Penn State Baseball Dominates Doubleheader

After a slow start to the season, Penn State baseball hit its stride in a doubleheader on Saturday, dominating Wagner and Dartmouth by a combined score of 25-8. The pair of wins improved the Nittany Lions’ record to 6-2, with one final game against Holy Cross left to play this weekend.

Game 1: Penn State 17, Wagner 6

Penn State put on the runs immediately in the first.  Leadoff hitter Kyle Hannon doubled to get Penn State in scoring position, which he was able to score after stealing third and drawing a throwing error to reach home.  Thomas Bramley, left fielder, was then able to double and get knocked in from an RBI single by Billy Gerlott.  2-0 PSU.  

The Lions then loaded the bases from a walk by Anthony Steele, which allowed Johnny Piacentino (DH) to single and score Billy Gerlott from third base.  3-0 Nittany Lions.  They continued tacking on runs via a single from catcher Josh Spiegel which scored two more runners and brought the score up to 5-0 in Penn State’s favor.

Wagner loaded the bases in the second inning and scored a run from a ground out.  They also scored another run after the next batter flied out to center field.  5-2 PSU.    

Jay Harry then scored from third on a throw to second base, giving him just enough time to run in.  6-2 PSU.

No more scoring would occur until the sixth inning, where back-to-back home runs by catcher Josh Spiegel and Grant Norris extended Penn State’s lead to 8-2.  A double followed by Tayven Kelley scored Bramley and Harry and made it 10-2 PSU.

Successive runs in the inning would be scored from a groundout, double, and fielding error and would be capped off by a two-run home run by Tayven Kelley to make it 17-2 PSU.

Wagner would put up a four-run effort in the top of the ninth inning, but PSU would still pull away with a large win of 17-6.  Pitcher Travis Luensmann (2 H, 5 K, 2 ER) got his third win of the season and remains undefeated (3-0).  

Nittany Lions win Game 1 with a big day from the offense!

Kelley 3H, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI
Spiegel 3H, HR, 3 RBI
Norris 2B, HR, 4 RBI
Luensmann 5IP, 2 R, 5 K, W

Game 2 coming up vs Dartmouth!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/GSO6HMD8sM

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) March 4, 2023

Game 2: Penn State 8, Dartmouth 2

No scoring would occur until the third inning of the game.  Penn State stranded men on base a few times, and Dartmouth even loaded the bases in the third inning. But Penn State’s Daniel Ouderkirk got out of the jam in impressive fashion by striking out three straight batters.  

The scoring drought would finally break in the bottom of the third inning, where Penn State’s leadoff hitter, Kyle Hannon, would hit a solo home run to center-right field and put Penn State on the board, 1-0.   

In the fifth inning, after a Kyle Hannon walked and stole second base, Jay Harry singled up the middle to score him and brought the Nittany Lions’ lead to 2-0.

However, Dartmouth got on the board with an RBI double in the sixth.  2-1 Penn State.  Head Coach Rob Cooper decided to take out Ouderkirk at this point, but it was a great performance regardless.  They then scored again after a throw to first was beaten out by a Dartmouth batter.  2-2 all.

Penn State would go on to score 3 runs in the sixth inning from a SAC fly from Jay Harry, a wild pitch scoring Norris, and Kyle Hannon stealing home in impressive fashion.

An error helped Tayven Kelley score in the seventh to give the Lions another run and get the score to 6-2.  A Johnny Piacentino double then scored Steele, and a Hannon groundout scored him to make the score 8-2 Nittany Lions.

The final score ended up staying 8-2, helping Penn State to another win and the doubleheader sweep for the day. 

Starter Daniel Ouderkirk picked up 11 strikeouts and allowed one earned run in the win, pitching over five and one-third innings.  However, the win officially was awarded to Steven Miller, Ouderkirk’s replacement, who allowed no earned runs and accumulated two strikeouts in his short stint, which lasted two and two-thirds innings.

Two dubs for the Nittany Lions today!

Ouderkirk 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 11 K
Miller 2.2IP, 0R, W
Hannon HR, 2 RBI, 3 R
Harry 2H, 2 RBI#WeAre pic.twitter.com/83HOE65E4a

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) March 4, 2023

Penn State Baseball History

As a final note, here is an interesting tidbit of history from the second game. After recording 11 strikeouts, Daniel Ouderkirk became just the second Penn State pitcher since 2004 to have back-to-back 10+ strikeout games. He joins Dante Biasi, who accomplished the feat in 2019. 

With his 11 strikeouts today, @d_ouderkirk joined @Biasi11 (2019) as the only Nittany Lions with back-to-back 10+ strikeout starts since 2004!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/egZfbsGMB0

— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) March 5, 2023