Penn State baseball (5-13, 1-2 Big Ten) dropped the third and final game of a weekend series against Iowa (13-6, 2-1 Big Ten) on Sunday afternoon at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, 12-4.

The Nittany Lions jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but a seven-run fourth from the Hawkeyes would prove to be the nail in the coffin for the rubber game of the first series of the Big Ten slate.

How It Happened

Isaiah Shayter made his fifth start of the season for the Nittany Lions, and the true freshman worked around a leadoff single by Gable Mitchell and a pair of walks to get through the first unscathed.

Iowa’s Maddux Frese took the bump in the bottom half for his first start of the season. Jayden Davis led off with a walk before advancing to third on a double by Michael Anderson. With two quickly in scoring position, Spencer Barnett skied a sacrifice fly into foul territory, and Jack Porter lined an RBI single to put Penn State up 2-0 after one.

Porter bounces it through and Anderson scores!

B1 | PSU 2, IOWA 0#WeAre pic.twitter.com/j8qtJbSxHL

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) March 15, 2026

Shayter had an easier second inning, striking out the first two hitters before working around a two-out single. Frese settled down after his challenging first, getting an easy 1-2-3 inning on seven pitches.

Back out there for the third, Shayter racked up another two strikeouts in his first 1-2-3 inning. Penn State’s offense struck again in the bottom half, as Davis led off with a double down the third base line before Anderson lined an RBI single to make it 3-0.

Anderson lines a single to left to bring in Davis!

B3 | PSU 3, IOWA 0#WeAre pic.twitter.com/kMWoehPfpD

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) March 15, 2026

Anderson got to third on an E3 after making the out at first, but he was cut down at the plate on a ground ball from Porter. Bryce Molinaro drew a walk after to set up Avery Smith, but Frese struck him out to end the inning.

Self-inflicted mistakes stung the Nittany Lions in the fourth. Shayter walked Joey Nerat on four pitches before surrendering an RBI double to Kooper Schulte. After getting a strikeout and jumping ahead of Max Burt 0-2, Shayter hit him in the back. Preston Yaucher nearly made a terrific play on an ensuing ground ball, but it went down as an infield single. A two-run single by Mitchell chased Shayter from the game for Mason Horwat.

Horwat wasn’t able to stop the bleeding. Caleb Wulf lined a two-run double to right before a pair of hit-by-pitches brought in a sixth run. Kyle Emmons came out of the bullpen to finish the inning and got the last two outs, but not before scoring a seventh run, putting the Hawkeyes up 7-3.

Jesse Jaconski led off the home half of the fourth with a walk against Kyle Alivo, but the new Iowa pitcher retired the next three batters in order. Emmons finally settled things down for the Nittany Lions with a 1-2-3 fifth.

The next big opportunity came for Penn State in the fifth, as Alivo walked Barnett between a pair of hit-by-pitches to load the bases with nobody out. Despite bringing the tying run to the plate, the Nittany Lions managed only one run on an RBI forceout by Molinaro, where Mitchell saved a back-breaking error with a diving play and stretch to stay on the bag, cutting the deficit to 7-4.

Emmons worked another efficient inning in the sixth, pitching around a two-out single. Yaucher singled with one out against Alivo, but got too aggressive on the basepaths and was thrown out at third trying to advance a pair of bags on a wild pitch.

The dam eventually broke for Emmons in the seventh, as he gave up a walk, single, RBI single to Jaixen Frost, and RBI double to Mitchell to make it 9-4. He was relieved by Ben DeMell, who walked Miles Risley to load the bases and allowed a two-run single to Wulf, giving the Hawkeyes a seven-run lead into the seventh-inning stretch.

Anderson and Barnett led off the bottom of the seventh with a single and a walk, but Tyler Guerin worked out of the jam for Iowa. Frankie Sanchez took the mound in the eighth for Penn State and allowed a leadoff home run to Nerat to make it 12-4, but he retired the next three in order.

Jaconski led off the eighth with a walk, but Maddox McDonald struck out, and Yaucher hit into an inning-ending double play. Sanchez allowed a pair of baserunners in the ninth, but induced a 6-4-3 double play.

Guerin closed things out for the Hawkeyes in the ninth, giving up a leadoff walk to Davis before retiring the next three in order.

Takeaways

• The pitching continues to shoot the team in the foot. After Colin Fitzgerald’s seven shutout innings to start Friday’s win, the pitching staff gave up 31 runs over the last 20 innings to a potent Iowa offense.
• Isaiah Shayter’s outing fell apart in the fourth, but his six strikeouts in 3.1 innings show why Mike Gambino and his staff entrust the freshman with the team’s Sunday starts.
• Jayden Davis, Michael Anderson, and Spencer Barnett are continuing to rake, but the team needs the talent in the middle and bottom of the order to start hitting. The Nittany Lions went 3-for-20 with runners on, 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and 0-for-6 with two outs and RISP.

Up Next

The Nittany Lions renew a regional rivalry, traveling to Morgantown to face West Virginia at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.