Penn State baseball (29-21, 15-15 Big Ten) was mercy-ruled by Pitt (27-23, 10-17 ACC) 15-1 on Tuesday night at PNC Park. Pitt had three five-run innings in the game ending the game in the seventh inning.

The Nittany Lions’ pitching struggles were on full display as they gave up 15 runs on 13 hits. Despite giving up seven hits, Pitt’s pitcher, Drew Lafferty, kept Penn State’s bats quiet as he recorded six strikeouts and only allowed it to score one run in the seven innings to have a complete game.

How It Happened

Ryan Weingartner drew a walk and stole second base to get things underway in the top of the first inning. However, Penn State could not bring Weingartner home as Pitt’s pitcher, Drew Lafferty, retired the next three batters to end the top frame. Penn State pitcher, Mason Horwat, retired the Panthers in order.

After Joe Jaconski struck out, Nate Voss got on base on an error by the Panthers. Matt Maloney flew out right before Joey DeMucci’s single gave the Nittany Lions runners on first and second base with two outs. Once again, they could not capitalize as Pitt managed to get the final out to end the top of the second inning.

Things started to get ugly for Horwat in the bottom frame as Ryan Zuckerman hit a single before advancing to second on an error by Paxton Kling. After AJ Nessler drew a walk, Sebastian Pisacreta hit an RBI single that allowed the Panthers to score the first run. Weingartner committed an error that allowed Pitt to have bases loaded with no outs. The Panthers brought in another run on an RBI single by Jayden Melendez.

Penn State could not stop the bleeding as Jake Kendro reached on a fielder’s choice that allowed Pisacreta to score despite getting its first out. Pedanou’s flyout gave the Nittany Lions their second out but Dulin’s single allowed the Panthers to score two more runs. The inning finally came to an end right after with Pitt holding a 5-0 lead.

Weingartner led off the third inning for Penn State and hit a solo home run to get it on the board. This was the only run it could muster as Lafferty struck out the next three batters to end the top of the inning. Horwat’s day came to an end as Penn State manager Mike Gambino decided to go to his bullpen. Matt VanOstenbridge came in and retired the Panthers 1-2-3 to keep the Nittany Lions’ deficit at four.

Both teams went scoreless in the fourth inning. In the top of the fifth inning, Lafferty retired Penn State’s first two batters, but Kling kept the top frame alive with his double. It could not score as Bryce Molinaro’s flyout ended the frame. Harrison Lollin came in to replace VanOstenbridge in the bottom of the inning.

However, this move backfired as the Panthers loaded the bases with no outs. They capitalized on this opportunity as Zuckerman’s single allowed them to score two runs and extend their lead to six. This forced Gambino to take Lollin out of the game as Desmond Loosli came in to minimize the damage.

The Nittany Lions could not stop the bleeding as Nessler hit an RBI single to give Pitt an 8-1 lead. On the next batter, Pisacreta hit a double that allowed the Panthers to score their ninth run of the game. Melendez hit a sacrifice fly that brought Nessler home before the scoring rampage finally came to an end.

In the top of the sixth inning, Jesse Jaconski hit a leadoff single before Joe Jaconski flew out. On the next batter, Voss hit a single to give the Nittany Lions runners on first and second with one out. Once again, they couldn’t take advantage of runners in scoring position as Maloney lined out to shortstop and Jesse Jaconski got out at second unassisted which ended the top frame.

Will Andrews replaced Loosli in the bottom frame, but things kept getting ugly for Penn State. After Pedanou hit a leadoff single and stole second base, Dulin hit an RBI single to bring Pedanou home and extend Pitt’s lead to double digits. Despite recording two outs, Andrews could not end the inning as Pisacreta’s RBI single gave the Panthers a 12-1 lead.

Connor Throneberry replaced Andrews, and this move did not pay dividends as Carrier hit a three-run homer to extend Pitt’s lead to 14 before the inning came to an end. Lafferty continued to exert his dominance in this game as he retired the Nittany Lions in order in the seventh inning as Pitt mercy-ruled Penn State 15-1.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s pitching struggled a lot in this game. Things started to get ugly for it in the second inning when Horwat gave up five runs. After he was taken out, the bullpen gave up 10 runs compared to Pitt’s pitching who only gave up one run during the entire game.
• Pitt took advantage when it had runners in scoring position, unlike Penn State. It went 9-15 while the Nittany Lions went 0-6 as the Panthers had three five-run innings in the game which happened in the second, fifth, and sixth innings.
• Pitt’s offense was all over the place as everyone in the lineup scored a run, but the duo of Pisacreta and Carrier stood out. They combined for six RBIs, four hits, scored three runs, and had one home run.

What’s Next?

Penn State will return to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park when it takes on Xavier in its final three-game series of the regular season. The first game will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 15.