UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Youngstown State erased an early eight-run deficit, but Penn State rallied back with three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 16-15 win in non-conference baseball action Tuesday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Penn State (17-11) led 11-3 after a 10-run second inning, but Youngstown State (7-25) scored in five-straight innings, starting in the fourth, to take a 15-13 lead into the ninth inning. However, a sacrifice fly by designated hitter Ryan Ford (Freehold, N.J.) capped a three-run inning for the walk-off win.
The Penguins looked for RHP Kip DeShields (2-2) to close it out after getting the final two outs of the seventh and working a 1-2-3 eighth, but shortstop Conlin Hughes (Holly Springs, N.C.) led off with a bunt single, left fielder Gavin Homer (Battle Creek, Mich.) walked and center fielder Jordan Bowersox (Winter Springs, Fla.) doubled to left center to score Hughes and advance Homer to third.
Youngstown State went to its bullpen, bringing on RHP Brett Souder, and the move paid off initially with a strikeout of first baseman Parker Hendershot (Barton, N.Y.), but after catcher Ryan Sloniger (Punxsutawney, Pa.) was intentionally walked, a wild pitch during second baseman Kris Kremer's (Hershey, Pa.) allowed Homer to score and Bowersox and Sloniger to move up a base, respectively. Kremer eventually walked to bring up Ford, who was able to lift a pitch to left field to easily drive in the winning run.
The win marked the 400th career win as head coach for Penn State head coach Rob Cooper.
Penn State's 16 runs were a season high and the most in a game since a 20-12 win at Lafayette on April 6, 2016, and the 31 combined runs were the most in a Penn State game since the 32 runs were scored in that Lafayette game.
The Nittany Lions totaled 13 hits and drew nine walks and three hit by pitches with four posting multi-games and five driving in multiple runs. All nine batters reached base at least once and eight reached at least twice, while eight of nine scored at least one run.
Freshman third baseman Justin Williams (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) had one of the best all-around days, going 2-for-4 with a three-run home run, a double and three runs scored. Bowersox reached base five times going 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs, two walks and three runs scored. Hendershot tallied a bases-clearing triple and an RBI-single in the seventh for a game-high four RBIs. Ford had a pair of hits and runs in the second inning, including a two RBI-single before ending the game with his career-high third RBI of the night.
Early in the game, it looked like the story would be Penn State's emphatic response to an early 3-0 deficit.
Youngstown State jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the second on a pair of hits and errors, but Penn State rallied with a 10-run bottom half, scoring its most runs in a single inning since at least 2004. The Nittany Lions sent 13 batters to the plate with Ford tallying two of Penn State's six hits in the inning. The Lions also benefitted from two hit batsmen and two walks.
Ford led the inning off with a single and scored the first run from third on a wild pitch. After an RBI-single single by Bowersox reduced the deficit to 3-2, Hendershot gave the Nittany Lions the lead with a bases-clearing triple, 5-3. Ford drove in two with two outs with a single in his second at-bat, and then Williams put the exclamation point on the inning by launching a three-run home run an estimated 407 feet over the left field wall.
Sloniger hit an RBI-double in the third inning for an 11-3 advantage, but Youngstown State rallied back. The Penguins scored two in the fourth on an RBI-triple by second baseman Drew Dickerson and an RBI-double by catcher Drew Swarmer, an unearned run in the fifth, and then tied the game at 11-11 with a five-run sixth inning highlighted by a two-RBI triple by shortstop Philip Glasser.
The Penguins then went ahead, 13-11, with two runs in the seventh scoring on an error. Penn State tied the game on RBIs from Hendershot and Sloniger in the bottom half, but Youngstown State went ahead with two more runs in the top of the eighth, as Dickerson tripled to drive in a run and scored on a single by right fielder Web Charles.
RHP Kyle Virbitsky (2-3) ended the Penguins scoring run in the ninth inning, retiring the side in order and striking out two, and the Nittany Lions were able to respond in the bottom half. Virbitsky was the only one of five Nittany Lion pitchers not to allow a run. Freshman LHP Tyler Shingledecker (Huntersville, N.C.) made his first career start and struck out a career-high eight batters in 4.1 innings pitched, matching his career high, and gave up three earned runs on five hits.
Swarmer and Dickerson paced the Youngstown State offense, as Swarmer went 5-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored, and Dickerson went 3-for-5 with a triple, three RBIs and two runs.
Penn State continues its homestand Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, hosting Pittsburgh.
The 2019 Penn State baseball season is presented by the Family Clothesline. Tickets are on sale online by clicking here or by calling the Medlar Field at Lubrano Park ticket office at 814-272-1711.
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NOTES: Kris Kremer has reached base in his last 16 games … Jordan Bowersox has a hit in his last nine games … With 13 strikeouts in the game, Penn State has struck out nine or more batters in 22 out of 28 games this season … Penn State has five walk-off wins this season and 7-3 in games decided by one run after going 5-13 in one-run games last season … Penn State improved to 16-4 in non-conference play this season.