CARY, N.C. - The Penn State baseball team split its doubleheader with Maine at the USA Baseball Complex on Saturday.
After falling 5-3 in the opening game, the Nittany Lion bats came alive with 12 hits in a 9-3 win in Game 2.
Anthony Steele drove in three runs in the contest, highlighted by a two-run triple in the fifth inning. Josh Spiegel also had three RBIs in the contest, as he put a bow on the victory with a two-run double in the eighth inning.
Jordan Morales as superb out of the bullpen, going 2.1 hitless innings with four strikeouts to get his first win as a Nittany Lion.
Penn State will be back on the road next weekend when they travel to Charlottesville, Va., for a three-game series against Virginia.
Game 1
Starters Kellan Tulio and Caleb Leys dueled through the first half of the game, as the game remained scoreless through five.
Maine played some small ball to get on the board in the fifth, eventually scoring the game's first run in the sixth when Jordan Schulefand scored on a wild pitch.
Penn State would fight ahead in the bottom half of the inning on a 2-run double by Cole Bartels.
The Nittany Lions would extend the lead to 3-1 in the eighth when Jay Harry sent a towering home run to right.
Maine would jump ahead with four runs in the ninth, highlighted by a two-run triple by Scott Knotts. They would hold on to win the game 5-3.
Game 2
Maine would get on the board first in the second inning when Joe Bramanti came around to score on a Penn State error.
The Penn State bats came alive in the bottom of the fourth. Josh Spiegel got the rally started with a sac fly to tie the game at 1-1. Kyle Hannon would then give Penn State the lead with an RBi single to right.
The Nittany Lions would extend the lead later in the inning on back-to-back RBI singles by Anthony Steele and Billy Gerlott, making it 4-1.
Maine cut the Penn State lead back to one in the in the sixth inning on RBI singles by Bramanti and Ryan Turenne.
Penn State rallied again in the bottom of the sixth, tallying three runs on an RBI single by Tayven Kelley and a two-run triple by Anthony Steele.
Jordan Morales was strong out of the pen to hold onto the lead, striking out four in 2 1/3 hitless innings.
The Nittany Lions added insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth on a 2-run double by Josh Spiegel to deep center to extend the lead to 9-3.
Mason Mellott would get the final six outs of the game to seal the 9-3 victory.
