Penn State baseball is following up its improbable appearance in the Big Ten Tournament Championship last year with another postseason run this spring. A day after defeating No. 5-seed Washington on Thursday, the No. 9-seed Nittany Lions used late-game heroics from catcher Nate Voss to down No. 4 USC 2-1 and advance to the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals.
With the win, the Nittany Lions improved to 33-22, the second-most single-season wins in program history. It is the first time Penn State has made the conference tournament semifinals in consecutive years since 2000 and 2001.
“I feel like we have a lot of unfinished business from last year,” Voss said after the game. “We just to keep going, keep the energy high, and get back to the championship game.”
Logan Olson made the start, allowing one run on four hits with two strikeouts in 2.1 innings. Reliever Dimond Loosli ultimately earned the win, his fifth of the season, after firing 2.1 scoreless innings and tallying two punch-outs.
Penn State scored two runs on nine hits. The Nittany Lions got on the board early with a first-inning RBI single from third baseman Bryce Molinaro. The Trojans responded with a run in the second, carrying a 1-1 tie to the top of the ninth inning. There, Voss sent a two-out solo shot 354 feet over the left field fence for the go-ahead run.
Chase Renner came in for the bottom of the ninth, securing the save and closing out the win for the Blue and White.
Penn State baseball will face the winner of No. 1 Oregon and No. 8 Nebraska on Saturday. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network at 3 p.m.
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