OMAHA, Neb. – The Penn State baseball team rallied back from a four-run deficit to tie the game in the ninth, including a two-run double by Johnny Piacentino, but Rutgers re-took the lead in the 10th as the Nittany Lions fell 5-4 in the Big Ten Tournament on Friday.
Penn State, the No. 6 seed, is now 26-28 on the season, while Rutgers, the No. 2 seed, moved to 43-14 overall.
The Nittany Lions continue Big Ten Tournament play on Saturday against Iowa at 10 a.m. ET. Penn State opened the tournament with a 5-2 win over the Hawkeyes on Thursday. If Penn State wins that game, the blue and white would play a second game against Maryland or Michigan at approx. 6 p.m. ET.
Jordan Morales made his second start, and 26th appearance, of the season. Morales had a strong outing for the Nittany Lions, going 4.2 innings. He allowed just two hits and a walk, while striking out five batters. Morales retired the first five batters he faced, including three strikeouts, and threw a 1-2-3 fourth inning.
Jaden Henline finished the fifth inning and went 2.2 innings. He gave up four runs on five hits. He struck out one batter and walked one. Mason Mellott threw two-thirds of an inning, allowing a hit and striking out one. Carson Kohls took over in the ninth, throwing a scoreless frame. Steven Miller allowed one run on two hits in an inning.
Nathan Florence got the start for Rutgers, going eight innings and pitching to one batter in the ninth. Florence gave up one run on three hits. He struck out 10 batters and walked two. Ben Gorski gave up three runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning. Sam Bello went 1.1 scoreless innings, striking out two.
The Nittany Lions scored four runs on six hits. Piacentino had two hits, including his two-run double. Billy Gerlott recorded an RBI single, while Anthony Steele drove in a run. Matt Wood had a double and a run.
Rutgers tallied five runs on 11 hits. Chris Brito collected two hits and two RBI, while Richie Shiekofer drove in two runs. Nick Cimillo had two hits, including a double a,d an RBI.
The Nittany Lions threatened to score in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs, Piacentino sent a line drive to left for a single. Kyle Hannon followed with a walk to put runners on first and second. However, a foul out ended the inning and left two runners on base.
The Scarlet Knights broke a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth. Ryan Lasko was hit by a pitch to begin the inning. He moved up to second on a wild pitch and to third on a sac bunt. With the infield in, Cimillo shot a ground ball through the middle to plate Lasko. Cimillo hustled to second for a double. Rutgers took a 1-0 lead.
Rutgers extended its lead in the seventh. With one out, Kuroda-Grauer sent a ground ball down the left-field line for a double. Schiekofer followed with a single through the middle to bring home Kuroda-Grauer. Rutgers held a 2-0 lead.
The Scarlet Knights added two runs in the eighth. Danny DiGeorgio and Cimillo started the inning with back-to-back singles. A sac bunt moved the runners up to second and third and an intentional walk by Evan Sleight loaded the bases. Brito lined a single to left to drive in DiGeorgio and Cimillo and put Rutgers ahead, 4-0.
The Nittany Lions rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. Cole Bartels worked a walk to leadoff. Two batters later, Wood lined a double to right to put runners on second and third. Josh Spiegel worked a walk to load the bases. A groundout by Steele allowed Bartels to score from third. Billy Gerlott followed with a ground ball-single through the left side to bring home Wood. On a 3-2 pitch, Piacentino lifted a fly ball that landed on the warning track in left-center to score Spiegel and pinch-runner Ben Kailher. The Nittany Lions evened the game at 4-4.
The inning continued as Hannon was intentionally walked. C.J. Pittaro fought through an eight-pitch at-bat, but a strikeout ended the inning.
Rutgers answered with a run in the top of the 10th. Brito was hit by a pitch to start the innings. Kuroda-Grauer reached on a single to put runners on first and third. Schiekofer lifted a fly ball to center for a sac fly to plate and give Rutgers a 5-4 lead.
The 2022 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
Jordan Morales (Credit: Mark Kuhlmann)