The sun was shining down on Medlar Field at Lubrano Park today, after Penn State managed to just get by and clinch the win against the Scarlet Knights, and leave the series on a high note.
The blue and white won 14-13, after a huge comeback by Rutgers in the seventh inning nearly led to a sweep in the series.
After a scoreless first inning, the Nittany Lions made a statement in the bottom of the second. It began with a double from Spencer Barnett, before a walk and a single for Jack Porter and Kevin Karstetter, respectively, left the bases loaded.
With two outs on the board, Preston Yaucher’s single into left field sent in both Karstetter and Porter to put the score up 2-0 in favor of the blue and white.
Freshman pitcher Isaiah Shayter started out the game for Penn State, keeping the Scarlet Knights scoreless through the third, giving the blue and white a chance to close out this series on a high note. Penn State’s top power hitter, Michael Anderson, shot a ball down the left field line for a double before third baseman Bryce Molinaro doubled into right center field, expanding Penn State’s lead to 3-0.
Porter was next up in the lineup of power hits for the Penn State offense, launching a two-run homer into left field, to put the score at 5-0 with only one out on the board. McDonald, working overtime, was able to steal both second and third base off throwing errors by the Rutgers defense, before a strikeout from DeMucci closed out the third.
The Scarlet Knights put themselves in a better position after a two-run homer by Trey Wells put Rutgers on the board, 5-2, after another nearly scoreless inning, with two outs already recorded.
With its bats on fire, the blue and white dominated in the bottom of the fourth, hitting three straight home runs. Anderson started the streak, launching his 16th home run of the season into center field before Molinaro and Barnett followed with homers into center and left field, leaving with a 10-2 score and no outs on the board.
After a fantastic run by Shayter, only letting in two runs during his four-inning pitching stretch, Dimond Loosli came in for relief, once again keeping Rutgers off the board and turning the game back over to Penn State. Molinaro, coming in hot for the Nittany Lions, hit his second home run of the game, this time a two-run homer, bringing in Davis along with himself. This put the team in range for a mercy-rule victory, leading by 10 in the bottom of the fifth.
With two outs on the board, Penn State continued to stay alive, as Barnett doubled up the middle before scoring yet another run after a launched ball into left field by Porter missed the glove of a sun-blinded Rutgers outfielder. Porter made his way around the bases after a single into right field by McDonald. Penn State closed out the fifth with a 12-run lead.
Another scoreless inning past for Rutgers, as Mason Butash came in to relieve Loosli, marking the third pitching change for Penn State, compared to Rutgers’ seven.
Rutgers more than managed to get things going in the seventh inning, dominating to come back and close the gap by five, just in time to avoid a mercy-rule loss.
The inning closely resembled Penn State’s close attempt at a comeback in the first game of the series, as Rutgers put seven runs on the board. Sweeney, a star hitter for Rutgers, hit a single into left field with the bases loaded, allowing Chase Krewson to score, before Julius Rosado slammed the ball into right center field for Sweeney, Tristan Salinas and Ryan Jaros to put up three more runs.
Another pitching change saw senior Ben DeMell take the mound in an attempt to put an end to the inning, but he came up short as Yomar Carreras grounded out to Yaucher for Rosado to score, giving Rutgers its fifth run. Trey Wills showed no mercy, tripling down the right-field line, leaving Penn State scrambling for the ball as Matt Chatelle and Gabrielle Rivera sprinted home.
Penn State failed to respond before another nightmare turnover began. Harrison Lollin came up to the mound but was immediately met with a homerun by Jaros, before two more runs were scored, putting the game only at a two-run toss up, 14-12.
A glimpse of hope in the bottom of the eighth for Penn State to get away from Rutgers was quickly crushed after a double play took both Anderson and Davis off the field with the bases loaded, putting an end to the eighth inning.
The top of the ninth saw everyone holding their breath as Rutgers once again started out the inning with a home run, leaving only a one-run gap, but the Nittany Lions managed to skate by with a win, officially putting an end to their five-game losing streak.
Up Next
Penn State will remain home to host Bucknell at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday for another Dollar Dog Night.
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