Penn State baseball (31-22, 15-15 Big Ten) fell to Xavier (31-25, 14-7 Big East)

The teams started even, sharing runs back and forth before Xavier found its rhythm in the seventh inning, scoring three. It added three more in the final innings before Penn State’s last hope of a comeback fell just short, as it added three runs in the ninth but was still two runs short of the Musketeers.

How It Happened

Mason Butash got the nod on the mound for the Nittany Lions on senior day. After hitting the first batter he faced, Butash got out of the top of the first inning with ease. Paxton Kling reached base in the bottom half of the inning, but the Nittany Lions could not plate a run.

Butash retired the side in the second inning to keep it scoreless. A Matt Maloney double got the scoring started for the blue and white in the bottom of the second inning. Logan Schmidt held it to only one run for the Musketeers, retiring three Nittany Lions in order to end the inning.

Stay hot, Matt Maloney! He rips a double to the corner in left to bring in Weingartner!

B2 | PSU 1, XAV 0#WeAre pic.twitter.com/Qj6yglv3mi

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) May 17, 2025

Nolan Tucker and Carter Hendrickson both drove in a run each in the third inning to grab the lead for Xavier. The Nittany Lions went down in order in the bottom of the third inning, and the Musketeers went to the fourth with a 2-1 advantage.

Butash retired the first two batters he faced in the fourth before losing his command on the mound and being relieved by Skip Shenosky. Shenoksy struck out Jason Jelic to end the frame. Ryan Weingartner singled to center to start the bottom of the inning for the Nittany Lions.

Nate Voss flew out to left field for the first out of the inning. Jack Nobe came in for Xavier to try to keep the Penn State bats at bay. Maloney decided otherwise for the blue and white, tying the game at two with a solo home run to right field.

Have a weekend, Matt Maloney!!! He goes yard for the second-straight day!

B4 | PSU 2, XAV 2#WeAre pic.twitter.com/dxx2foH5wv

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) May 17, 2025

Shenosky kept the score at 2-2 in the top half of the fifth, only allowing one hit in the inning while on the mound for the blue and white. Nobe continued the impressive pitching by retiring the Nittany Lions in order to head to the sixth inning.

Bryce Molinaro started the bottom of the sixth with a double to center field. Voss doubled to left field with two outs to drive in Molinaro and give the Nittany Lions the slim 3-2 lead. Trevor Geddes came in to pitch for the Musketeers and was able to get out of the inning, only down one run.

Xavier tied it up at three apiece in the top of the seventh in a short three batters. Without recording an out in the inning, Shenosky was replaced by freshman Harrison Lollin on the hill. Tucker’s bat gave the away side the lead with a double off Lollin.

Geddes continued on the mound for Xavier as Mike Lucarelli grounded out to second to start the order. Joe Jaconski grabbed a single, and Kling walked before the Musketeers pulled Geddes to bring on Jon Wylie. Molinaro and Jesse Jaconski struck out and flied out to end the inning.

Carson Renner hit the mound for Penn State to close out the game in the eighth inning, walking Aedan Anderson to start. He walked two more batters, filling the bases, while striking one out. Penn State decided to make another pitching change, hoping to avoid giving away a run, bringing in Brandon Wingenroth. The Musketeers grabbed another single, advancing Anderson to home. Penn State got the last two outs, back to back, to keep the game within three runs, 6-3.

The Nittany Lions’ batting went quickly in the bottom of the eighth, with one walk and then three consecutive outs to end the inning.

Xavier extended its lead as Anderson homered to left field, bringing in two runs. It got out at first base and flew out to end its batting for the game.

Penn State got on base as Lucarelli was hit by a pitch, and Joe Jaconski singled to first, advancing Lucarelli to third. Kling came up next, hitting a single and allowing Lucarelli to score. The Nittany Lions racked up two outs, but Jesse Jaconski and Molinaro got on, giving Penn State full bases. Two quick singles allowed Kling and Jaconski to reach home, putting the game within two. Voss grounded out to second base to record the last out, ending the game with a Penn State loss, 8-6.

Takeaways:

• Penn State struggled toward the end of the Big Ten slate but seems to have stabilized itself before the Big Ten Tournament, where anything can happen, as we saw last year in Omaha, Nebraska.
• Matt Maloney stays hot. He went 2-5 on the plate today, recording a home run and two RBIs.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions have wrapped up their regular season and will head to Omaha, Nebraska, for the Big Ten Tournament next week.