Penn State baseball (16-8, 5-4 Big Ten) was bested by Pitt (15-9, 2-4 ACC) 9-2 in Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Tuesday night.

After a long 2-2 stalemate throughout the game, the seventh inning really changed the outcome and set the Panthers up over the Nittany Lions. Finding themselves down 7-2 after five Pitt runs, the Nittany Lions couldn’t bounce back.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions found themselves in a 1-0 hole after the top of the first inning. An RBI hit into right field earned the Panthers their first run of the game. Needing a rebound, Penn State answered with a home run hit into right field from Paxton Kling to tie the game. However, even with a strong hit into center field by Bryce Molinaro, the first inning closed out tied 1-1.

Pitt opened aggressively into the second inning with a double from Sebastian Pisacreta. An RBI single from Logan Duffy then led to Pisacreta scoring, allowing the Panthers to regain the lead 2-1. Penn State began to gain momentum with a very close call from a Jesse Jaconski hit, where the original safe ruling was upheld after review. Joey DeMucci then singled into center field, allowing Jaconski to advance to second. The Nittany Lions then answered with a second inning run of their own, off a hit from Ryan Weingartner. The inning then subsequently closed out, tied 2-2.

The Nittany Lions answered with a double play in the top of the third inning, a ruling that was again upheld after review. Pitt’s Ryan Zuckerman’s fly ball was caught out at center field, while Molinaro made a great play at third base. Not long after, the two teams switched sides, with the score remaining 2-2.

Molinaro had a very deep hit into center field that was unfortunately caught out by David Pedanou, jumping against the wall to make the play. Jack Porter had a strong single into center field, then stole second. The ball got away from the basemen, opening the opportunity for Porter to steal third. The Nittany Lions couldn’t capitalize on the play, and the score remained tied at two each into the fourth inning.

The fourth and fifth innings remained quiet for both teams, without any lead changes.

With Penn State pitcher Riley Weatherwax walking three batters straight and allowing the Panthers to load the bases, the Nittany Lions made a pitching change for Ben DeMell. Even with the odds stacked against them, the Nittany Lions powered through and got out of the inning without allowing any scoring. However, other than a Jaconski walk and then subsequent steal to second, no other Nittany Lions got on base in the sixth.

Pitt’s Luke Cantwell had a hit into left center, setting the Panthers back up in scoring position. With momentum heating back up for the Panthers, Zuckerman hit a double that allowed 2 scores to be brought in for Pitt, putting them back in front 4-2.

After a Caden Dulin RBI brought Zuckerman in, Pisacreta then really began to put the hammer down, hitting a home run over left-center, bringing in two more runs for the Panthers and setting them up 7-2.

The eighth went relatively quickly for both teams, with no scoring and a Pitt double play to set up the final inning, still up 7-2.

After an AJ Nessler walk, Zuckerman then had another home run into left-center, setting Pitt up 9-2. Penn State’s last stand fell short as the game closed 9-2 in favor of Pitt.

Takeaways

• The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings were quiet for both teams with no scoring. After one run for each team in the first and second innings, it took until the top of the seventh inning for another run to occur.
• The sixth inning pitching was questionable, until DeMell was able to close out the inning before Pitt could take advantage of the opportunity.
• Close calls were prevalent in this game, with Jaconski’s hit in the second inning, as well as the double play in the third inning both being closely reviewed. Both calls went in favor of Penn State.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will travel to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 28, to begin a three game series. The game can be streamed on BTN+.