Penn State Baseball Dominates Purdue In 10-2 Win
Penn State baseball (23-13, 11-8 Big Ten) ended its three-game losing streak by dominating Purdue (23-14, 5-11 Big Ten) in a 10-2 victory on Friday afternoon at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in its first game of a three-game series.
The Nittany Lions came back from a 2-0 deficit in the top of the third inning to tie the game at two before Purdue decided to go to its bullpen in the fifth inning. This move backfired, as Penn State scored three runs to take the lead, and it never looked back after that. A high-powered offense, along with a dominant display from pitcher Ryan DeSanto and the bullpen, allowed Penn State to dictate the rest of the game and end its three-game losing streak.
How It Happened
DeSanto retired Purdue’s first two batters, but Logan Sutter doubled to left field to keep the top frame of the first inning alive for the Boilermakers. Purdue could not bring Sutter home as Joe Jaconski made a diving stop to get the third out and end the top frame. In the bottom half of the opening frame, Purdue’s pitcher, Carter Doorn, retired the Nittany Lions in order.
Both teams went scoreless in the second inning. Camden Gasser led off the third inning for the Boilermakers and hit a single. Albert Choi and Brandon Anderson both grounded out but managed to get Gasser to third base with two outs. Purdue managed to capitalize on this scoring opportunity as Sutter hit a two-run home run to give it a 2-0 lead. The top of the inning came to an end right away as CJ Richmond flew out to centerfield.
Jaconski’s double got things started for Penn State in the bottom of the inning. After Cole Mercado hit a sacrifice bunt to move Jaconski to third base, Penn State got its first run of the game as Ryan Weingartner’s double to left center brought Jaconski home. However, the Nittany Lions couldn’t tie the game as Doorn retired the next two batters to keep Purdue’s lead intact heading into the fourth inning.
Despite not being able to retire the Boilermakers 1-2-3 for four innings in a row, DeSanto started to settle in as he struck out two batters and forced a popout in top frame to keep Penn State within one run of tying the game.
Jack Porter hit a lead-off double to give the Nittany Lions the opportunity to tie the game at two. Then, Patrick Graham, who replaced Cole Wagner in the second inning, took advantage of it as he hit a one-run single to left center to tie the game at two. Despite having no outs, Penn State could not break the deadlock as Purdue retired the next three batters to end the bottom frame.
After Gasser was hit by a pitch, DeSanto retired Purdue’s next three batters to prevent Gasser from scoring. The Boilermakers decided to go to their bullpen in the bottom of the fifth inning as Michael Vallone replaced Doorn. Despite retiring the first two batters, Paxton Kling and Bryce Molinaro hit back-to-back singles to give the Nittany Lions runners on first and second base.
Then, the deadlock was broken as Porter hit a two-run double to give Penn State a two-run lead. Graham reached first on an error to give Penn State runners on third and first base with two outs. Graham stole second base and Vallone’s wild pitch allowed Porter to extend the Nittany Lions’ lead to three before Vallone struck out Jesse Jaconski as the fifth inning came to an end with Penn State holding a 5-2 lead.
However, DeSanto started to show signs of fatigue in the top of the sixth inning as two consecutive Purdue batters were hit by a pitch. This forced Penn State manager Mike Gambino to go to his bullpen as Dimond Loosli replaced DeSanto to minimize the damage. This move paid dividends as Loosli retired Purdue’s batters in order to prevent the Boilermakers from scoring. Nick Kolze replaced Vallone as the bottom frame got underway.
The bullpen struggles continued for Purdue as Nate Voss forced a walk. After Purdue’s catcher Sergio DeCello committed an error that allowed Voss to go to second base, Joe Jaconski drew another walk as Purdue made another pitching change with runners on first and second. However, the Boilermakers could not stop the bleeding as Mercado’s single allowed Voss to score and extend Penn State’s lead to four.
After Weingartner lined out to give the Boilermakers their second out, Kling forced a walk to give the Nittany Lions runners on first and second. Then, Molinaro hit a two-run triple to break this game open and extend their lead to six. Porter drove in Molinaro home with a single before Graham’s flyout ended the inning.
Loosli continued to exert his dominance on the mound as he retired the Boilermakers 1-2-3 in top of the seventh inning. The Nittany Lions continued to pile on the runs on Purdue’s bullpen as Weingartner’s single allowed Joe Jaconski to score and give them a 10-2 lead before the inning came to an end.
Matthew VanOstenbridge replaced Loosli at top of the eighth inning and he managed to retired Purdue’s batters in order. The Boilermakers returned the favor as they retired Penn State’s batters in order as the Nittany Lions had their first scoreless inning since the second inning. Harrison Lollin came in for the Nittany Lions and ended the game as Penn State won the first game of the series by a score of 10-2.
Takeaways
- Bullpens played a huge factor in determining the outcome of the game. After both starting pitchers allowed two runs each, Purdue went to its bullpen first in the fifth inning and this backfired as Penn State managed to score eight runs on it compared to the Boilermakers, who scored zero on the Nittany Lions’ bullpen.
- Despite giving up a hit in all five innings and two walks in the sixth inning before coming out of the game, DeSanto continued to show why he is Penn State’s best pitcher. In five innings pitched, he had five strikeouts and only allowed a two-run homer which allowed to stay the Nittany Lions to stay afloat in the game before taking the lead in the fifth inning.
- Porter had an incredible game as he went three-for-four with three RBI, including the two-run double that broke the deadlock in the fifth inning. He now has a batting average of .323 with six home runs and 24 RBIs.
What’s Next?
Penn State will work to clinch the series win against Purdue at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
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