Penn State Baseball Defeats Maryland 6-4 in Extra Innings
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Penn State defeated Maryland 6-4 in extra innings on Saturday, April 2, at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium.
The Nittany Lions gained serious momentum, which proved to be too much for the Terrapins to overcome. The win marks the first time Penn State took down Maryland on the road.
Maryland sent Ryan Ramsey to the mound as its starter. Ramsey, a junior from Montvale, New Jersey, came into the game with a 2.11 ERA and 40 strikeouts over 38.1 innings pitched so far this season.
Meanwhile, Kellan Tulio, the junior from Emmaus, Pennsylvania, started the game for the blue and white.
While Ramsey kept Penn State scoreless in the first inning, Tulio did not. Despite stumbling on his way home, Maryland catcher Luke Shliger opened the scoring to make it 1-0.
After keeping Penn State in the game through the third inning, Tulio appeared to be rattled when he loaded the bases and allowed two Maryland runs, making it 3-0. Tulio was soon replaced by Steven Miller, who finished the inning.
The next two innings were scoreless. Ramsey continued the strong performance and kept the Nittany Lions at bay, while Miller got the Nittany Lions out of a tough fifth inning when runners were in scoring position.
Then in the sixth inning, Penn State finally got to Ramsey and gave him some adversity.
After Cole Bartels reached second base on a leadoff double, Johnny Piacentino launched a no-doubt homer to left field to make the score 3-2.
A large Penn State crowd on the first base side erupted, giving the Nittany Lions some energy as Matt Wood reached first base on the next play.
The next two innings were scoreless, but Penn State made another pitching change. Coach Rob Cooper replaced Miller with Jordan Morales, while Maryland opted to stick with Ramsey.
In the eighth inning, Penn State scored again. Wood hit an RBI single, scoring Derek Cease which tied the ballgame at 3. Ramsey suddenly looked very vulnerable against the heart of the blue and white lineup.
Penn State brought in Travis Luensmann in favor of Morales in the eighth inning. Luensmann’s 6.18 ERA is not very good, but his 34 strikeouts are solid on the season so far.
Luensmann’s first batter was Chris Alleyne, the man who hit the game-winning home run in the first game. However, this time the Nittany Lions got the best of Alleyne this time, as Piacentino made a diving catch in center field to send him back to the dugout. After allowing two baserunners, Luensmann got the Nittany Lions through the inning.
Ramsey was swapped in favor of Sean Heine in the top of the ninth inning. Ramsey had a decent performance, boasting eight strikeouts in eight innings pitched despite conceding three runs. Heine got through the inning, which gave Maryland the chance to walk it off. In the middle of the inning, Cooper was ejected for arguing with the umpire.
Maryland did not walk it off, and the game went to extra innings. Penn State immediately got to pitcher Nick Robinson, putting two runners on base to start the inning.
Then, Tayven Kelly delivered for Penn State, with a two-run RBI double in the tenth inning to make it 5-3 Penn State. On the next play, Jay Harry sent Kelly home with an RBI double, as Penn State expanded its lead to 6-3 in a two-out rally.
Despite loading the bases in the tenth inning, Luensmann was not replaced. That led to Maryland scoring one run, but that was not enough. A fantastic, diving catch by Ben Khailer in right field sealed the deal for a 6-4 Penn State victory.
Penn State will play Maryland one more time, with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 3 in College Park, Maryland.
Nolan Wick is a first-year majoring in journalism. To contact him, email nhw5046@psu.edu.
