PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Penn State began its final week of the season with a midweek game against Pitt in PNC Park, searching for its second win in the historic stadium in program history.
The Panthers’ offensive onslaught was too much for the Nittany Lions as they used three five-run innings to defeat Penn State, 15-1.
The blue and white started out strong, with a record-breaking moment for shortstop Ryan Weingartner.
After forcing a leadoff walk, Weingartner swiped second base, breaking the single-season program record for stolen bases. His 28th steal of the season broke the previous top number of 27 steals by Kyle Hannon and Michael Campo.
With no runs across two innings for Penn State, Pitt was the first team to put runs on the board.
Third baseman Ryan Zuckerman reached base on a misplay in center field by Paxton Kling, leaving Zuckerman at third base for catcher Sebastian Pisacreta to bring in.
Pisacreta brought him in on an RBI single and shortly after, designated hitter Jayden Melendez hit in the second run of the inning on another RBI single, keeping the bases loaded.
An additional two misplayed balls allowed three runners to score as the Panthers plated five runs in the second inning.
Penn State brought the top of the order up in the third inning, and somewhat responded to the five-spot in the bottom of the second. Weingartner continued his hot start on offense with a line drive home run to left field, pulling the Nittany Lions closer, but they still trailed 5-1 after three innings.
Two innings later, Pitt replicated its five-run second inning with another five run inning.
Zuckerman remained perfect at the plate on a two-RBI single, getting the big inning started again.
Left fielder AJ Nessler continued the inning with an RBI single, while two runners remained on base. Pisacreta followed Nessler with a double launched down the right field line, opening up the second big inning of the evening.
The Panthers capped off the inning with a sacrifice fly from Melendez, doubling their runs in just two innings of scoring.
Pitt pitcher Drew Lafferty limited Penn State’s offense despite allowing seven hits through six innings of work, forcing ground balls and quick outs from the Nittany Lions.
The Panthers’ second baseman, Caden Dulin, ripped an RBI single to left field, putting Pitt in mercy rule territory with an 11-1 lead.
The offensive barrage continued in the sixth inning as Pisacreta ripped his third hit of the day and his third RBI with a single to left field, extending the Panthers’ advantage to 11.
Right fielder Lorenzo Carrier extended the offensive dominance with a three-run home run to right-center field. The homer marked Pitt’s third five-run inning of the game in just six innings.
Penn State’s final opportunity to keep the game going was in the seventh inning, trailing 15-1.
Despite two hard hit balls, the offense couldn’t get anything going in the seventh inning, and the Panthers took down the Nittany Lions in mercy rule fashion.
Up Next
Penn State returns to Happy Valley for a three game series with Xavier starting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The teams will travel to Harrisburg to play Game 2 at FNB Field at 6 p.m. Friday before returning to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park for the final game of the series at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Injury Report
Cole Wagner remains out of the lineup with a broken bone in his wrist. He remains out indefinitely.
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