Penn State baseball (24-13, 13-8 Big Ten) took down Purdue (23-16, 5-13 Big Ten) 13-6 on Saturday afternoon in Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

Penn State started slow but quickly turned the game around to secure the easy win over the Boilermakers.

How It Happened

Penn State started with Mason Horwat as the pitcher in the top of the first. Purdue’s Brandon Anderson scored home after Logan Sutter’s double towards the right end of the field. Sutter, Houston Russell, and Keenan Spence all made their way to home plate to make the score 4-0 for the Boilermakers.

In the top of the second, the Nittany Lions switched pitchers to Ben DeMell and secured a double play to help avoid any further runs. In the bottom of the second, the Nittany Lions’ Jesse Jaconski doubled to right field, allowing Jack Porter to advance to third base. Porter, Jesse Jaconski, Joe Jaconski, and Joey DeMucci crossed home base to tie the score 4-4.

Kling sends it into left and hustles to second for a double as DeMucci scores!

B2 | PSU 4, PUR 4#WeAre pic.twitter.com/EJXQ0Advqf

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) April 19, 2025

In the bottom of the third, Porter singled to the pitcher. Jesse Jaconski homered to left field shortly after, putting the Nittany Lions up on top 6-4.

The Nittany Lions take the lead on the 433-foot blast by Jaconski!

E3 | PSU 6, PUR 4#WeAre https://t.co/ldE4yjQ6RB

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) April 19, 2025

In the top of the fourth, DeMell struck out all three Boilermakers. In the bottom of the fourth, Paxton Kling scored home off Jesse Jaconski’s double to right center field, 7-4. Shortly after, Joe Jaconski doubled to left field, giving Jesse Jaconski and Porter time to score for the Nittany Lions 9-4. The Boilermakers made the pitcher change to Gavin Beuter. However, Joe Jaconski crossed home base 10-4 to end the inning.

In the top of the seventh, Chase Renner went in at pitcher. Renner and the Nittany Lions defense held off a bases-loaded moment, keeping the Boilermakers from crossing home plate.

In the top of the eighth, Anderson singled to right center field and advanced to second base after an outfielder’s mistake on the Nittany Lions’ end. Camden Gasser and Avery Moore scored for the Boilermakers off this play, making the score 10-6.

In the bottom of the eighth, Kling singled to the left side, giving Ryan Weingartner, who was at second base, time to cross home plate 11-6. The Boilermakers made the pitcher change to Lance Lauve. However, Kling and Bryce Molinaro crossed home plate after several mistakes on Purdue’s end, making the score 13-6. The Boilermakers made another pitcher change to Mathew Tarr, who held off the Nittany Lions for the remainder of the inning.

The Boilermakers couldn’t get anything going in the top of the ninth, giving Penn State its second win of the series.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions need to attack the first inning better. Allowing Purdue to score four within the first 12 minutes of the game is dangerous if the Nittany Lions want to continue their ride to Omaha.
• DeMell consistently showed power in his pitches throughout the game. His several successful strikeouts gave the Nittany Lions the upper hand in critical moments.
• The Jaconski brothers were on fire Saturday afternoon. Both at bat and on defense, they consistently made plays to allow the Nittany Lions to keep their scoring drive going.

What’s Next?

Penn State will return to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park when it takes on West Virginia at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22.