Penn State baseball (4-11, 0-0 Big Ten) was swept in a two-game midweek series against Georgetown (12-6, 0-0 Big East) at Capital One Park in Tysons, Virginia. The Nittany Lions have now lost five consecutive games and nine of their last 11 games.

Georgetown took the opener 8-2 on Tuesday, buoyed by poor command from Penn State’s pitching staff and several errors in the field. The Nittany Lions got off to a stronger start on Wednesday, leading by two midway through the game, but ultimately fell 5-4 after giving up a home run in the eighth inning.

How It Happened

Game One

Charlie Hendrix got the start for Georgetown and made quick work of the top of the Nittany Lions’ order. Frankie Sanchez took the mound in the bottom half for his second start of the season and responded with a 1-2-3 inning.

Jack Porter got the game’s first hit to lead off the second, and the Nittany Lions eventually got two into scoring position, but Hendrix struck out Maddox McDonald to end the threat. Georgetown got two runners on with one out in the bottom half, but Sanchez induced an inning-ending unassisted double play to keep the game scoreless.

Preston Yaucher opened the third with a leadoff triple and came around to score on an E6 to open the scoring, making it 1-0 Penn State.

The lead didn’t last long, as after a one-out walk to AJ Solomon, Sanchez gave up a go-ahead two-run homer to Ashtin Gilio. A walk and a double shortly after forced a pitching change, but Matthew VanOstenbridge couldn’t stop the bleeding, allowing a two-run single to Christian Hamilton to make it 4-1 Georgetown after three.

Andrew Citron took over for the Hoyas in the fourth and sat down the Nittany Lions 1-2-3. The bottom of the fourth was a mess for VanOstenbridge, who walked a pair, threw a wild pitch, and committed an error before eventually being pulled for Ben DeMell.

DeMell was immediately let down by his defense, as Bryce Molinaro booted a ground ball at third base for the inning’s third error to score a sixth run. Molinaro redeemed himself by gunning down Gilio at the plate on an ensuing groundout that contributed to stranding the bases loaded, but Georgetown led 6-1.

Citron and Max Whitmer combined to pitch the fifth for the Hoyas, keeping the Nittany Lions off the scoreboard again. DeMell finally settled things down in the bottom half with a 1-2-3 inning.

Molinaro avenged his earlier costly error by blasting his third home run of the season in the sixth to cut the deficit to 6-2. DeMell allowed a single in the bottom half, but continued to do great work in relief around it.

Joey DeMucci led off the seventh with a walk and a stolen base, but was stranded by a pair of relievers as Georgetown managed the game aggressively. Logan Olson took over for DeMell after the seventh-inning stretch and immediately got into a jam with back-to-back walks and a hit by pitch to load the bases. Mike Gambino wouldn’t let him try to get himself out of it, pulling him for Braden Leed.

Leed gave up a sacrifice fly to Dylan Larkins and got a strikeout to start, but walked back-to-back batters after to force in a run and flirted with more trouble before finally ending the inning with a groundout, but Penn State trailed 8-2 after seven.

Jack Volo took over for Georgetown in the eighth and struck out a pair in a 1-2-3 inning. Skip Shenosky got the ball for Penn State in the bottom half and worked his way out of a jam with a pick-off and a strikeout.

Ethan Rucker closed things out for the Hoyas, sitting the Nittany Lions down 1-2-3 to end the game. Hendrix got the win and Sanchez got the loss in an 8-2 win for Georgetown.

Game Two

JT Raab started Wednesday’s game for Georgetown and sat down the top of the Penn State lineup in order. Freshman Ethan Bauerschmidt made his first collegiate start and gave up a leadoff triple to Gilio that led to the game’s first run on a Connor Peek sacrifice fly. Bauerschmidt would allow two infield singles, but would strand runners on the corner to end the threat.

Georgetown’s lead wouldn’t last long, as Molinaro tied the game at one just four pitches into the top of the second with his fourth home run of the season. Jayden Davis lined a double into the gap with one out, and DeMucci walked with two outs, but Yaucher struck out to end the inning.

Bauerschmidt tore through the bottom of Georgetown’s order in the bottom half, putting up a zero with a pair of strikeouts in a 1-2-3 inning. The home run party continued in the third for the Nittany Lions, as Michael Anderson and Spencer Barnett went back-to-back with one out. It was Anderson’s seventh and Barnett’s fourth of the season, giving Penn State a 3-1 lead.

Bauerschmidt wasn’t able to deliver another shutdown inning to keep the momentum, however. Travis Ilitch singled with one out, Peek was plunked, and the bases were loaded on an error by Yaucher. The freshman shortstop tried to redeem himself by turning an inning-ending double play, but Christian Hamilton beat it out, turning it into an RBI forceout to bring the Hoyas within a run after three.

Ashton Arroyo took over for Raab in the fourth and got into quick trouble, allowing a bunt single to Davis and a hit-by-pitch to Jesse Jaconski in his first two pitches. Arroyo struck out DeMucci, but was unable to get out of the jam, giving up an RBI single to Yaucher to make it 4-2 Penn State. Andrew Jergins came in to get the last out of the fourth for the Hoyas, but didn’t need to as Yaucher was caught stealing to end the frame.

Georgetown struck back in the bottom of the fourth, as Connor Price drew a leadoff walk and Dante Pozzi crushed the first pitch he saw for a game-tying home run with one out, tying the game at four.

Jergins gave up a one-out single to Anderson in the top of the fifth, but induced a 4-6-3 double play shortly after. Leed came on in relief of Bauerschmidt in the bottom half and worked around a leadoff walk to keep the game knotted at four.

Griffin O’Connor pitched the sixth for the Hoyas and tiptoed his way out of trouble after a one-out walk to Porter and a single by Davis. Olson relieved Leed in the sixth for Penn State and got into deep trouble, allowing a single and a walk before plunking Pozzi to load the bases with one out. Kyle Emmons was summoned from the bullpen to put out the fire and successfully did so with a strikeout and inning-ending groundout.

Penn State went down 1-2-3 in the seventh before handing things over to Robert Brown III after the seventh-inning stretch. The freshman reliever allowed a two-out single, but got through the rest of the inning unscathed.

O’Connor pitched his third inning of work for Georgetown in the eighth and pitched around a leadoff single by Avery Smith. Brown stayed on the mound in the eighth, but after retiring the first two batters he faced, Pozzi hit his second home run of the game to put the Hoyas ahead 5-4.

After closing out the Nittany Lions on Tuesday, Rucker came on in a save opportunity in the ninth and similarly tore through the three batters, racking up two strikeouts and pulling off the sweep.

Takeaways

• Penn State just isn’t going to be able to compete this season without consistent run prevention, which it hasn’t had so far this season. From the blowout loss in Arizona to Kansas State to the high-scoring defeats in last weekend’s sweep in Lubbock, Texas, against Texas Tech to Tuesday, it’s difficult to win in baseball when you’re walking too many batters and not playing clean defense.
• Michael Anderson and Bryce Molinaro are carrying the offense with their slugging, but the team isn’t getting much from the bottom of the order.
• The Nittany Lions are heavily relying on freshmen pitchers. Isaiah Shayter has been the team’s Sunday starter through the first month of the season, while the team is giving key innings in these midweek games to guys like Ethan Bauerschmidt and Robert Brown III. Growing pains are expected when the team’s difficult non-conference schedule meets guys just getting their feet wet in college.

Up Next

Penn State heads back home to open its Big Ten slate at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, opening a three-game series with Iowa at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, March 13. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.