Penn State Baseball (4-9, 0-0 Big Ten) lost all three games during its away series at Texas Tech (9-4, 0-0 Big 12). The Nittany Lions were outscored 50-17 across the three games.

How It Happened

Game One

In game one, Colin Fitzgerald got the start for Penn State, but was knocked out early when Texas Tech scored six runs in the first inning. The Nittany Lions got one back in the second on a home run from Avery Smith.

Penn State added another run in the fourth on an RBI double from Preston Yaucher. The Red Raiders scored one of their own in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 7-2.

Bryce Molinaro launched a three-run homer in the fifth to shrink the lead to two runs, but Texas Tech struck back hard, scoring three in the bottom of the fifth, one in the sixth, and two more in the seventh to take a commanding 13-5 lead.

Penn State scored two runs in the eighth on an RBI single by Michael Anderson, but the Red Raiders held strong and added two more to win with a final score of 15-7. Texas Tech had 17 hits in its dominant victory.

Game Two

Penn State took the early lead in game two on a Cohl Mercado homer, but Texas Tech continued its first-inning success, scoring seven runs off of starter Ben Hudson.

The Nittany Lions added one in the second on an RBI double by Jesse Jaconski, but Texas Tech scored four of its own in the bottom of the inning to go up 11-2.

Penn State added two in the third on a home run by Anderson, but the Red Raiders got one back on a fielder’s choice.

Texas Tech scored two in the fourth and three in the fifth to make the score 17-4. Penn State scored two on a single by Smith and a fielder’s choice, but the Red Raiders hit a three-run homer and an RBI double to extend the lead to 21-6.

Penn State could not score in the top of the seventh, and the game ended on the run rule.

Game Three

Isaiah Shayter got the start for the Nittany Lions in game three and quickly gave up two in the first and three in the second.

Penn State scored twice in the third on a two-RBI single by Anderson. The Nittany Lions added one in the fourth on an RBI groundout by Jaconski and one more in the fifth on a single by Molinaro. Kyle Emmons pitched three scoreless innings to allow Penn State to keep it close.

From there, the Red Raiders shut the Nittany Lions down. Texas Tech scored four in the sixth and five in the seventh to put the game out of reach for Penn State and win a second consecutive game on the run rule.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions scored seven runs in game one and six runs in game two, but they gave up double digits in all three games. Penn State could not stop the Red Raiders from scoring at all throughout the series.
• Penn State used six different pitchers in game one and five different arms in games two and three. The Nittany Lions need to get length from someone to find success this season.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions head to Georgetown for a two-game series against the Hoyas. First pitch at Capital One Park is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10. Game two is set for the same time on Wednesday, March 11.