COLUMBUS, Ohio – Penn State responded to a 2-0 shutout loss to Ohio State with a 10-6 victory in the second game of a Big Ten baseball doubleheader Saturday on Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium.
Penn State (21-24, 4-18 Big Ten) concluded its conference schedule and will finish the 2019 season with four non-conference games. The Nittany Lion win in the series finale snapped a seven-game losing streak against Ohio State (27-24, 9-12 Big Ten).
Game 2
Penn State scored Big Ten season high-matching 10 runs on a season-high 14 hits, while RHP Conor Larkin (Royersford, Pa.) (4-2) struck out a career-high 10 in six innings, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks.
The bottom five hitters on the Nittany Lion lineup card all enjoyed multi-hit games and went 11-for-21 with eight RBIs and all 10 runs scored. Six of the 14 hits were doubles, matching a season-high previously set in a win at Pitt on March 12
The eighth and ninth batters in the lineup, designated hitter Shea Sbranti (Oakley, Calif.) and shortstop Conlin Hughes (Holly Springs, N.C.) both drove in three runs each, matching their respective career highs, while Sbranti added career-highs with three runs and two doubles on a 2-for-4 day that also included a walk. Hughes also went 2-for-4 and added two runs, a double and a walk. First baseman Ryan Sloniger (Punxsutawney, Pa.), who batted seventh, went 3-for-5 with three runs and an RBI-double. Catcher Jacob Padilla (Wylie, Texas), batting eighth, went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, and second baseman Connor Klemann (Royersford, Pa.) went 2-for-4 with a double and run scored.
Larkin, making his first Big Ten start, set the tone on the mound, striking out the first three batters in the first inning. Penn State then jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the second, with the first run scoring on back-to-back doubles from Padilla and Sloniger. Sbranti followed with a walk, and he and Padilla scored on a double from Hughes.
Ohio State pulled back within one with solo home runs from left fielder Brady Cherry and right fielder Dominic Canzone in the bottom of the second and third innings, respectively, but Penn State scored the next seven runs for a 10-2 lead.
Penn State extended its lead to 5-2 in the top of the fourth inning as Sbranti hit an RBI-double and then scored on a single by Hughes. The Nittany Lions then doubled their run total in the fifth, batting around for five more runs. With one out, Klemann doubled and scored on a Sloniger single. Padilla then singled and Sbranti followed with a double to score both base runners. Hughes and right fielder Mac Hippenhammer (Fort Wayne, Ind.) then drew walks to load the bases, forcing the Buckeyes to go to the bullpen, but center fielder Jordan Bowersox (Winter Springs, Fla.) followed with an RBI-single and third baseman Justin Williams (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) drove in one more on a fielder's choice.
Game 1
A two-run double by Ohio State second baseman Matt Carpenter in the bottom of the seventh broke a scoreless deadlock and proved to be the game's only scoring play. Penn State loaded the bases in the top of the ninth with one out, but LHP Andrew Mango (10) tallied a pair of strikeouts to end the threat.
For Penn State, RHP Eric Mock (Shillington, Pa.) posted his second-straight scoreless outing striking out six over five innings. He allowed just two hits and two walks, but hit three batters. However, the Buckeyes countered with LHP Seth Lonsway (6-4), who struck out 13 in eight scoreless innings, allowing five hits and a walk and plunking one.
Hippenhammer led the Penn State offense by reaching base four times, tallying a double, two singles and a walk. The Nittany Lions out-hit Ohio State, 7-6.
Up Next
Penn State will conclude its season with four home games in five days at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The final homestand of the year begins Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. against Mount St. Mary's and continues Thursday (6:30 p.m.), Friday (6:30 p.m.) and Saturday (2 p.m.) against Arizona.
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.
Follow Penn State baseball on Twitter and Instagram at @PennStateBASE and Facebook at /pennstatebaseball for all of the latest news and updates and behind the scenes action.
NOTES: Justin Williams extended his reached base streak to 12 games in Game 1, but had it snapped in the second game … 15 of Penn State's 18 conference losses have been by two runs or less … Penn State played its seventh doubleheader of the season … Eric Mock has allowed two earned runs or less in eight out of 11 starts this season and struck out five or more batters in each start this season … Penn State has struck out nine or more batters in 36 out of 45 games this season.
