Penn State Baseball (26-19, 12-14 Big Ten) was narrowly defeated by Maryland (22-16, 8-15 Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon in the second game of its three-game series against the conference rival at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

This game was defined by back-and-forth momentum swings and frequent pitching changes from both teams. Penn State just couldn’t get the job done in extras.

How It Happened

To start the ballgame, left-handed pitcher Logan Olson took the mound for the Nittany Lions. He managed to record two outs with two Terrapins on base, but Maryland’s Jacob Orr delivered a triple to left field, driving in Alex Calarco and Eddie Hacopian to give the Terps an early 2–0 lead.

The Nittany Lions quickly answered in the bottom half. Bryce Molinaro grounded into a double play off Maryland pitcher Joey McMannis, but it was enough to bring home Paxton Kling and put Penn State on the board.

Jack Porter later drew a walk, and a wild pitch from McMannis allowed Kling after reaching base again in his second at-bat to advance to third. Ryan Weingartner followed up with a timely hit, driving in Kling and giving the Nittany Lions a 2–2 tie with the Terrapins.

After a quiet second inning, the Terrapins erupted in the top of the third. In his second plate appearance, Eddie Hacopian ripped a triple to right-center off Logan Olson. The hit brought Chris Hacopian and Brayden Martin home, adding two more runs to Maryland’s lead with zero outs to their name and a 4-2 score in their favor.

Calarco faced Olson once again and grounded out to shortstop, but the play allowed Eddie Hacopian, who had reached on a hit earlier in the inning to score, tacking on another run for Maryland.

The Nittany Lions couldn’t find any momentum in the third inning and were held to two runs as the game moved into the fourth.

Olson was replaced by left-hander Anthony Steele to start the fourth. Steele managed to get two outs but allowed two Maryland players to reach base. Eddie Hacopian singled through the left side, advancing Martin to second and bringing home Aden Hill for Maryland’s sixth run. Calarco then popped up to the infield, ending the inning and sending Penn State to the fourth.

The Nittany Lions opened the bottom of the fourth with back-to-back flyouts from Joe and Jesse Jaconski. But Nate Voss stepped up next and delivered a solo home run off McMannis, cutting into Maryland’s lead and adding a third run for Penn State.

Matt Maloney followed with a walk from McMannis, and Derek Cease singled through the right side, advancing Maloney to second. Weingartner also drew a walk, loading the bases and putting the Nittany Lions in prime scoring position with three runners on.

Kling then hit a blooper off McMannis that dropped into right-center, allowing Cease and Maloney to score, cutting Maryland’s lead to just one run. Porter couldn’t get on base and went out swinging to finish the fourth.

To open the fifth, Orr hit a double down the infield line. Steele responded by striking out Hollis Porter but committed an error that allowed Porter to reach third. Steele got another out when Eliyjah Lambros grounded to short.

Steele allowed Hill to single to second, and Orr ran in the Terrapins’ seventh run of the ballgame. EJ Hankerson then hit a pop-up in the infield to shift into the bottom of the fifth.

The Nittany Lions couldn’t get anything going, and the game was quickly moved into the top of the sixth.

After Steele exited, Penn State brought in Mason Horwat, who quickly got Martin to ground out to shortstop.

Chris Hacopian then singled through the left side, followed by a single to right field from Eddie Hacopian, moving Chris Hacopian into scoring position at second. Horwat regrouped and ended the inning by striking out Alex Calarco and forcing Orr to hit a grounder to third.

Voss was able to get on base to open the bottom of the sixth, he hit a single to left field off of Van Buren. Maloney then followed up with a flyout in the Maryland infield, but Cease was able to single, moving Voss to second.

Weingartner was next up and hit a flyout to right field. Cease advanced to second on a wild pitch by Van Buren, while Nate Voss moved up to third. However, after a lengthy at-bat, Paxton Kling popped up to close the inning, leaving both runners stranded.

Horwat struck out Porter to open the inning, but then walked Lambros. Horwat struck out Hill, and then Hankerson popped up to center to move to the top of the seventh.

Porter led off with a single off Van Buren, and Molinaro followed with a towering 432-foot shot over the left-field fence, tying the game at seven apiece. Penn State ended the inning with three outs in a row.

Horwat was pulled for right-handed pitcher Chase Renner to start the eighth. Martin singled to left field after a 2-2 count. Chris Hacopian then singled to left field, moving Martin to second base, Renner struck out Eddie Hacopian swinging.

Renner then walked Calarco, loading the bases, but managed to escape the jam as Porter popped up to the infield to end the inning without any damage.

Van Buren was pulled for Cristofer Cespedes as Maloney led off with a single, and Joey DeMucci entered the game as a pinch-runner. Cease came up to the plate and singled to left field. Weingartner was the next man up, and Cespedes threw a wild pitch, causing both runners to shift over a base.

Weingartner singled to right field, bringing DeMucci home. Kling then took to the plate and hit a sacrifice fly, bringing in Cease to make for a 9-7 ball game, while Weingartner stayed put at first with one out.

Cespedes didn’t make it out of the eighth, he was pulled for lefty Andrew Johnson. He got Jesse Jaconski and Molinaro out to wrap up the inning.

Renner was able to start the ninth by striking out Lambros. Hill was next up and made it to first after a fielding error by Cease at second. Parker Corbin then came in to pinch hit for Hankerson and singled to left field.

Chris Hacopian singled to center, which ran Hill in to bring the Nittany Lions’ lead to one. Renner was pulled for righty Ben DeMell, who let Eddie Hacopian single, running in Corbin, tying the game at nine runs each.

Jaconski was hit by a pitch to reach first, and Voss followed with a sacrifice bunt, advancing Jaconski into scoring position. The Nittany Lions couldn’t seal the deal, and the ballgame moved into extra innings.

Harrison Lollin came in for DeMell and let up a two-run shot to Porter that put Maryland up 11-9 in the tenth.

Porter delivered for the Nittany Lions with a clutch two-run homer, tying the game at 11 apiece and breathing life back into Penn State’s comeback hopes.

But the Terrapins quickly responded. Martin stepped up and launched a solo shot over the right-field fence, reclaiming the lead for Maryland. Chris Hacopian followed up with a single to center field.

Eddie Hacopian reached first after another fielding error by Cease at second base. Calarco followed with a bunt single, advancing the runners to second and third. Maryland left the base runners stranded, and Penn State got one more shot to walk it off.

Voss singled, and Mike Lucarelli came in as a pinch runner. Joey DeMucci struck out swinging, but Cease singled to third base. Weingartner also struck out swinging, and Mercado grounded out to end the game.

Takeaways:

• Olson struggled on the mound, giving up too many hits in his four innings and putting the Nittany Lions in an early hole. He was eventually replaced by Steele.
• Despite the rough start on the mound, Penn State showed resilience at the plate. The Nittany Lions chipped away at Maryland’s lead, with key performances from Kling, Voss, and Weingartner providing the offensive spark when they needed it most.
• Pitching became the biggest issue for Penn State in this game. Renner had been solid until the ninth inning when he was pulled for DeMell, who allowed two runs to score, ultimately giving Maryland another lead that Penn State had to chase.
• The defense was also a glaring issue for the Nittany Lions as they allowed two runners to get on base due to fielding errors at second base.

What’s Next?

Penn State will play Maryland to end the series at noon on Sunday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.