UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team fell 11-8 against Purdue on Sunday afternoon at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The Nittany Lions jumped out to an 8-3 lead, including a two-run homer by Jesse Jaconski, but the Boilermakers chipped away to tie the game in the seventh and take the lead in the eighth. Penn State is now 24-14 overall (12-9 Big Ten), while Purdue is 24-15 overall (6-12 Big Ten).
The Nittany Lions won the series with a 10-2 victory on Friday and a 13-6 win on Saturday.
Logan Olson made the start for the Nittany Lions, collecting a career-high seven strikeouts over four innings. Olson gave up three runs on three hits and two walks, but posted scoreless innings in three of his four frames. The junior struck out the first five batters of the game.
Matthew VanOstenbridge went two innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on one hit and one walk. Harrison Lollin threw one-third of an inning, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits. Dimond Loosli went 1.2 frames, giving up three runs on two hits. Mason Butash threw a scoreless ninth and recorded a strikeout.
Austin Klug got the start for Purdue, working three innings. He allowed five runs (one earned) on two hits. He recorded one strikeout and walked two batters. Michael Vallone threw three innings, allowing three runs on three hits. He tallied four strikeouts and one walk. Avery Cook fired three scoreless innings to close out the game, allowing no hits and striking out three.
Penn State tallied eight runs on five hits. Jesse Jaconski launched a two-run homer, while Bryce Molinaro had a double and three RBI. Paxton Kling contributed an RBI single and scored twice.
Purdue collected 11 runs on nine hits. CJ Richmond drove in three runs with two hits. Brandon Anderson contributed two doubles, two RBI and three runs. Logan Sutter added two hits, including a double, two RBI and two runs. Camden Gasser had two hits, including an RBI double, and three runs.
The Boilermakers got on the board in the third. After a leadoff walk by Breck Nowik, he was replaced at first by Albert Choi on a fielder’s choice. Gasser lined a double to the gap in left-center to bring home Choi. Anderson followed with a double off the wall in right to score Gasser. A double to left center by Sutter brought in Anderson. Purdue led 3-0.
Penn State answered in the bottom half of the third. Patrick Graham started the inning with a single to right. Joey DeMucci was hit by a pitch and Kling held off on a 3-2 pitch for a walk to load the bases. Molinaro’s swing resulted in the ball landing a few feet in front of the plate. The throw to first by the catcher sailed into right field as Graham, DeMucci and Kling all came in to score. Two batters later, Jesse Jaconski launched a 3-2 pitch over the wall in left. Jaconski’s 10th homer of the year gave PSU a 5-3 advantage.
The Nittany Lions added three runs in the fourth. Joe Jaconski dribbled a grounder through the middle for a leadoff single. DeMucci worked a walk to put runners at first and second. Kling sent a sharp grounder into left for a single to bring home Jaconski. Molinaro crushed a fly ball to the warning track in center for a two-run double to plate DeMucci and Kling. PSU led 8-3.
Purdue cut into its deficit in the top of the fifth. Gasser worked a leadoff walk and Anderson was hit by a pitch. A flyout moved the runners to second and third. With two outs, Richmond shot a grounder through the right side to drive in both runners. Penn State still led 8-5.
The Boilermakers added a run in the sixth. With one out, Nowik lifted a fly ball to right, which was dropped and allowed him to race to third. Choi bounced a groundout to the left side, but allowed Nowik to cross the plate. PSU held an 8-6 advantage.
Purdue tied the game in the seventh. Anderson started the inning with a double to right-center. Sutter lined a single to right to bring in Anderson. A single by Avery Moore put runners on first and second. A flyout moved Sutter to third. A throwing error on a pickoff attempt allowed Sutter to score. The game was even at 8-8.
The Boilermakers took the lead in the eighth. Choi was hit by a pitch to begin the frame. Gasser sent a single into left and moved up to second on the throw to put runners at second and third. Anderson lifted a sac fly to left to bring in Choi. After Sutter was intentionally walked, Moore dropped down a squeeze bunt to bring home Gasser. Richmond singled through the middle to drive in Sutter. Purdue led 11-8.
The Nittany Lions welcome No. 24 West Virginia on Tuesday, April 22. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on Big Ten Network. The Nittany Lions are hosting their final Dollar Dog Night of the season, featuring $1 hot dogs.
All home games are free admission for all ages.
Penn State travels to Los Angeles next weekend, April 25-27, for a three-game Big Ten series against No. 10 UCLA.
The 2025 Penn State Baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.