May 19, 2018
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IOWA CITY, Iowa ââ'¬" Penn State fought to the end, bringing the tying-run to the on-deck circle, but ultimately dropped its baseball season finale at Iowa, 8-4, Saturday evening on Banks Field.
Penn State finished its season with a 15-34 overall record and 3-21 Big Ten record. Iowa improved to 33-18 overall and 13-9 in the conference and will advance to the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 6 seed.
Iowa took command in the second inning taking advantage of a pair of errors in a five-run inning. Two leadoff singles started the inning, and an error allowed the first run to score. Designated hitter Lorenzo Elion doubled to drive in another, and a Robert Neustrom single and an error on the play allowed three more runs to score.
The third and fourth innings were scoreless and then Penn State got back into the game in the fifth with two runs. Second baseman Conlin Hughes (Holly Springs, N.C.) walked to start the inning, left fielder Braxton Giavedoni (Punxsutawney, Pa.) flied out to the warning track in right, and then left fielder Curtis Robison (Dillsburg, Pa.) was hit by a pitch to bring up shortstop Logan Goodnight (Wheeling, W.Va.), who roped a double all the way to the wall in right-center to clear the bases and pull the Nittany Lions back to within three of Iowa.
The Hawkeyes doubled their advantage though in the sixth. The first run scored when pinch runner Kace Massner was able to dislodge the ball from catcher Derek Orndorff's (Mill Run, Pa.) glove on a play at home, and the additional runs scored later on an RBI-single by second baseman Mitchell Boe and a wild pitch, giving Iowa an 8-2 lead.
Giavedoni and left fielder Mason Nadeau (Lansdale, Pa.) hit back-to-back doubles in the seventh to get one run back for the Nittany Lions, and then they added a run in the top of the ninth for the final margin. First baseman Shea Sbranti (Oakley, Calif.) and pinch-hitter Kris Kremer (Hershey, Pa.) led the inning off with singles. Then with Sbranti on third, Giavedoni drove him in on a fielder's choice,
Iowa continued to be strong on the mound as it was all series. LHP Jack Dreyer (5-2) went six innings, allowing two runs on two hits and a walk with six strikeouts, while its bullpen yielded just a run.
LHP Dante Biasi (Hazle Township, Pa.) (3-6) worked 5 1/3 innings in the loss, allowing eight runs (five earned) on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts.