Penn State baseball looked to continue with its strong start to the season, starting with a series in Minnesota at Siebert Field.
The Nittany Lions’ offense exploded in the bottom half of the match, propelling the squad to a 10-4 win in Game 1 of its weekend showdown with the Golden Gophers
The game started off slowly as the blue and white were sent down in order to end the top of the first inning. Ryan Weingartner struck out, followed by a Paxton Kling walk, prompting Minnesota pitcher Cole Selvig to force Bryce Molinaro into a 5-4-3 double play.
Penn State starting pitcher Ryan DeSanto recorded two quick outs to start the bottom half of the frame, but was stifled when a two-out walk led to a Josh Fitzgerald RBI double, putting Minnesota on the board first.
Luck seemed to be on the blue and white’s side to start the second inning, as Jack Porter reached first base on a fielding error. Cole Wagner then stepped up to the plate and took full advantage of the opportunity, launching a two-run house call to take a 2-1 lead.
DeSanto rode the momentum created by Wagner in the top of the inning, forcing three in-play outs to end the second frame.
To start the third, Mike Lucarelli went down swinging on a 2-2 count, unable to get the bat on the ball against Minnesota's pitcher, Selvig. Weingartner followed suit, striking out swinging on a 1-2 pitch, putting two quick outs on the board for the Gophers.
However, Paxton Kling stepped up next, showing patience at the plate. After working the count to 3-1, he sent a single through the left side of the infield, igniting a spark for Penn State. The Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania, native didn’t waste any time getting into scoring position, stealing second base with ease during Bryce Molinaro's at-bat.
Molinaro, though, was unable to advance Kling with a hit, grounding out to the pitcher on a 1-1 count and ending the threat with no runs on the board.
Penn State's offense had been held in check in the early going against Minnesota, as the Nittany Lions faced some challenges in the opening innings of the Big Ten matchup.
In the top of the fourth inning, Jack Porter came to the plate with two outs and worked the count full at 3-2. However, the redshirt sophomore sent a fly ball out to center field, where Parker Knoll made the catch for the third out.
Wagner grounded out to first base unassisted on the first pitch of his at-bat, bringing Penn State another quick out.
With two outs and no runners on, Jesse Jaconski stepped in and flew out to center field after just one pitch, continuing the trend of quick innings for the Nittany Lions.
With one out, Jaconski attempted to revive the offense by slapping a single to left field on the count. He then showed his speed, stealing second base to get into scoring position.
After Voss flew out to left field for the second out, Lucarelli retired on a flyout to shortstop, leaving Jesse Jaconski stranded on second.
However, the Nittany Lions didn’t let the inning end without making their mark. Weingartner stepped up next and laced a single to third base, advancing Jesse Jaconski to third. Kling, with a clutch at-bat, followed with a single to center field on a 1-2 pitch, driving in Jaconski to give Penn State a 3-1 lead.
Weingartner advanced to second on the play, but Bryce Molinaro ended the inning by striking out swinging.
With two outs in the top of the sixth inning, luck was on the Nittany Lions’ side again, as Joe Jaconski struck out swinging but reached first safely on an errant throw by the catcher.
Jesse Jaconski stepped up next and ripped a double down the left field line, driving his brother home from second for an RBI. Voss struck out swinging to end the inning, but not before Penn State added to its lead with the score sitting at 4-1.
After a strong first five innings, coach Mike Gambino opted to send DeSanto out for the sixth frame. Once again, DeSanto trusted the fielders in play behind him, forcing three straight in-play outs to end the inning.
The seventh inning started with Lucarelli reaching first on a bunt single, followed by Weingarter walking on a 3-2 pitch to put runners on first and second.
Minnesota then made a pitching change, bringing in Eli Sundquist. Weingarter was caught in a rundown between the first and second, allowing Lucarelli to advance to third on the play. Molinaro walked to put runners on the corners before Porter stepped up and delivered a clutch single to left field, driving in Lucarelli to make the score 5-1
Gambino opted to send pitcher Dimond Loosli to the mound in relief of DeSanto to start the seventh inning. The momentum left by DeSanto didn’t turn over to Loosli, however, as Weber Neels took him yard to close the gap, 5-2.
With two outs in the frame, Knoll notched a double into the outfield, allowing pinch runner Jameson Maritn to score, further decreasing Penn State’s advantage to 5-3.
Despite the Golden Gopher’s quick surge of offense, the Nittany Lion bats broke the game open in the top of the eighth inning, with Jesse Jaconski opening up the inning with a solo shot, putting the score at 6-3.
Penn State continued to use the luck of the day to their advantage, as Joey DeMucci scored on a fielding error by Fitzgerald in right field, while Lucarelli scored on a passed ball.
To put the cherry on top of the inning, Wagner continued his dominance at the plate with a two-RBI triple to left field to blow the game open, 10-4.
Harrison Lollin entered the game in the bottom of the ninth, looking to close out the game for the Nittany Lions. Other than giving up a solo home run to Martin, Lollin was successful on the mound, securing the victory in Game 1 for the blue and white.
Up next
Penn State and Minnesota will play again at 4 p.m. Saturday.
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