Penn State baseball had another successful fall ball weekend at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, sweeping Delaware in a doubleheader on Saturday.

They won the first game in nine innings, 15-8, before taking the seven-inning nightcap in a 7-6 comeback thriller.

Since these games are scrimmages, there’s not much to analyze, but this is what we saw as Mike Gambino’s squad continues building toward 2027.

How It Happened

Game One

Genei Sato got the start in game one and didn’t miss a beat after his brilliant debut, striking out a pair in the first. Over the next two innings, he’d work around a walk, single, and E8 to throw another three shutout innings.

Delaware starter Jake Marchesano matched him with a pair of shutout innings, working around an error and a Cohl Mercado single in the second. Ben Moyzan took the ball for the Blue Hens in the third and was sharp as well.

Dom Ruggiero was the first out of the bullpen for the Nittany Lions in the fourth. Unlike his strong first outing, things didn’t go as well, with a pair of walks and an opposite-field home run by Cano-Piszel that put the Blue Hens up 3-0. He rebounded after that to get through the inning.

After three strong innings by Marchesano and Moyzan, Jake Maiale unraveled for Delaware in the fourth.

He allowed a leadoff single to Jake Kucharczyk, plunked Spencer Barnett and Mercado, and watched his shortstop misplay a slow chopper, allowing Avery Smith a two-run single into left field to cut the deficit to 3-2.

A two-out walk from Shanley Wall chased Maiale for Ryan McLaughlin with the bases loaded, but the new pitcher came out with even less command.

Bryce Clavon drew a six-pitch walk to force in a run and tie the game. Ryan McKay and Kucharczyk also walked on 10 total pitches to force in two more runs.

Just as things couldn’t get worse for McLaughlin, Barnett blasted a grand slam over the right-field wall to make it 9-3. A triple by TJ Schmalzle set up Nick Bilotto, who drew a wild pitch before finally ending a 10-run inning for the Nittany Lions.

Mac Burke got the fifth for the Nittany Lions and worked around a pair of walks to keep the inning scoreless. Bilotto settled down Penn State’s offense with a 1-2-3 half of his own before also throwing a scoreless sixth.

Two walks, a hit batsman, and a wild pitch gave Delaware a run in the sixth against Burke, but he stranded runners at the corners with two outs to keep it at 10-4.

Ryan Fuller got the seventh for the Nittany Lions, but got into deep trouble after two hit batsmen and a four-pitch walk.

He bounced back with a strikeout before giving up a two-run single to Timmy Hitchcock. Another strikeout, followed by a pair of walks to force in a third run, chased him from the game. Ethan Bauerschmidt inherited a rough situation with the tying run on base, but induced an inning-ending lineout to keep the lead at 10-7.

Zach Bond took the mound for the Blue Hens after the seventh-inning stretch. Mercado led off with a double, and Clavon drove in an RBI single to push the lead to 11-7.

Bauerschmidt stayed out for the eighth and struck out three batters on nine pitches for an immaculate inning.

Dylan Bryan, who finished the seventh for Delaware, got the eighth. An error let Kucharczyk reach before Schmalzle drove him in on an RBI triple. A walk from Smith, RBI singles by Wall and Preston Yaucher, and a wild pitch extended the lead to 15-7 after eight.

Ren Devereux took the mound to finish it out, but ran into trouble on a trio of walks. He only surrendered one run on a sacrifice fly, closing out the 15-8 victory.

Game Two

Nolan Stefniak got the ball for his second spring start in game two and looked just as sharp as Sato did, striking out the side in the first.

Nate Bott started for Delaware. He gave up a walk and a single, but poor baserunning from Clavon kept him from advancing on an E9 after the single.

Another clean inning for Stefniak gave way to new Delaware pitcher and Rancocas Valley alum Tim Hartman. He was punished after a leadoff walk to Schmalzle turned into an Andrew Cross RBI single. He made up for it by picking Cross off first base, but the Nittany Lions had a 1-0 lead.

After two perfect innings, Stefniak started to run out of gas in the third. A walk, a hit-by-pitch, and a Baltimore chop single by Cole Carbone over Barnett’s head at third drove in a run to tie it.

Three more runs scored before the inning ended on a Jason Lashley sac fly, a wild pitch, a walk, an E5, and a bloop single, leaving the Blue Hens down 4-1.

Daniel Passalacqua got the third for the Blue Hens. He allowed a leadoff single to Mason Wilson, but made up for it by inducing a double-play lineout on a failed bunt attempt. Further traffic on a pair of walks threatened, but Passalacqua got out of it.

Hunter Brown was first out of the bullpen in game two for Penn State. He gave up a leadoff single, but bounced back with two slow grounders and a strikeout to put up a zero in the fourth.

Chase Deibler was next for Delaware. A walk, single, and wild pitch put two in scoring position with nobody out for Cross, who lined an RBI single to cut it to 4-2, but was thrown out trying to get to second.

Brown returned in the fifth and got into trouble with a pair of walks and a wild pitch that got away from Anthony Grippo. A Baltimore chop to Tirado at third nearly turned into a spectacular play, but the throw pulled Aguilar off the bag for an RBI infield single to make it 5-2 Delaware.

Another walk ended Brown’s day after 1.2 innings, as Mike Gambino called on Dan Pardini from the bullpen. The freshman left-hander struck out to end the inning.

