Penn State baseball (1-2) was mercy-ruled 24-5 by Kansas State (3-0) in its final game of the MLB Desert Invitational.

The Nittany Lions hung around in the first few innings, but the consistent Wildcats bats, with the help of sloppy defense, scored multiple runs in every inning, including a 17-run seventh inning. Freshman starter Isaiah Shayter struggled in his first collegiate outing, and the bullpen performed just as poorly in their three and two-thirds innings of work.

How It Happened

The first frame of Sunday’s affair was quiet for both teams. Kansas State’s leadoff hitter, Robby Bolin, worked a walk, but was thrown out trying to steal second. Shayter retired the next two Wildcats without an issue.

For Penn State, Jayden Davis doubled down the right field line, but Kansas State’s Lincoln Sheffield got Michael Anderson to ground out and struck out Bryce Molinaro, ending the first frame.

The second inning brought scoring for both squads. Kansas State led off with a walk by Dee Kennedy, and a hit by pitch two batters later gave Micah Kendrick runners on first and second with one out. Shayter left a fastball over the middle of the plate, and Kendrick ripped it down the line, bringing one home. Ty Smolinski brought a second run home with a sac-fly, and the inning ended three pitches later.

With a two-run lead, Kansas State’s defense broke down. Sheffield plunked Jack Porter, and two mishandled groundballs from Kevin Karstetter and Joey DeMucci loaded the bases for the Nittany Lions. Freshman phenom Preston Yaucher stroked his first hit of the season with a jammed, flare shot to right field, putting Penn State on the board. Mercado grounded into two to end the inning.

Karstetter returned the defensive miscues in the top of the third by knocking around a routine ground ball, allowing Bolin to reach first. Grant Gallagher and Shintato Inoue took advantage of the miscue with a triple down the left field line and a single through the right side, extending their lead, 4-1.

Jayden Davis ended the top of the third by initiating a double-play and started the bottom half with a single through the right side. An Anderson walk followed, bringing Molinaro to the plate with runners on first and second, no outs. Molinaro chopped one to third, which advanced Davis, but gave the Wildcats two free outs. Porter was able to score Davis with a double, but Sheffield retired Karstter to end the third inning with only a single run of damage.

Another miscue in the field for Penn State put them in a hole to open the fourth. Jesse Jaconski lost Kyan Lodice’s pop-up in the sun, and Lodice pulled into second, setting up a big inning. Shayter followed up the double with his third walk of the game, and then consecutive singles by Bear Madliak and Bolin brought two runs in.

Two pitches later, Gambino came up from the dugout, and Shayter’s Sunday was over. His final line was 3 1/3 innings pitched, seven hits, six earned runs, three walks, and one strikeout.

Kyle Emmons jogged out from the bullpen with two runners on. His battery partner, DeMucci, stopped the bleeding with a dart to second base to throw out Bolin for the second time, and Penn State finally escaped the inning in a four-run deficit.

Following a long break thanks to his offense, Sheffield allowed three straight singles into right field by DeMucci, Yaucher, and Mercado, which brought in their third run of the game. Sheffield stayed even-keeled, though, and inflicted a third-straight inning-ending double play.

Facing the third batter of his extended relief appearance, Emmons left a fastball in Kennedy’s wheelhouse, which Kennedy tattooed 426 feet into left field. The reliever’s struggles continued in the next at-bats, allowing two batters to reach on a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Smolinski then knocked in his second run of the game with a single up the middle and ended Emmons’ day.

Frankie Sanchez came in for Emmons, marking his first appearance since Tommy John surgery. He allowed one of Emmons’ runners to score on a sac-fly and loaded the bases with consecutive walks, but escaped on a deep fly-out. Kansas State leads, 9-3

Sheffield, facing the heart of Penn State’s order, owned the first 1-2-3 inning of Sunday’s game. He blew a fastball by Anderson for his fifth strikeout and retired Molinaro and Porter in six more pitches. He did not return to the mound for Kansas State and finished the day with five innings pitched, two earned runs, and five punch-outs.

Skip Shenosky toed the rubber for Penn State in the sixth, but the hit parade continued for the Wildcats. Back-to-back doubles from Kennedy and AJ Evasco plated their tenth run of the game, and at this point, each Wildcat starter had a hit on Sunday. Thankfully, Shonesky drew a double-play to end the top half of the sixth.

Matt Flores relieved Sheffield and got jumped by the second batter he faced. Jaconski clobbered a belt-high fastball 415 feet into left-center, for Penn State’s first home run of the season. The Wildcat reliever settled in and retired DeMucci and Youcher to close the sixth inning.

It took three relievers for Penn State to get through the seventh. Mason Butash opened the inning, but was doomed from the start; he produced two weakly hit pop-ups that found grass because of Penn State’s sloppy defense. Kennedy and Evasco tagged four runs on with consecutive knocks. Kendrick brought another run in, and Kansas State owned a 15-4 lead in the seventh, putting Penn State at risk of the mercy rule.

Matthew VanOstenbridge took the reins from Butash with two outs. VanOstenbridge walked three straight batters and hit a fourth before being pulled for the third pitcher of the seventh inning.

To face the thirteenth batter of the inning, Gambino called upon Braden Leed. Leed hung a breaking ball, and Inoue cracked it into right, bringing in a run. Kennedy’s torture of Penn State continued in his fifth at-bat of the day when he jumped on a 2-1 fastball for a grand slam. The seemingly-never ending inning came to an end thanks to Davis snaring a line drive at second base.

Penn State, staring down a 20-run deficit, did not go down quickly. Justin Turcovski led off with a walk and stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, then scored on Davis’s groundout. Molinaro made the second out on the base paths, and Porter finished Sunday’s game with a chopper to third.

Takeaways

• Jayden Davis racked up two hits, including a first-inning double, which closed out a 5-for-14 weekend for Penn State’s new second baseman.
• Starter Isaiah Shayter did not deliver much-needed length for Penn State on the backend of a three-game weekend. Shayter allowed six runs on 63 pitches through three and a third innings.
• In his second start, freshman Preston Yaucher garnered his first two collegiate hits, including an RBI.

What’s Next?

Penn State will travel to Richmond on Friday, February 20th, for a four-game weekend series. Friday’s game will begin at 1 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.