Big Ten Play Continues for Penn State Baseball After Another Crazy Dollar Dog Night Ending.
Penn State men’s baseball stays home for a three-game series against Ohio State after defeating Youngstown State on Tuesday.
In the 10-8 victory on Dollar Dog Night, the Nittany Lions found themselves in a hole early before they scored three straight runs on a walk, ground out and a wild pitch.
Penn State went into a scoring drought throughout the fourth, fifth and sixth inning but yet again rallied to get back in the game.
Down 8-6, Thomas Bramley hit one over the fence for a ground rule double that allowed Jay Harry to score. Then Johnny Piacentino singled in the infield that scored one run to set up Bobby Marsh in the bottom of the eighth for an eventual game-winning two-RBI double.
With the win, Penn State improved to 20-13 with a 10-3 home record that sends the team into the weekend riding high. However, the Nittany Lions will need to face Ohio State this weekend to look to improve their 2-7 in-conference record.
Ohio State comes into State College 19-17 after winning two of its last three games. The Buckeyes faced Maryland over the weekend where they lost the first two games then finished out strong with a 13-8 win on Sunday.
The Buckeyes went on to face Miami on Tuesday where they also had a 12-11 nail-biting victory in the eighth.
With both teams coming into Medlar Field at Lubrano Park riding high, only one can walk away with their heads up high. Let’s see how these two face off against each other.
Since 2004, Ohio State leads the head-to-head 35-19 and has won 11 of the 20 games played in State College.
Penn State will look to change that stat with its third-best batting stance in the Big Ten. Players like Kyle Hannon on the team that make game-changing plays with his conference-leading 24 steals will be the difference maker in the series.
The Nittany Lions lineup will be standing against the ninth-ranked pitching core in the Big Ten. Ohio State’s bullpen has struggled as of late in its past two victories as it has given up 19 runs in 18 innings.
Ohio State’s offense also sits at ninth best in the Big Ten but has seen a ton of action lately, as it has scored 55 runs in its past six games. That batting production will need to continue against Penn State’s bullpen as Travis Luensmann and Jaden Henline have been playing at their best.
The series starts on Friday at 6 p.m. for game one, followed by game two on Saturday at 2 p.m. and the series final game at 1 p.m. on Sunday. However, with rain in the forecast for State College this weekend, only time will tell when these two teams will play.
Micheal Bolger is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email mpb6233@psu.edu.
