The slumping campaign continued for Penn State over the weekend when the Nittany Lions dropped two of three to Rutgers, but the squad looked to bounce back at home in its third Dollar Dog Night against Bucknell on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Penn State won a back-and-forth contest 9-6 over Bucknell behind a huge offensive game by Michael Anderson, who blasted two homers in the night.<\/p>\n
The blue and white took its positive offensive momentum from Sunday\u2019s win into the contest and pounced on the Bison early. It took just the leadoff batter in the opening frame for Penn State to open the scoring.<\/p>\n
Left fielder Jayden Davis took left-hander Frankie Bilecki deep to left and put the Nittany Lions ahead 1-0. A few batters later, second baseman Bryce Molinaro knocked a single to right, but third baseman Spencer Barnett grounded into an inning-ending double play.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, right-hander Mason Horwat was dealing on the mound for the blue and white as he retired the first five Bison batters. Bucknell was still held scoreless after the second, but Penn State added to its lead.<\/p>\n
Bilecki struggled with his command and walked right fielder Jack Porter on five pitches and then hit first baseman Kevin Karstetter. The pressure continued mounting for the sophomore and he walked catcher Avery Smith to load the bases with no outs.<\/p>\n
Center fielder Maddox McDonald dug into the batter\u2019s box with a chance to do some damage. The senior lifted a sacrifice fly to left and plated Porter to extend Penn State\u2019s lead 2-0. However, Bilecki stopped the bleeding and retired the next two Nittany Lions.<\/p>\n
In a two-run hole early, Bucknell threatened in the third with a couple of base runners. Horwat recorded his second strikeout for the first out, but Deacon Bowne lined a one-out single up the middle.<\/p>\n
Billy Fluharty grounded to Molinaro at third, but the Nittany Lions couldn\u2019t turn two as he beat out the throw to first. With two outs, Michael Trommer roped a single back up the middle and Horwat faced two runners on.<\/p>\n
Yet the junior settled in and struck out the next Bison to end the threat. While Bucknell still couldn\u2019t get on the scoreboard, Penn State extended its lead once again in the bottom of the third.<\/p>\n
Bilecki\u2019s command continued to struggle and he hit designated hitter Anderson. Barnett followed a few batters later with a one-out single through the right side. The Nittany Lions continued the small ball as Porter knocked a RBI single through the left side and Penn State\u2019s lead grew to 3-0.<\/p>\n
After the Bison escaped the third frame without any more damage than just the one run, its bats came alive and plated a run. Coach Mike Gambino turned to right-hander Frankie Sanchez for relief in the fourth and Bucknell responded well to the change.<\/p>\n
Zach Selfon peppered a one-out single up the middle and John Calabrese smashed a double into right and Sanchez was quickly in a jam. Ryan Facinelli grounded to third, but Selfon scored and the Bison cut into the lead, 3-1. Sanchez recorded a pivotal strikeout for the third out and kept Penn State in front by two runs.<\/p>\n
While Bucknell brought the game closer, the Nittany Lions quickly responded in their half of the fourth. The Bison brought in left-hander Mikey Myro, but the blue and white quickly figured him out.<\/p>\n
After two groundouts, Davis walked again and gave Anderson an opportunity to rake with two outs. The team\u2019s homerun leader powered his 17th home run of the campaign to left and extended Penn State\u2019s lead 5-1.<\/p>\n
While the Nittany Lions were comfortably up by four runs, Bucknell exploded in the fifth and scored five runs. Gambino utilized three different pitchers in the frame as the Bison had an answer for each arm it faced.<\/p>\n
Robert Brown III, Matthew VanOstenbridge and Dimond Loosli all threw in the lopsided inning. Bucknell drew four walks, totaled two hits and capitalized off the two times a Penn State pitcher hit a batter. Ty Lagoni, Garrett Mathias, Facinelli and Andrew Swenson all recorded an RBI in the treacherous frame.<\/p>\n
After the Bison suddenly took a 6-5 lead, the Nittany Lions swiftly answered later in the fifth with a three-spot. Porter, Karstetter and Smith all totaled hits in the frame with Smith and McDonald recording the RBIs to give Penn State the lead back, 8-6.<\/p>\n
Both squads were held quiet in the later innings until the eighth when Anderson blasted his second homer of the game over the center field and provided the blue and white with a pivotal insurance run, 9-6.<\/p>\n
Ben DeMell recorded the save for the blue and white in the final frame, securing its second straight victory.<\/p>\n
Up Next<\/p>\n
Penn State travels cross-country and faces No. 19 Oregon for a three-game series. The first game is slated at 9:05 p.m. Friday and will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.<\/p>\n
MORE BASEBALL COVERAGE<\/p>\n
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