with Michael Zarrillo getting aboard with a single and pushing to second on a sacrifice bunt. He was sent home by Bode Grieve on a low drive that passed two diving Nittany Lions on its way to center field. Shenosky cleaned up the inning, pitching another ground out to second. Penn State wouldn’t respond, leaving runners on first and second and the score 1-0 to end the second frame.

Through a scoreless third and top of the fourth inning, base runners were getting harder to come by as both pitchers found their rhythms. With two outs for Penn State, Joe Jaconski lofted the first pitch, the ball carrying just over the fence at left field for a solo homer to tie the game at 1-1. The Nittany Lions flew out the next play on a similar hit that didn’t catch the same wind.

At the top of the fifth, Penn State went to the bullpen for freshman Matthew VanOstenbridge to replace Shenosky after 69 pitches. VanOstenbridge started his day strong, giving up a single en route to retiring Lafayette’s eight, nine, and one hitters. Zaffiro continued to hold the Nittany Lions up at the plate, closing the fifth inning in six pitches with the help of his defense.

Lafayette left Zaffiro on the mound to face Penn State on its third time around the order. Penn State’s batters caught up to his pitches, making good contact and launching the baseball deep into the outfield to end their at-bats. Ryan Weingartner reached second on a long ball to right center and was pushed home by Paxton Kling, with Penn State taking the lead 2-1. Zaffiro managed to escape the inning with Kling picked off as he pushed for second base before Bryce Molinaro flew out.

After two innings from VanOstenbridge, Penn State called on Mason Butash to pitch the seventh inning. Lafayette’s Alex Barrist reached first on an error at second and took second on a sacrifice bunt. Butash hit the next batter before giving up a triple to Ryan Ulisse that brought both base runners home. A wild pitch brought Ulisse home from third. A quick mound visit helped settle the sophomore down, the Nittany Lions ending the inning with the next pitch on an infield fly, the score 4-2 Lafayette. The Leopards installed freshman reliever Kellen Moore and completed the seventh frame in three batters.

Connor Throneberry was next out of the bullpen for Penn State but couldn’t stem the bleeding, Lafayette’s Ethan Swidler hit an immediate double. Swidler was pushed to third on a ground ball to first and reached home on a fielding error where a miscommunication between infielders let a fly ball fall to the right of the pitcher’s mound. The Leopards then loaded the bases with another single and a hit-by-pitch. Penn State called on Ben DeMell to get out of the jam, and after a first pitch ground out to first, finished the top of the eighth down 5-2. Penn State mustered up a few base runners in the bottom of the eighth with Voss, Jaconski, and Weingartner reaching base, but senior closer Mike Romano didn’t allow any runs, forcing a strikeout and two ground outs.

DeMell did well to pitch a scoreless ninth inning, getting the job done in four batters. The Nittany Lions got a run back thanks to a single, steal, and 180-foot dash from Jack Porter, but Romano limited the damage and closed the game out on a pop fly, the final score 5-2 for Lafayette.

Takeaways

• It was feast or famine for Penn State’s pitching staff tonight. What looked like a low-scoring affair with Shenosky and VanOstenbidge at the helm exploded for Lafayette as the Nittany Lions shuffled through their bullpen, unable to find a closer.
• Fielding errors made a bad situation on the mound worse and a comeback unreachable, the Nittany Lions picking up three errors in the final three innings, ensuring the Leopards had a constant supply of base runners.

What’s Next?

Penn State’s homestand continues this weekend with a three-game series against Michigan State. The first game is slated for 5:30 p.m. Friday.