UNIVERSITY PARK — The Penn State baseball team went into the deciding contest on Sunday, April 13, against USC with the Big Ten series tied and with both teams looking forward to a series-winning victory in Game 3.
USC, despite a third-inning grand slam by Penn State shortstop Ryan Weingartner, took a 9-6 lead into the sixth inning of that game and then shut out the Nittany Lions over the last four innings in an 11-6 victory.
Penn State had won the opening contest on Friday, April 11, 3-1, but then the Trojans came back on Saturday, April 12, to win 6-3 to tie the series.
On Sunday, April 13, they rallied to take an early 6-1 lead, but Weingartner put the Lions right back into things with his grand slam (Penn State’s sixth of the season) that put the score at 6-5.
USC responded immediately, however. The Trojans knocked out four hits, including a home run by Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek, and pushed across three runs that padded their lead to 9-5.
An RBI single by the Lions’ Jesse Jaconski in the bottom of the inning made it 9-6, but that would be as close as they would get. USC pitchers Dylan Osborne, Brodie Purcell and Ethan Hedges combined to shut out PSU the rest of the way and the Trojans held on for their 23rd victory.
Penn State had five hits in all on the day led by Weingartner with two and Jack Porter, Jesse Jaconski and Nate Voss each getting one.
Weingartner, Jaconski and Cole Mercado accounted for the Lions’ six RBIs.
USC collected 11 hits, including six for extra bases, and Purcell took the win on the mound.
The series began much differently on Friday, April 11.
In what was a pitchers’ duel between Penn State’s Ryan DeSanto and USC’s Caden Hunter, Penn State tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning and then clinched the 3-1 win with two more in the bottom of the eighth.
USC held the 1-0 lead since the top of the third inning, but then center fielder Paxton Kling tied it with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the seventh.
In the eighth, after Penn State went ahead 2-1 on a Trojan fielding error, Kling gave his team an insurance run with a sacrifice fly that scored Joey DeMucci with the Lions’ third run.
Relief pitcher Dimond Loosli took over for DeSanto in the eighth and took the win with two shutout innings. He put the Trojans down 1-2-3 in the ninth, giving Penn State its 22nd win of the season against 10 losses.
On Saturday, April 12, USC pitchers Caden Aoki and Andrew Johnson held Penn State to just six hits and three runs in a 6-3 Trojan win that tied the series.
USC took a 5-0 lead in the fifth inning and was able to hold on for the victory.
Weingartner had two hits and an RBI in the game and DeMucci had two hits, but the Lions could not overcome the early USC lead.
Penn State will now take on Delaware at home before traveling to Purdue for a Big Ten series on Friday, April 18, Saturday April19 and Sunday, April 20.
