OMAHA, Neb. – The Penn State baseball team fell 11-3 against Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament at Charles Schwab Field. The Nittany Lions took an early 1-0 lead but the Hawkeyes gained the lead in the fourth and held on for the victory.
Penn State concludes its 2022 season with a 26-29 record. The Nittany Lions won 11 Big Ten regular season games to reach its first Big Ten Tournament since 2012. Penn State, the No. 6 seed, earned a 5-2 win over Iowa, the No. 3 seed, on Thursday and rallied to take No. 2 seed Rutgers to extra innings before falling 5-4 on Friday.
Tommy Molsky made his 12th start of the season for the Nittany Lions. Molsky threw three innings, pitching into the fourth inning, allowing one run on six hits. He struck out two batters and walked two.
Mason Mellott pitched an inning, allowing five runs on five hits. Carson Kohls went an inning, giving up one run (unearned) on one hit. Steven Miller entered in the seventh, giving up two runs in one-third of an inning. Ryan Partridge pitched two innings, giving up two runs and striking out one. Chase Renner went two-thirds of an inning, recording one strikeout.
Ty Langenberg got the start for Iowa, going 5.2 innings. He allowed three runs on three hits. Langenberg struck out five and walked four batters. Jacob Henderson faced one batter, allowing a single, before Luke Llewellyn took over on the mound, going 1.1 innings without allowing a run and walking three batters. Duncan Davitt threw the final two innings, not allowing a run.
Penn State scored three runs on five hits. Josh Spiegel recorded an RBI double, while Jay Harry contributed a two-run single. Cole Bartels and Derek Cease each registered a single and a run.
Iowa tallied 11 runs on 16 hits. Peyton Williams had two hits, including a homer, and three RBI. Michael Seegers recorded four hits, including a double, scored two runs and drove in a run. Keaton Anthony went three-for-four with two doubles and an RBI. Kyle Huckstorf had a double, a homer and scored three runs.
The Nittany Lions got on the board in the third inning. Cease led off the inning with a walk. Harry was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Two batters later, Spiegel lifted a fly ball to left, which bounced on the warning track and over the wall for a ground-rule double. Cease crossed the plate on the double. Penn State took a 1-0 lead.
Iowa took the lead in the fourth inning. Huckstorf began the inning with a double to left-center. A single through the middle by Seegers drove in Huckstorf. A single by Anthony and an intentional walk by Williams loaded the bases. A grounder to third by Izaya Fullard turned into a double play to cut down the runner at the plate, but moved runners up to second and third. A single to right by Will Mulflur allowed Anthony to score. After Sam Petersen drew a walk, Cade Moss singled to center to bring home Williams and Mulflur. Iowa led 4-1 through four innings.
Iowa added three runs in the fifth. Huckstorf lifted a fly ball to right and it carried over the wall for a solo homer. Seegers followed with a double to left-center. Anthony drew a walk before a ground ball by Williams was misplayed, allowing Seegers to score. A single to right by Fullard plated Anthony. The Hawkeyes extended their lead to 7-1.
The Nittany Lions chipped away with two runs in the sixth. Bartels led off the inning with a single to left. Two batters later, Kyle Hannon worked a walk. Cease drew another walk to load the bases. Harry lined a single to center to drive in Bartels and Hannon to cut PSU's deficit to 7-3.
Iowa answered with two runs in the bottom half. With one out, Huckstorf drew a walk. A single by Seegers put runners on the corners before a sharp single up the middle by Anthony to drive in Huckstorf. Williams followed with a ground out as Seegers scored on the play. Penn State trailed 9-3 through six innings.
The Hawkeyes added two runs in the eighth on a homer to right-center by Williams. Iowa held an 11-3 lead.
The 2022 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
Credit: Mark Kuhlmann