Coming off a 31-0 senior season and his third consecutive NCAA title, Zain Retherford held onto his Hodge Trophy.
The Nittany Lions enter their sixth NIT semifinal appearance with a 2-3 all-time record.
The Nittany Lions are 25-9 all-time in the National Invitation Tournament with one tournament championship in 2009.
The Nittany Lions tacked on two All-Americans in the men's competition Saturday and Sunday. Penn State already had four All-Americans, including sabre national title runner-up Zara Moss, in the women's competition Thursday and Friday.
Qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons is impressive, but a decisive loss to Denver shows Penn State isn't elite quite yet.
After dropping the first two games of the series, Penn State broke out for 9 runs to finish a weekend against Rutgers 1-2.