Penn State Baseball Series Grades vs. Delaware State
After a three-game losing streak against Indiana and Bucknell, the Nittany Lions were in great need of a series win.
That desired series win came this weekend against Delaware State where the blue and white were able to win comfortably at home.
On Thursday, Penn State found themselves down 2-0 early on before Jay Harry was able to score on a wild pitch in the bottom of the first. Then with runners in the corners, Grant Norris grounded out to third with Harry able to score yet again.
With the game tied headed into the bottom of the seventh and bases loaded, up came Harry again. The junior would ground out to second, scoring the game-leading run.
After a Josh Spiegel groundout RBI, Norris would clear the bases with a two-RBI triple to build Penn State’s lead to 5-2. Steven Miller would finish out the game for the Nittany Lions and shut down multiple rallies by the Hornets to win the game 7-2.
Moving onto Friday, Jordan Morales would pitch through 4.2 innings before being relieved by Travis Luensmann who would finish the day with seven strikeouts. Both pitchers would finish with 11 total strikeouts, six hits given up and two runs against 33 batters.
The Nittany Lions would jump out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the second and never looked back. Harry would have another incredible day, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and one run scored.
With a 9-2 win on Friday night, Penn State would officially take the series headed into Saturday afternoon. However, that did not stop the blue and white from pulling any of their punches.
On a beautiful Saturday evening with no clouds in the sky, the Nittany Lions would pour it on against Delaware State. Penn State scored two runs or more spanning the second inning up until the seventh where the game would end with a 15-3 Penn State win.
Daniel Ouderkirk started on the mound and pitched through five innings, recording four strikeouts while giving up three runs against 19 batters. Anthony Steele came in and finished out the final two innings, striking out three batters while allowing no one to reach base.
Tayven Kelley went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs across seven innings. Thomas Bramley was right behind Kelley with two hits on four at-bats and driving in three runs while scoring once himself.
Now let’s take a look at home each group did:
Pitching: A
The bullpen allowed seven total runs throughout the series and shut down the Hornet's lineup while only going through six pitchers. The rotation has been struggling throughout the past couple of games, so a bounce-back series like this could prove beneficial moving forward.
Batting: A
Penn State’s lineup had a field day over the weekend that led to 36 hits, 31 runs and seven stolen bases. Led by players like Harry, Gerlott, Norris and Kyle Hannon, Penn State’s batting has jumped to the third-best in the Big Ten.
Fielding: B+
Penn State walks away from the weekend with the third-worst fielding percentage in the Big Ten. Errors in the field have led to long innings that not only dig into the bullpen but also extend innings, killing momentum.
The Nittany Lions walked away from the weekend with three errors, two coming from the final game. However, the offense scored enough that the errors in the field wouldn’t affect the final outcome.
With the series sweep over Delaware State, Penn State improves to 17-11 with an 8-3 home record. The Nittany Lions will take on No. 24 West Virginia for Dollar Dog Night on Tuesday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
The Hornets will fall to 6-23 with a 2-17 away record and will take on Norfolk State University on Friday for a three-game series.
Micheal Bolger is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email mpb6233@psu.edu.
