April 16, 2017
| 2 | 15 |
| Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium | College Park, Md. | 477 | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| Video: Coach Cooper Postgame |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Penn State freshman right fielder Braxton Giavedoni (Punxsutawney, Pa.) homered twice but Maryland powered past the Nittany Lions, 15-2, in Big Ten baseball action Sunday afternoon in Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium.
Giavedoni led the second and sixth innings off with home runs for Penn State (12-23, 1-8 Big Ten), giving him his first career multi-homer game and bringing his season total to three. The Nittany Lions totaled 10 hits on the day, getting hits from eight of nine starters. Centerfielder Nick Riotto (Washington, Pa.) went 2-for-4, while catcher Ryan Sloniger (Punxsutawney, Pa.) hit a ground rule double
However, the Lions left nine runners on base and it was not enough to overcome Maryland's (24-11, 9-3 Big Ten) 19-hit performance. Right fielder Marty Costes went 4-for-5 with a triple, two doubles and five RBIs, and third baseman AJ Lee homered twice as part of a 4-for-4 day that also included five RBIs and four runs, Additionally, catcher Nick Cieri doubled as part of a three-hit, three-run day.
Costes was the catalyst in the first inning driving in the first run on an infield single and another scored on an errant throw. Costes then advanced to third on a pair of fly outs and scored on a wild pitch for a 3-0 lead.
Costes was then credited with a two-RBI triple in the second inning after a high-fly ball fell in centerfield after it was lost in the sun, giving the Terps a 5-1 lead.
The Terrapins added a run each in the third and fourth innings, and then Costes drove in two more runs as part of a four-run fifth inning. A two-run home run by Lee in the sixth extended the lead to 13-2, and he repeated the feat in the eighth for the final margin.
RHP Taylor Bloom (4-2) earned the win, working seven innings and allowing two runs on nine hits and a walk with four strikeouts. RHP Myles Gayman (Greencastle, Pa.) (0-2) suffered the loss, allowing five runs on seven hits.
The next Penn State baseball event will be the Penn State Coaches Show with Rob Cooper Monday at 6 p.m. at Lettermans Grill. The first 50 students will get free food, and all others can take advantage of a $5.99 burger, fries and soda deal. The show airs locally on State College's ESPN Radio 1450 AM and everywhere on GoPSUsports.com.
Penn State and Pitt will conclude their annual home-and-home series Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The first 500 fans will receive "Beat Pitt" Thunderstix. It will also be "Terrible Tuesday." Students can tweet their suggestions for the worst walkup songs to be played during the top half of innings to @PennStateBASE, while one fan will be selected to try an inning as the play-by-play radio announcer and another will handle an inning as the PA announcer.
Season, flex and single-game ticket options for the 2017 Penn State baseball season in Medlar Field at Lubrano Park are now on sale at GoPSUsports.com or by calling the Medlar Field at Lubrano Park ticket office at 814-272-1711. Ask about the hospitality suite option for season ticket holders.
Check back to GoPSUSports.com for continued updates on Penn State Baseball. Follow on Twitter at @PennStateBASE and Facebook at Penn State Baseball.