Tirado and Clavon led off the fifth on walks from Ryan Pugh, bringing the tying run to the plate. Kucharczyk, having not displayed his all-fields power yet in this twin bill, rocketed a ball to right-center field that snuck over the fence for a game-tying three-run shot.

Pardini stayed out for the sixth, but allowed a walk, a single, and an infield hit to start the inning, loading the bases with nobody out. An RBI force-out gave the Blue Hens a 6-5 lead, and Pardini chased Luke Calveric for a hit, but Calveric struck out the next two to strand the bases loaded.

Bryce Hendricks pitched the sixth for Delaware, walked Mason Campagna, and gave up a single to Cross to immediately put the tying run on third.

Wilson hit a beautiful RBI bunt single to tie the game. Another bunt, this time a sacrifice by Tirado, advanced the go-ahead run to third with one out for Clavon, but he grounded into a fielder’s choice. Kucharczyk walked to load the bases, and Hendricks gave the Nittany Lions a gift: a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch of Grippo to make it 7-6.

Calveric was tasked with closing out the victory after getting out of the sixth. He walked Grant Fournier after an ABS review, but got a gift on a popped-up bunt from Anthony Saleeba. A 6-6-3 double play on the next pitch gave Penn State the win, but because of the exhibition nature of fall ball, they still batted in the bottom of the seventh.

It was a quick end to this long day of baseball, as a single by Aguilar was negated by yet another pickoff before Campagna grounded out to end the game.

What We Saw

RHP Genei Sato: If you’re ever free on a Friday night this spring, stop by Medlar. The Japanese phenom might be the most electric pitcher to ever put on the blue and white.

He was once again sitting 96-97 on his fastball with inside ride, striking out four in three innings. While his 90-ish changeup/splitter remains his top secondary, he showed a few other pitches in this one. I’m not sure just how versatile his arsenal is, but he has a chance to be the Big Ten’s best pitcher this season.

Genei Sato is something else.

Four strikeouts through three scoreless innings, including this one on the changeup.

His fastball has gotten up to 97 with over 26” of IVB. Consistently 96 and 20-22.

An incredible pitching talent that’ll be a Friday fixture here in Happy Valley. pic.twitter.com/ixCSfTUWZ6

— Michael Zeno (@MichaelZeno24) October 17, 2026

RHP Mac Burke (Dartmouth transfer): One of several transfer relievers, Burke has a funky sidearm delivery from the right side, sitting 89-91 on his fastball with a low-80s changeup and slider. PFP is usually a sore spot for many pitchers, but it was great to see him field his position with a 1-4 force-out on a great read during his outing in game one.

RHP Ryan Fuller: One of the several hard-throwing freshmen recruited by Gambino, Fuller looked the part of Ricky Vaughn in Major League, at least in the way he pitched. With his low-to-mid 90s sinker, he struck out two, walked three, and hit two batters in 0.2 innings.

RHP Ethan Bauerschmidt: After an inconsistent freshman year in which he was asked to get big outs during mid-week games, Bauerschmidt looked outstanding Saturday afternoon. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh of game one before throwing an immaculate eighth, repeatedly throwing his low-80s slider for four swings-and-misses.

RHP Nolan Stefniak: It certainly is something that Stefniak has received both nightcap starts in fall ball. Is this a guy being considered for the starting rotation? He threw two perfect innings to start, including striking out the side in the first, but completely fell apart in the third, allowing four runs on soft contact. Before that, he had thrown five shutout innings this fall.

OF Jake Kucharczyk (Kellogg CC transfer): There’s been two guys who’ve homered in both weeks of fall ball; Kucharczyk is one of them. He played both legs of the twin bill and hit three balls over 100 mph. including a massive home run in Game Two. He also made an error on a sinking liner in center field in the third inning of Game One.

1B/3B Spencer Barnett: With Bryce Molinaro out for the fall, Barnett has played both first and third for two weeks. He hit three balls over 380 feet, including a fourth-inning grand slam missile to right-center field. He homered four times in his final four games in May 2026 and slugged over .500 last season.

UTL Bryce Clavon (Clemson transfer): We got our first look at Clavon this weekend, as he played third base and center field in the two games. He drew a bunch of walks and had a missile single, but had a few baserunning gaffes.

OF Cohl Mercado: A lot of good contact from the soft-hitting Mercado this weekend, who had three hits and a double in Game One.

OF TJ Schmalzle (Fairfield transfer): One of the guys Gambino got from the portal to cause havoc with his legs, Schmalzle had a pair of triples in this one, blasting one off the wall in right-center field for one and purely hustling on a regular liner to left field later in the game.

INF Andrew Cross: The true freshman impressed with three hits in Game Two, but was picked off twice. Not sure how that happens.

General Notes

• On the ABS front, Penn State was thoroughly beaten. Delaware had a much better grasp on the new system, while Penn State went 1-for-5. Mason Campagna had the lone overturn behind the plate.
• After stealing 13 bases last week against the Bonnies, Penn State was much worse on the basepaths today. They were thrown out trying to advance three times and picked off another three times, twice by Andrew Cross.
• This team will look a lot more like the Rays than the Yankees. The team has several willing bunters, including Mason Wilson, who hit an absolute beauty to tie it up late in game two.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will hit the road for next week’s fall ball action, taking on Bucknell at Depew Field at Marren Park at 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 24.