After its win against St. Bonaventure last night in Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, Penn State returned in search of another chance to improve its record against the Bucknell Bisons.
The Nittany Lions fell to the Bisons, with Bucknell dominating all game to finish 9-0 against the blue and white.
The Bisons came out swinging, as senior Michael Trommer started off the game with a two-run home run, putting the team at an early lead. Penn State remained off the board, getting three outs before Cohl Mercado and Michael Anderson could run home.
Penn State responded with a strong outfield performance to keep Bucknell at two, with all hitters grounding out before reaching first base. The Nittany Lions fell short on their offensive performance, leaving the second inning off the board.
Penn State continued to struggle through the third, getting slammed on both defense and offense. The Bisons quickly loaded up the bases with only one out in the top of the third, before pitcher Ethan Bauerschmidt was relieved by Mason Butash. Despite his fast throws, it wasn’t enough as Bucknell scored three more runs.
On the offense, Nittany Lion Spencer Barnett had a power hit that was sure to be a homerun, but fell just short, hitting the wall into right fielder Chris Morabito’s glove, signaling another inning with no runs.
“We’ve had some tough stretches here, where guys have been hurt, guys have been sick, and guys not feeling well,” coach Mike Gambino said. “The guys competed tonight for the standard that we want here; it was not good enough.”
Butash redeemed himself in the top of the fourth, striking out all Bucknell hitters, giving Penn State a chance at a much-needed comeback. It looked promising with a single to third by Jayden Davis and a walk from Maddox McDonald, leaving both on base with only one out on the board. Only to be met by a strikeout and a disappointing double out off Preston Yaucher’s groundball.
Looking for a pitching change in the fifth, sophomore Harrison Lollin went in to keep Bucknell at five runs. While the Bisons put another on the board, Lollin got the job done under pressure, pitching a strikeout with the bases loaded and only one out, and first baseman Barnett finishing it off, catching a pop-up ball to get Penn State out of a nightmare setup.
However, once again the blue and white failed to make a statement in the bottom of the fifth. Even with the bases loaded and only one out, Penn State couldn’t get its batting together with both Bryce Molinaro and Davis getting struck out by Bucknell pitcher Dante Pavone, leaving morale low in the bullpen.
“I thought our effort, our attention, and our compete and our fight were not who we want to be,” Gambino said. “Whether or not we won the game or lost the game is irrelevant. We can’t be okay with that.”
After a quiet sixth inning on both sides, Bucknell kept their dominance over Penn State as sophomore John Calabrese singled into center field, allowing Zach Selfon to score, moments before Billy Fluharty hit a single into left field that slipped past the blue and white, letting in two more runs, leaving the score 9-0 at the top of the seventh.
Going into the eighth, Bucknell was just short of a mercy-rule victory, with Penn State having the same problem they had all game. Powerful hits by players like Yaucher and McDonald that kept landing wrong and getting caught.
“I thought from all nine, I didn’t think we had a ton of quality bats, it was soft, weak contact in the air,” Gambino said. “Just not who we want to be,”
Another pitching switch at the top of the ninth saw senior Dimond Loosli on the mound, marking the seventh pitcher to throw for Penn State over the course of this game.
Bucknell took home the win, putting up nine runs and 12 hits, compared to Penn State’s zero runs and five hits. The Nittany Lions finish this game with a 7-16 record.
“We are talking very much about staying present and staying positive. Whatever we do, win or lose, when we show up to the park the next day, we just move forward,” Gambino said. “Good or bad, it doesn’t matter one day at a time.”
Up Next
Penn State returns home to kick off its series against Illinois this Friday at 5:30 p.m.
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