Penn State baseball (1-1) split its first two games of the MLB Desert Invitational in Arizona this weekend.

Over two days, the Nittany Lions played Air Force (1-0), and then faced Grand Canyon University (1-1). Although game one was a shaky pitching display, game two showed the perfect harmony between pitching and offense for Penn State.

Game One

The first three innings of the game were quiet, with Penn State starter Colin Fitzgerald allowing only one hit. The Nittany Lions went down in order during the first two innings, and Jayden Davis failed to bring in Nate Voss from third base in the bottom of the third inning.

In the top of the fourth, Brooks Burdine walked and stole second, and then advanced to third on a single. Kayden Bradshaw singled, allowing Burdine to score and put Air Force up by one. Air Force was able to score two more runs on throwing errors, and ended the fourth inning up 3-0 once Penn State went down in order again.

The fifth and sixth innings were once again in favor of Air Force, with the team scoring three runs in the fifth and two in the sixth. Despite a single from Kevin Karsetter in the fifth and a walk from Bryce Molinaro in the sixth, Penn State remained without a run.

In the top of the seventh inning, Air Force scored three runs on two Penn State throwing errors to put them up 11-0. The Nittany Lions scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh, starting with a walk from Karsetter and a hit by pitch from Voss. Justin Turkovsky singled, scoring Karsetter, and Cohl Mercado grounded out to second base, scoring Voss. Turcovski then scored on a single from Davis, making the score 11-3.

Air Force scored four more runs in the eighth inning, putting them up 15-3. After Penn State went down in order in the bottom of the eighth, the game ended on the mercy rule, allowing Air Force to pick up their first win of the MLB Desert Invitational.

Game Two

In the second game of the Desert Invitational, Penn State and Grand Canyon University endured a pitching duel for the first few innings. In the top of the first, GCU pitcher Nicholas Robb only allowed one hit from Michael Anderson, and Penn State pitcher Ben Hudson sent GCU down in order.

In the top of the second inning, Penn State was unable to take advantage of a first and second opportunity, leaving two on base at the end of the half inning. Grand Canyon got itself on the board in the bottom of the second inning when Cannon Peery singled and scored on a triple from Max Charles.

The third inning remained quiet for both teams, and the Nittany Lions tied the game in the fourth inning when Spencer Barnett walked, stole second, and scored on a single from Turcovski.

The fifth inning was the turning point for the Nittany Lions, when Elijah Higginbottom replaced Robb. Davis singled to right, and Molinario singled to advance Davis to third base. Jack Porter singled to score Davis, and Barnett tripled to score two runs. Avery Smith walked, and Turcovski ended the inning with a triple to right field, scoring two runs to put Penn State up by five. Hudson ended the bottom of the fifth with his sixth strikeout, capping off a solid outing for his PSU debut.

The sixth and seventh innings were quiet for Penn State, and Grand Canyon came back to score a run on a sac fly after an error in the bottom of the seventh inning.

The Nittany Lions had another successful inning in the top of the eighth inning, starting with singles from Davis and Molinaro. Porter then hit a two-RBI double and scored on a single from Karsetter to put Penn State up 9-2.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, GCU was able to squeeze in a run after walks from Dominic Chacon and Vince Bianchina, and a single from Tanner Johns. However, GCU wasn’t able to come all the way back, allowing Penn State to notch its first win of the season, 9-3.

Takeaways

• Pitching was slightly rusty entering the season, allowing 15 total runs in the first game, but held GCU to only two runs in the second game.
• Ben Hudson was solid in his Penn State debut, striking out six batters over five innings of one-run baseball.
• While missed opportunities were the soundtrack to the first game, Penn State was able to take advantage of pitches in the second game to win by six.
• Starting pitching was sharp in both games, but the bullpen needs more work before the season gets in full swing.

What’s Next?

Penn State will close out the MLB Desert Invitational on Sunday, February 15, against Kansas State. The game will be streaming live on MLB.com.