Despite a tough weekend on the West Coast, Penn State baseball took down the Rider Broncs on a beautiful night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
The blue and white walked away with a dominant forfeit win in this mid-week matchup, stunning Rider 14-4.
The Nittany Lions opened up the game with pitcher Matt Morash on the mound, who shut down the Broncs early, with two strikeouts in the top of the first inning.
Center fielder Paxton Kling advanced to first after being walked by pitcher Colby McNeely, then designated hitter Jack Porter was hit by a pitch, putting the blue and white in scoring position in the bottom of the first. This brought third baseman Bryce Molinaro up to the plate, who recorded an RBI single, bringing home Paxton Kling to put Penn State up 1-0.
McNeely continued to struggle, as he walked first baseman Joe Jaconski, loading the bases. Taking advantage of the offensive opportunity, catcher Nate Voss came up big with a two RBI double, bringing in Porter and Molinaro. The Broncs finally got a rest when Erich Hartmann caught second baseman Patrick Graham’s pop-fly out to right field, ending the first frame with a 3-0 for the Nittany Lions.
In the top of the second, center fielder Anthony Paskell was walked by Morash which brought up designated hitter Richie Sica, who singled up the middle, putting the Brons in scoring position.
After 1.2 innings pitched, pitcher Skip Shenosky entered the game in relief, with Morash still responsible for runners on base. With two Broncs on the corners, third baseman Will Gallagher came up with an RBI single, bringing Paskell home. Jesse Jaconski was then hit by a fly out to left field by shortstop Matt Leahy, which resulted in a two RBI triple and a fielding error for Penn State, tying the game at 3-3.
Despite their efforts, the Nittany Lions were unable to generate a response in the bottom of the second inning.
Shenosky walked catcher Nick Shuhet who then advanced to second on a wild pitch, putting the Brons in scoring position. However, the Nittany Lions successfully shut them down with two fly outs to Kling, ending the second at 3-3.
In the bottom of the third, pitcher Jack Ruditzky came in for McNeely, who pitched two innings, walking three players and recording two strikeouts.
An efficient double play for Rider shut the Nittany Lions down quickly in the bottom of the third, keeping the score tied at three.
Shenosky’s night on the mound ended in the top of the fourth after 1.1 innings, allowing just one run, which was unearned, making way for Harrison Lollin.
A strong defensive effort by Lollin and the Nittany Lions shut the Brons down, quickly ending the top of the fourth.
Another successful double play by the Broncs took out Graham and catcher Matt Maloney, once again keeping the blue and white scoreless in the fourth.
Lollion had an efficient fifth inning, striking out three Rider batters as the game remained tied at three.
In the bottom of the fifth, a pitch clock violation allowed Kling to advance to first. Runners were then placed on first and second after Porter was hit by a pitch. The offensive production by Penn State capped Ruditzky’s night at 2.1 innings, after allowing two runs and recording a strikeout. Pitcher Jake Dorety then stepped up to the mound.
Left fielder Mike Lucarelli was put in for Jesse Jaconski, who was previously hit by a fly ball. He walked in his first at bat, loading the bases to bring Joe Jaconski up to the plate. The Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, native hit a sac-fly out to center field, allowing Kling to score to make it 4-3.
Catcher Nate Voss stepped up, reaching second on a fielding error that brought Porter in to score. Another error in the infield on Maloney’s hit brought home Lucarelli and allowed Voss to get home in a thrilling turn of events, where he avoided the tag from Rider’s catcher. The ball was then thrown out to second, tagging out Maloney and ending the busy inning that put the Nittany Lions up 7-3.
The Broncs couldn’t generate a response after a rough fifth inning, with Lollin recording two more strikeouts.
Doherty and the Broncs slowed the blue and white down in the bottom of the sixth, recovering from a messy previous inning.
Lollin’s strong outing ended in the top of the seventh, as he was replaced by Will Andrews. The freshman right-hander pitched 3.0 innings, tallying 32 pitches and six strikeouts.
Andrews continued the dominance for the Nittany Lion bullpen on the mound, taking the Broncs down in the top of the seventh, striking out two players.
A lead-off home run for Molinaro gave the Nittany Lions a comfortable 8-3 lead to start the seventh. Lucarelli was then walked and advanced to third on a single by Joe Jaconski before scoring on a sac-fly to right field, courtesy of Voss.
Second baseman Dylan Cease, who came in for Patrick Graham, notched an RBI double, sending Joe Jaconski home. Weingartner then scored a two run homer to further the Nittany Lions’ lead to 12-3.
Weingartner’s house call prompted a swift end to Doherty’s night, bringing in Zach Silfies. Doherty allowed seven runs, six earned, in 2.1 innings of work, putting the Broncs in an even deeper hole. Silfies suppressed any further damage, ending the inning at 12-3 in favor of the Nittany Lions.
In an effort to generate some offense, a pair of singles from pinch hitter Christian Bermudez and left fielder Kyle Neri put Rider in scoring position late in the game. An RBI single from Paskell brought home Bermudez, making it 12-4.
The bottom of the eighth began with a lead-off single from Molinaro before Lucarelli reached first after being hit by a pitch and Joe Jaconski walked, loading the bases. Two wild pitches brought Molianro and Lucarelli home to extend the Nittany Lions’ lead to 14-4, creating the possibility of a Rider forfeit due Penn State’s 10-run buffer.
Following a discussion by the coaches, the Broncs opted to end the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, giving the win to the Nittany Lions. The blue and white put itself back into the win column, gaining momentum after dropping three in a row in its previous series at UCLA.
Up Next
The Nittany Lions will face Maryland in a Big Ten matchup at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park starting at 5:30 p.m. Friday. They’ll continue the series at 2:00 p.m. Saturday and finish the series at 1:00 p.m. Sunday.
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