Penn State scored four runs over its final two at bats to overcome an 8-6 deficit and defeat the Youngstown State baseball team 10-8 on Tuesday evening at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in University Park, Pa.
The Penguins led 6-3 after two innings before the Nittany Lions plated three runs in the third to tie the game at 6-6. YSU scored single runs in the fifth and sixth frames to move in front 8-6 before Penn State struck for two runs in the seventh to even the score again. With the game tied 8-8, the Nittany Lions scored twice with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to pull away in the back-and-forth midweek affair.
Youngstown State falls to 7-29 overall on the season while Penn State improves to 20-13.
Trey Law went 3-for-4 with an RBI double and two runs scored the pace the Penguins offensively. Padraig O'Shaughnessy went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored while Clay Wiesen had two hits and scored twice.
YSU starter Kenny Misik allowed six runs on five hits and five walks over 2.2 innings. Patrick Gumto pitched 1.1 scoreless innings of relief before Zach Stayduhar retired the side in order in the fifth. Nick Perez was responsible for two runs, one of them earned, on five hits in two innings of work. Will Shaffer suffered the loss after allowing two runs in two thirds of an inning.
The Penguins struck for a single run in the top of the first inning to get the scoring started. Law hit a leadoff single, advanced to third on a single by Braeden O'Shaughnessy and scored on a sacrifice fly from Padraig O'Shaughnessy to give YSU a 1-0 lead.
The Nittany Lions answered with three runs on three hits in the bottom of the first inning to take a 3-1 lead. Bobby Marsh and Grant Norris each delivered RBI singles while Johnny Piacentino drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
YSU responded immediately with five runs on four hits and two errors in the top of the second inning to regain the lead. Wiesen hit a leadoff single and advanced to third on a one-out double by Eli Brown. Law followed with an RBI double to right center that plated Wiesen, and an ensuing error allowed Brown to race home as well. Braeden O'Shaughnessy brought home Law with a sacrifice fly before Padraig O'Shaughnessy was hit by a pitch. Padraig O'Shaughnessy was able to score when Steven D'Eusanio reached on a misplayed fly ball to right field, and Matt Thompson added a two-out RBI single to give YSU a 6-3 advantage.
Penn State scored three runs on a pair of hits in the home half of the third inning to even the score. Josh Spiegel reached with a leadoff single, Thomas Bramley walked and Piacentino singled to load the bases with nobody out. Norris drew a bases-loaded walk to plate Spiegel before Bramley scored when Tayven Kelley grounded into a double play. After Gumto relieved Misik, Piacentino scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 6-6.
Youngstown State moved back in front with a single run in the top of the fifth inning. Wiesen reached on an error, advanced to second on a single by Ian Francis and alertly raced home when Brown reached on an error by the pitcher to give the Penguins a 7-6 edge.
The Penguins pushed their lead to 8-6 in the top of the sixth inning when Padraig O'Shaughnessy hit a leadoff double and came around to score on a wild pitch.
The Nittany Lions pushed across a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 8-8. Jay Harry reached on an error, advanced to third on a one-out single by Spiegel and scored on an RBI double by Bramley. Piacentino followed with an RBI single to even the score at eight runs apiece.
Penn State scored two runs with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to pull away for the 10-8 victory. After Shaffer got a fly out and a strikeout to begin the inning, Kyle Hannon hit a two-out single and Harry followed with a walk. After Shaffer was lifted for Casey Marshalwitz, Marsh hit the go-ahead two-run double to left center field.
The Nittany Lions outhit the Penguins 12-11 for the contest and were able to overcome four errors in the field.
Penn State starter Ben DeMell surrendered six runs, two of them earned, on eight hits over 2.2 innings on the mound. Four PSU relievers combined to allow just two runs on three hits. Anthony Steele was awarded the victory after tossing 1.2 innings of scoreless relief.
The Penguins will conclude their seven-game road swing with a three-game Horizon League series at Oakland beginning on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. The Penguins and Golden Grizzlies will proceed to play on Friday at 2:30 p.m. and on Saturday at 2 p.m.
