Penn State baseball (12-27, 5-14 Big Ten) fought tooth and nail with No. 19 Oregon (30-11, 13-6 Big Ten) on Friday night in Eugene, but ultimately fell 5-4.

A back-and-forth affair, Penn State held multiple leads, including one as late as the seventh inning, but the Ducks always had a response. Colin Fitzgerald struck out a career high 12 batters and Bryce Molinaro crushed a clutch go-ahead home run, but poor defense and command by the bullpen led to another brutal defeat.

How It Happened

Oregon ace Will Sanford got the start for the Ducks on a crisp Friday night in Eugene, and he pitched around a hit-by-pitch of Molinaro to throw a scoreless first.

Fitzgerald made his 10th start of the season for the Nittany Lions, and he pitched around a single and a wild pitch with a pair of strikeouts to start his outing off on the right foot.

Avery Smith walked with two outs in the second against Sanford and got to second on a balk, but was stranded. Fitzgerald got into big trouble in the bottom half with a hit-by-pitch, dropped third strike, and a walk to load the bases with one out, but the senior induced an inning-ending 6-6-3 double play to end the inning.

Penn State would strike first in the third inning. Preston Yaucher led off the frame with a double for his sixth extra-base hit of the year and scampered his way home on a heads-up play after a missed catch error by Oregon first baseman Brayden Jaksa to make it 1-0. Michael Anderson nearly drove in another run on a long drive to center field, but was robbed of extra bases by a stupendous catch by Drew Smith.

Fitzgerald put up a shutdown inning in the bottom half, striking out a pair of Ducks in a 1-2-3 frame. However, he wouldn’t be able to hold the lead in the fourth, as a one-out single set the table for Burke-Lee Mabeus to mash his fifth home run of the season to put Oregon up 2-1 after four.

Jayden Davis and Anderson both singled with two out in the fifth, looking for a quick answer. With runners on the corners and two out, Sanford spiked an 0-1 pitch that went to the backstop for a run-scoring wild pitch to tie the game at two.

But once again, Oregon had a response. A walk, stolen base, and a single put runners on the corners with one out against Fitzgerald in the fifth, and the Ducks capitalized on a Ryan Cooney sacrifice fly to make it 3-2 after five.

Jack Porter singled and Smith walked in the sixth against a laboring Sanford, but one of the Big Ten’s best strikeout pitchers did his thing and struck out a pair of Nittany Lions to strand the threat. A bunt single by Angel Laya, a single by Maddox Malony, and a walk loaded the bases against Fitzgerald again in the bottom half, but he gritted his teeth to retire the next two batters to cap off an impressive quality start for the Maine transfer.

Fitzgerald strikes out two in the 6th! Now up to 12 strikeouts!

E6 | PSU 2, No. 19 UO 3#WeAre pic.twitter.com/AMbT1VZpxf

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) April 25, 2026

Luke Morgan was first out of the bullpen for Oregon in the seventh and got two quick outs before plunking Anderson to put the tying run on base. Five pitches later, Molinaro crushed a two-run home run to right-center field to give the Nittany Lions the lead. Molinaro’s 12th homer of the season made it 4-3.

Bryce Molinaro!!!!! He hammers this one to right-center to give us the lead!

T7 | PSU 4, No. 19 UO 3#WeAre pic.twitter.com/zoglahKgUv

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) April 25, 2026

But just when Penn State pulled out in front, the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead. Dimond Loosli relieved Fitzgerald after the seventh-inning stretch and immediately gave up a leadoff double to Jaksa. Two strikeouts seemed to settle things down, but a walk and an RBI single by Malony suddenly tied the game at four. After a walk, Mike Gambino called on Kyle Emmons to put out the fire with the bases loaded, which he did by inducing an inning-ending forceout of Naulivou Lauaki.

Tanner Bradley worked some deep counts in the top of the eighth, but retired the Nittany Lions in order. Emmons stayed on for the bottom half and struggled with command after giving up a leadoff single. After two stolen bases and two semi-intentional walks loaded the bases, Emmons induced a ground ball to Spencer Barnett at third. Looking to cut down on the go-ahead run at the plate, Barnett fired an off-line throw that pulled Joey DiMucci off home plate for a run-scoring fielder’s choice to make it 5-4 Oregon after eight.

Bradley stayed on to face 8-9-1 in the Nittany Lions’ order and despite falling behind both Justin Turcovski and Yaucher to start the inning, he struck out the side in order to win the game for the Ducks.

Takeaways

• Bryce Molinaro’s 12th home run of the season further solidifies his place in second in program history in career home runs with 36. Additionally, he is now alone in fifth in all-time RBIs (139) and seventh in total bases (313).
• Colin Fitzgerald, when you adjust for opponent quality, probably had his best start of the season today. He tossed six innings of three-run ball with a career-high 12 strikeouts against not only the No. 19 team in the country, but a team with an incredible .950 team OPS. He was briefly in line for a win, but settles for a no decision.
• As usual, Penn State’s downfall is the inability to throw strikes. Seven more walks today, including four in two innings by Loosli and Emmons, powered multiple Oregon rallies. They entered this weekend with the second highest walk rate among 17 Big Ten squads.
• Heartbreak on a late-night Friday game against a ranked Big Ten opponent on the West Coast? If that sounds familiar, a very similar game played out against UCLA in Los Angeles last season. Penn State got routed in the last two games of that series and will hope to avoid the same result here.

What’s Next?

Penn State continues its three-game series in Eugene against No. 19 Oregon at 7 p.m. EST on Saturday, April 25. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.