Penn State baseball (15-32, 8-19 Big Ten) shut out Washington (22-29, 11-16 Big Ten) in the rubber game of a three-game set at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Saturday afternoon, 4-0.

Isaiah Shayter tossed five scoreless innings to set the tone for the pitching staff. The offense provided enough run support off home runs by Jesse Jaconski and Avery Smith to get Penn State its first Big Ten series win of the season on Senior Day.

How It Happened

Shayter got the ball for the Nittany Lions, making his 13th start of the season. Things didn’t start well for the freshman, who allowed a leadoff single before an E5 by Spencer Barnett put two on with nobody out. With the heart of the Washington order up, he retired the next three hitters with two strikeouts.

Hayden Lewis toed the slab for the Huskies for his 11th start of the season. He got off to a good start in this one, working around a two-out single by Bryce Molinaro to open the game with a zero.

Shayter once again stranded two baserunners in the second, but Lewis wouldn’t have the same fortune in the bottom half. While Barnett was caught stealing after a leadoff single, hits by Jesse Jaconski and Avery Smith put runners on the corners for Maddox McDonald, who perfectly executed a safety squeeze for a sacrifice bunt and an RBI, making it 1-0 Penn State.

Perfect bunt by McDonald to bring in Jaconski!

B2 | PSU 1, UW 0#WeAre pic.twitter.com/GQyLtYcsuX

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) May 9, 2026

Jackson Hotchkiss led off the third with a walk against Shayter, but was gunned down by Smith after trying to advance on a wild pitch with one out. Jayden Davis singled, and Kevin Karstetter doubled off Lewis to put two in scoring position with two outs for Penn State, but they were stranded.

A one-two-three fourth for Shayter gave Penn State a chance to extend their lead in the bottom half of the inning, as Jaconski blasted his fifth home run of the series to make it 2-0. Smith singled later in the inning and got to second, but the Nittany Lions settled for one.

Jesse Jaconski!!! He goes yard on Senior Day! His 2nd this weekend!

B4 | PSU 2, UW 0#WeAre pic.twitter.com/QAkodGD3sP

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) May 9, 2026

A one-out single by Casen Taggart was the only action for the Huskies offense in the fifth, as Shayter finished off a strong outing. Michael Anderson worked a long, 11-pitch at-bat against Lewis that resulted in a single, but was erased on a 6-4-3 double play.

Dimond Loosli took over for Shayter in the sixth and worked around a pair of two-out walks to keep Washington off the board. After a one-out walk by Jaconski, Smith walloped a 2-0 fastball to deep left field for his third home run of the season, extending the lead to 4-0 and forcing Lewis out of the game.

Avery Smith!!! He belts his third homer of the year!

B6 | PSU 4, UW 0#WeAre pic.twitter.com/s27XyI115s

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) May 9, 2026

Tommy Brandenburg got the last two outs of the sixth for the Huskies. Ben DeMell got the ball in the seventh for the Nittany Lions and delivered a 1-2-3 inning. Brandenburg stayed in to retire Davis after the seventh-inning stretch, but it would be Jack Wade who would get the two most dangerous hitters in the Penn State lineup afterward.

DeMell struck out a pair to work around a leadoff single by Hotchkiss in the eighth. Karstetter led off the bottom half with a walk and got to second on a sacrifice bunt, but was stranded by Wade and Bryce Johnson.

After picking up a save in Friday’s nightcap, Mason Horwat was tasked with getting the final three outs in this one, even if it wasn’t a save opportunity. He needed just eight pitches to get three quick outs and close out the Nittany Lions’ first series win of the season.

Takeaways

• Isaiah Shayter entered last week’s start against Minnesota with an ERA just a hair under 12 through 11 starts. Since then, he’s allowed just one run in 10.1 innings. The freshman will look to make it three consecutive quality outings to end the season next week against Maryland
• Speaking of freshmen looking to close the season on a high note, Avery Smith has solidified himself as a really strong backstop for the Nittany Lions as a true freshman. Stepping up with the early-season injury to Nate Voss, Smith is hitting .255 with an OPS over .700 and looks to be a future cornerstone at the position with both Voss and Joey DeMucci graduating.
• Penn State appeared to still be down two outfielders this weekend. Cohl Mercado has not appeared since leaving early on April 15 against West Virginia and Jack Porter only took one at-bat in the series as a pinch-hitter on Friday. With just four games left in the season, it’s unclear whether they’ll be back by then.
• After eight consecutive Big Ten series defeats to start the season, the Nittany Lions finally cracked the code against the Huskies. That includes two sweeps against ranked opponents, three rubber game defeats, and three other series defeats. Today was also their first Big Ten shutout since April 10, 2021.
• The dream isn’t dead yet, folks. With three conference games left in the season, Penn State is mathematically alive for the Big Ten Tournament, but it will likely need to sweep last-place Maryland next weekend. Crazier things have happened.

What’s Next?

Penn State travels west for its final mid-week game of the season, clashing with in-state rival Pittsburgh at Charles L. Cost Field at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12. Broadcast information is to be determined.