Embarrassing loss puts Penn State baseball season on life support

This week, Penn State baseball travels to the Midwest for a weekend series against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. However, the Nittany Lions first made a pitstop Wednesday for a non-conference game against the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Coming off of a weekend sweep at the hands of Rutgers, the Lions were looking to get back on the right track and end a three-game losing streak. However, Penn State couldn’t overcome their late-season slump, losing in embarrassing fashion.

Bats go silent for Penn State baseball

Penn State took a quick 1-0 lead in the first after Bobby Marsh roped a single through the left side to score Thomas Bramley. However, that would be all the scoring for the Nittany Lions until the seventh inning of this game. 

Omaha opened its half of the first inning with four runs via two singles and a fielder’s choice. The Mavericks added another run in the second with a solo homer, making it a 5-1 game. After an RBI double and a three-run home run in the third inning, the 9-1 game was already out of hand for Penn State.  

But Omaha continued to pile on. A sacrifice fly in the fourth and two home runs in the fifth inning made it a 16-1 ballgame. Penn State shaved two runs off the deficit in the seventh with an RBI double from Derek Cease and an RBI single from Jake Cooper. But those runs did little to cushion the blow of a 16-3 mercy rule defeat. 

Looking for answers

Penn State’s fourth straight loss raises many questions going into an ever-so-important series against Nebraska. If the Lions are to make the top six in conference standings and secure a spot in the Big Ten tournament, they need to win out against the Cornhuskers. Penn State’s fight to salvage the season begins on Friday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm.

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