No. 9 seed Penn State baseball (32-23, 15-15 Big Ten) survived No. 5 seed Washington (29-27, 17-13 Big Ten) 5-3 on Wednesday afternoon at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska. This was the first game of two for the Nittany Lions in Pool D play of the Big Ten Tournament.

The Nittany Lions struck first in the first inning. After that, the game turned into a pitching duel as both teams went scoreless through the next four innings before Penn State ended the scoreless trend in the sixth inning as it scored three runs. However, things got tricky for the Nittany Lions as the Huskies scored three runs in the final two innings but were able to hold on in the end.

How It Happened

Penn State’s leadoff batter, Joe Jaconski, struck out before Paxton Kling hit a single. After Bryce Molinaro drew a walk, Jesse Jaconski hit an RBI single to left field which allowed Kling to score as the Nittany Lions struck first. However, they could not score more runs as Washington’s pitcher, Max Banks, struck out Penn State’s next two batters to end the top of the first inning.

Jesse Jaconski rips a single to left to get us on the board as Kling scores!

T1 | PSU 1, UW 0#WeAre pic.twitter.com/LAB5MOAIIw

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) May 21, 2025

Penn State’s pitcher, Ryan DeSanto, retired the Huskies 1-2-3 to end the first inning. In the top frame of the second inning, Voss flew out before Dylan Cease drew a walk but, during Cohl Mercado’s at-bat, he was picked off at first. Then, Mercado struck out to give Washington its third out. DeSanto retired Washington’s first two batters, but Colton Bower was hit by a pitch to keep the inning alive. Jackson Hotchkiss flew out right after as the Nittany Lions kept their 1-0 lead heading into the third inning.

Banks retired the Nittany Lions in the top frame of the third inning. After Trevor Kole grounded out, Black Wilson drew a walk. DeSanto managed to record the critical strikeout on Casen Taggart before Wilson was caught stealing second base to give Penn State its third out.

Banks once again retired Penn State’s batters in order to keep Washington’s deficit at one heading into the bottom of the fourth inning. After three dominant innings by DeSanto, things started to get tricky for him as the Huskies had runners on first and second with one out. However, he was able to get out of the jam as he was able to force Washington’s next two batters to fly out which ended the inning.

The scoreless trend extended into four innings as both teams went scoreless once again in the fifth inning. Joe Jaconski hit a leadoff single to get things underway in the top frame of the sixth inning. Then, Kling hit a double to left field which allowed the Nittany Lions to have runners on second and third with no outs.

On the next batter, Molinaro hit a sacrifice fly to deep centerfield which allowed Joe Jaconski to score. However, another run came in for the Nittany Lions during the sacrifice fly as Kling’s fast speed allowed him to go from second base to home base. After Jesse Jaconski flew out, Ryan Weingartner hit a solo homer to extend Penn State’s lead to four before the top frame came to an end.

Ryan Weingartner!!! He goes oppo for his 11th homer of the year!

T6 | PSU 4, UW 0#WeAre pic.twitter.com/Yphx71YYfg

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) May 21, 2025

In the bottom frame, DeSanto started to show signs of fatigue as he allowed the Huskies to have runners on first and second with no outs. However, Braeden Terry grounded into a double play allowing Penn State to get two outs with a runner on third. DeSanto’s day came to an end right as he was relieved by Dimond Loosli. This move paid dividends as Loosli managed to get the final out to help DeSanto get out of the inning unscathed.

This gave a lot of momentum for the Nittany Lions heading into the seventh inning as they managed to increase their lead to five on an RBI single by Mercado before the top frame came to an end. Bower was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Washington could not get on the board as Loosli retired Washington’s next three batters to keep Penn State’s five-run lead intact.

Washington’s reliever, Josh Emanuels, retired the Nittany Lions 1-2-3 which gave the Huskies momentum heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. Penn State manager, Mike Gambino, decided to replace Loosli with Anthony Steele. This move did not pay off as AJ Guerrero hit a two-run home run which finally got Washington on the board and gave it life as it trimmed its deficit to three before the inning came to an end.

In the top of the ninth inning, Emmanuels struck out Penn State’s batters to keep the Huskies within three heading into the bottom frame. Matt VanOstenbridge came in for the Nittany Lions in an attempt to close out the game. He was able to get the first two outs, but Wilson and Taggart managed to get on base for the Huskies to keep them alive in the game. During Guerrero’s at-bat, Taggart and Wilson advanced to second and third.

With a one-two count, Guerrero hit a single to shortstop which allowed Wilson to score and got Washington within two of tying the game at five. However, VanOstenbridge refused to be deterred and Sam DeCarlo’s lineout ended the game as the Nittany Lions survived.

Takeaways

• This win was much needed as it keeps Penn State’s hopes alive of making another deep run in the Big Ten Tournament. If it beats No. 4 seed USC tomorrow, the blue and white will advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
• What a performance by DeSanto and the Penn State pitching staff. In a must-win game, DeSanto pitched five innings, had three strikeouts, allowed three hits, and did not give up any runs. The bullpen followed that up by managing to close out the game despite giving up three runs in the last two innings and making things complicated in the end.
• Kling was the catalyst in Penn State’s much-needed win. Even though he didn’t record any RBIs, the centerfielder went two-for-three and was intentionally walked, including scoring two of Penn State’s five runs. He has a batting average of .345 with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs this season and will need to keep this momentum going if Penn State is going to make a deep run in the Big Ten Tournament.

What’s Next?

Penn State will look to advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament when it plays its second and final game of Pool D against the No. 4 seed USC at Charles Schwab Field. First pitch is at 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 22.