The Nittany Lions returned home and looked to snap their five-game losing streak against FDU on the second Dollar Dog Night of the season on Tuesday night. A streak would be broken by the end of the contest as the Knights entered Happy Valley riding a five-game winning streak.
Penn State successfully snapped its losing skid and got back on the right foot with an 11-5 win over FDU behind a dominant offense.
Both offenses broke the scoring open early in the first. Coach Mike Gambino started right-hander Mason Horwat and the junior struggled with his command. Horwat surrendered five walks in just 1.2 innings over his last outing and the theme continued with Horwat walking the first two FDU batters.
Garryn Plummer then reached off a dribbler back to the mound and the Knights quickly had bases loaded with no outs. Horwat recorded a pivotal strikeout, but then walked the next batter and FDU took a 1-0 lead.
However, Horwat limited the damage and struck out two straight Knights to end the threat. Despite FDU striking first, the Nittany Lions quickly jumped on right-hander Chris Mattioli.
Penn State’s hottest bat got the offense rolling. Designated hitter Michael Anderson ripped a one-out double into center and second baseman Bryce Molinaro brought him home off a hard-hit triple to right.
Though the game was tied at one, the blue and white weren’t done scoring in the frame. Right fielder Jack Porter kept the inning alive and snuck a two-out RBI double down the left field line to pull Penn State ahead 2-1.
The Nittany Lions tallied one last run in the opening frame when first baseman Kevin Karstetter pulled a RBI single through the left side and extended the blue and white’s lead 3-1.
Yet FDU would knot the score right back up in the second. Travis Stroh and Johnathan Gomez roped a pair of singles into the outfield and the Knights’ biggest bat, Hunter Ray, plated Stroh off a rocketed double into center.
Plummer smacked a grounder to shortstop Preston Yaucher and tied the game at three. Though the tie wouldn’t last long as Penn State exploded in the bottom half of the second and scored five runs.
Catcher Joey DeMucci lined a leadoff single up the middle and Yaucher then reached with a fielder’s choice chopper to third. Some aggressive baserunning pressured Mattioli on the mound. DeMucci swiped third and Yaucher stole second on the next pitch.
Plummer’s unsuccessful throw to second plated DeMucci, which gave Penn State the lead right back 4-3. A few batters later, Mattioli hit Anderson and Molinaro knocked his second double of the contest down the left field line to extend the Nittany Lions’ lead 5-3.
Continuing the offensive momentum, third baseman Spencer Barnett sent a two-RBI single up the middle and the blue and white were now up 7-3. Porter smoked a single to center and Barnett scored to make the score 8-3.
The Knights chipped away at their five-run hole when Jeremy Delamota lifted an RBI double to left field to bring FDU closer, 8-4. Yet right-hander Frankie Sanchez stopped the bleeding and surrendered just one run in the third.
However, the blue and white just kept pouring on the runs in its bottom half. Left fielder Jayden Davis barreled a two-RBI single up the middle to make the Nittany Lions’ lead 10-4.
Barring an FDU run in the fourth and a Penn State run in the eighth, both offenses were held fairly quiet throughout the duration of the game. Right-hander Ethan Bauerschmidt closed the door for the Nittany Lions and the squad improved to 9-21 with the victory.
Up Next
Penn State heads back on the road and travels to face Ohio State for a three-game series this weekend. The series opener is slated for 6 p.m. on Friday night and all games will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
MORE BASEBALL COVERAGE
The Nittany Lions return to Happy Valley after being swept by conference foe No. 19 Nebraska…
Â
If you’re interested in submitting a Letter to the Editor, click here.