Series Grades: Penn State Baseball vs. Georgetown
Bring out the brooms, as Penn State closed out its home opener with a 2-0 series sweep over the Georgetown Hoyas.
The Nittany Lions entered play Saturday 9-5 overall, winning three of their last five games. The blue and white were coming off a road trip in Cary, North Carolina, where they knocked off Brown in a 2-1 series victory.
Penn State head coach Rob Cooper had his guys eager to step up to the task as they finally returned to Medlar Field, and his boys didn’t disappoint. Penn State defeated Georgetown 6-1 on Saturday, backed up by a 7-2 victory on Sunday.
Infield: A-
The star of the infield for Penn State was shortstop Jay Harry, who notched three hits and three RBI’s in two games versus the Hoyas. The junior lefty was dominant at the plate, staying sharp and hitting well above his season average.
The blue and white also received contributions from first baseman's Josh Spiegel and Anthony Steele, both who reached base a combined four times. Steele was special in the second meeting, reaching first base three times with two walks and a hit.
Third baseman Ben Kailher wasn’t shabby either, as he batted .500 on the weekend. The 5-foot-8 senior reached three times on three hits, and scored a run as well.
The infielders were on their game defensively too, causing only one error through both games played. The strong defensive outing was a key contributor to the Nittany Lions only allowing three earned runs.
Outfield: C-
Although the infielders performed well, Penn State was really hurting in the outfield. Left fielder Tavyen Kelley was a weak link, batting 0-for-5 on the weekend with two strikeouts. Kelley is known to draw walks however, and drew three of them to combat his otherwise poor performance at the plate.
Center fielder Johnny Piacentino did little at the plate as well, going 2-for-9 and striking out twice. Piacentino was put in some advantageous positions with runners on base and did capitalize, scoring two runners in. The 5-foot-11 senior batted far under his season average however and left a lot at the plate.
Right fielder Billy Gerlott completed the trio with offensive struggles of his own, going 1-for-7 in his at bats with one walk and one strikeout.
Overall, the outfield was solid defensively — but left a lot to be desired, earning them a poor grade.
Pitching: A
Penn State was able to put some runs across the board, but was really spurred on by solid pitching displays on the mound. Starter Travis Luensmann went five innings deep in the Nittany Lions first game, allowing no earned runs and notching six Ks.
He was backed up by a strong showing from reliever Daniel Ouderkirk, who completed the game with four innings pitched and a whopping six strikeouts.
Sunday was no different for Penn State’s rotation, as starter Jordan Morales went the first three innings without allowing a run. Right hander Steven Miller continued the shutout through the bottom of sixth inning, earning three more strikeouts thrown.
Reliever Jaden Henline earned the save to close out the series sweep, throwing five more strikeouts and allowing only one earned run.
Penn State was on its game defensively, allowing only three runs on the weekend and notching 19 combined strikeouts.
The blue and white take on Binghamton University on Tuesday, trying to keep their undefeated home stand going.
Parker Silverman is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email pws5405@psu.edu.
