COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Penn State baseball team (8-18) dropped game two of the three-game series 7-0 to Ohio State. Junior Kyle Virbitsky is slotted to start for the Nittany Lions in the final game tomorrow afternoon.
How it Happened
The Nittany Lions attempted to take an early lead in the top of the first as Gavin Homer and Tayven Kelley both reached to begin the game. Homer was hit by a pitch and Kelley worked seven-pitch walk to put runners on first and second.
Matt Wood sacrificed Homer and Kelley into scoring position with one out in the inning. Justin Williams was robbed on a two-RBI single as a nice play by the Ohio State first baseman kept the Nittany Lions off the scoreboard. A pop up ended the inning for the Nittany Lions.
Ohio State struck first in the bottom of the first as the first three batters reached, including an RBI single to put the Buckeyes up 1-0. The Buckeyes plated two more runs to take a 3-0 lead after one inning.
Starter Conor Larkin bounced back by striking out the side in his half of the second inning to keep it 3-0 after two.
In the top of the third, Tayven Kelley belted a double to right center with two outs as the Nittany Lions looked to cut into the lead. Wood flew out to the track in deep center field, missing a home run by just a few feet to end the inning.
Larkin settled in, retiring the next 10 Buckeyes he faced after the three-run first.
Ohio State plated another run in the bottom of the fifth to push its lead to 4-0 and added two in the sixth to take a 6-0 lead.
In the top of the seventh, Josh Spiegel ripped a ground-rule double over the left field wall with one out in the frame. A groundout and a fly out ended the Nittany Lions half of the seventh.
The Buckeyes would add another run in the bottom of the eighth to bring the final tally to 7-0.
Up Next
Penn State and Ohio State will wrap up the series tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET.