On Sunday, Penn State looked to pick up a win after going winless in the first two games of its series against Purdue.
Prior to this match, Penn State struggled defensively, committing four errors in the second game and losing 2-1. This game offered a chance at a massive turnaround, as Penn State forced Purdue to switch pitchers a total of five times.
Penn State started the game batting against Purdue’s Jarvis Evans. Penn State’s Cohl Mercado got the first go, getting on base after being hit by a pitch.
Shortly after, Penn State hit to center field twice, once by Michael Anderson and once by Jack Porter. These hits sent Mercado home to give Penn State a 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the first inning.
Purdue started off similarly, with Ali Banks getting hit by Isaiah Shayter’s pitch to get on base first. Following this, Purdue went on a three-run stretch as senior Sam Flores hit a home run, sending three players to score.
Penn State ended the inning on a double play after Jackson Bessette hit to third base. This halted the offensive momentum the Boilermakers were forming, and the inning ended with Purdue up 3-1.
To start the second inning, Evans returned to the mound.
Bryce Molinaro set the tone for the inning, hitting a triple to center field on the first at-bat. Evans continued to struggle for the remainder of the inning, after hitting a batter and then walking the next.
This gave Penn State runners on all bases, despite only having one hit in the inning.
Joey DeMucci hit a triple to center field, and three more runs were brought in for Penn State. Purdue called a timeout to bring in Austin Klug to take over the mound.
Following the switch, the blue and white refused to take their foot off the gas. Maddox McDonald slid a single past Purdue’s shortstop for an RBI. Penn State then led 5-3 and was brought back to the top of the lineup.
This offensive domination continued as Anderson hit a three-run home run, putting Penn State up 8-3.
Purdue was struggling to find the answer to terminating the blue and white’s batting drive. The Boilermarkers opted to change their pitcher for the second time, sending Graham Kollen in to take over the mound.
Despite the change, Purdue continued to dig itself a hole, and Penn State snuck in another run.
Molinaro continued his day of big hits with a home run over the right-center field fence, adding two more runs to the blue and white’s total.
Jacob Boland was subbed in to pitch for Purdue. Up until that moment, each Purdue pitcher failed to record a single out in the inning.
Quickly following the switch, Penn State kept the hits coming and Jayden Davis hit a triple to right field.
After nine consecutive hits, Purdue was finally able to record its first out off a fly-ball to center field. While it allowed Purdue to capture its first out, Davis still scored for Penn State, and the Nittany Lions’ lead extended to 12.
Boland then struck out DeMucci, recording Purdue’s second out and some sense of relief. Quickly after, Flores struck out McDonald to conclude the inning and 11-run stretch.
The Boilermakers were able to get a hit off the first at-bat, but Penn State quickly recovered with three straight outs, and Purdue remained scoreless in the inning.
Likewise, Penn State replicated the offensive drought, and the score remained 12-4 at the bottom of the fourth.
Boland continued pitching for Purdue in the fifth inning. He was a vital component in the halting of Penn State’s momentum following their 11-run surge.
Finally, at the bottom of the fifth, Purdue’s Bessette slid a base hit to left field for a two-run double, splitting the Nittany Lions’ lead in half.
Penn State opted to switch out their pitching, sending Mason Butash to take over the mound, for the second switch of the inning. The Boilermakers were able to gather one more run, cutting the lead to five, to slowly chip away at the lead.
This chip-away ended shortly after the scoring of the seventh run, when McDonald grabbed the fly ball to pick up a third out.
As Penn State got to bat in the bottom of the fifth inning, Purdue switched their mound presence, welcoming a fifth pitcher into the game, this time, redshirt sophomore Thomas Howard.
After a quick back-and-forth for the preceding at-bats, the score remained unchanged going into the eighth inning. While both teams were able to get hits off, each one was quickly grounded out, to keep either team from achieving any sort of run stretch.
At the bottom of the eighth, dirt got on home plate for the first time in three innings. Flores hit to right field and sent Quincy Malbrough home to score and minimize the run margin to four.
Penn State decided to sub in sophomore Matthew VanOstenbridge to pitch for the remainder of the inning.
Aaron Manias continued to close the run gap with a hit to left field. While Manias got out, the hit sent Eli Anderson home to score Purdue’s ninth run.
VanOstenbridge was able to strike out Jimmy Dione to wrap up the inning. Purdue’s head coach, Greg Goff, disagreed with the call and was tossed as the game headed into the final inning.
At the top of the ninth, McDonald was able to score after a Porter hit to right field, and Mercado able to score after a Spencer Barnett double, offering two insurance runs to secure the 14-9 win.
Up Next
Penn State will travel back home to take on St. Bonaventure on Tuesday. Following this game, Penn State will play Bucknell on Wednesday and Illinois for a three-game series, all at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
MORE BASEBALL COVERAGE
After opening its second Big Ten series of the season with a loss to Purdue, Penn State look…
Â
If you’re interested in submitting a Letter to the Editor, click here.