Penn State Destroys Michigan State 27-4

Story posted May 1, 2021 in CommRadio, Sports by Trevor Grady

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State took down Michigan State in historic fashion on Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions got out to a big lead early and never looked back, winning 27-4 at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Penn State’s 27 runs were a school record for most runs scored against a Big Ten opponent and were one run shy of their all-time record.

Johnny Piacentino got things started for the Nittany Lions in the bottom of the first inning. He roped one into left field and two runners scored. Piacentino finished the day going 5 for 6 at the plate with five RBIs.

“I thought Johnny did a great job, I actually feel like the way he was able to offensively approach the game and do some things he really did today,” Penn State head coach Rob Cooper said. “I thought because of that he really got rewarded for it offensively, stayed inside the ball well, drilled the ball into gaps well.”

Penn State did not let up after Piacentino’s at-bat in the first, as eight of the nine Nittany Lions ended up scoring a run in the bottom of the first inning. They pieced together eight hits and 10 runs in a first inning that ended up lasting north of 45 minutes.

The scoring did not stop for Penn State after that either. The Nittany Lions scored seven runs in the bottom of the third inning, and six of them came from two swings. Curtis Robison and Jay Harry each hit their own three-run homer in the inning, extending Penn State’s lead to 18-0.

The Nittany Lions ended up tacking on five more runs in the sixth inning, three more in the seventh, and one more in the eighth. Six Penn Staters finished the game with double-digit RBIs, and eleven different players had at least one RBI. Penn State out-hit Michigan State 22-8 on the afternoon.

“When you see right-handed hitters hitting the ball from the right-field foul line to the left-center field gap, you see left-handed hitters hitting the ball from the left-field foul line to the right-center gap, and having that as the initial approach so that they can really stay through balls,” Cooper said. “We see guys not chasing bad pitches and being balanced, that’s what we mean.”

The Nittany Lions are back in action tomorrow for the final game of the three-game series with the Spartans. First pitch is at noon and Penn State will be going for its first series sweep of the season.

 

Trevor Grady is a junior majoring in management information systems. To contact him, email tmg5685@psu.edu.