UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team (14-20) opened its weekend series with a 7-3 win over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Friday afternoon.
The Nittany Lions used a solid start by Bailey Dees and three scoreless innings of relief from Mason Mellott to secure the game one win.
Penn State and Rutgers will be back in action tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET.
How it Happened
Starter Bailey Dees tossed a pair of scoreless innings to begin his outing, striking out four through two innings of work.
The Nittany Lions got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the second. Justin Williams launched a home run over the left field wall with a 111 exit velocity on the blast to put Penn State on top 1-0.
Johnny Piacentino doubled and Curtis Robison singled with one out in the inning. A strikeout brought freshman shortstop Jay Harry to the plate with two outs in the inning. Harry laced a double down the left field line to score Piacentino and Robison.
Gavin Homer followed with a walk as Harry advanced to third on a wild pitch during the Homer at bat. Tayven Kelley singled home Harry and Matt Wood singled home Homer to give Penn State a 5-0 lead after two.
Dees worked a scoreless third to keep Penn State ahead 5-0, facing the minimum in the inning.
Rutgers would score their first run of the game in the top of the fourth, using a pair of hits and a Penn State error to plate a run and cut the Nittany Lion lead to 5-1.
The Scarlet Knights continued to chip away at the Nittany Lions lead, scoring runs in the top of the fifth and the top of the sixth to bring the score to 5-3. Despite the runs being scored, Dees limited the damage in both innings to keep Penn State on top.
Penn State added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Freshman catcher Josh Spiegel tattooed a home run to dead center that cleared the batter's eye and push Penn State's lead back to 6-3.
Mellott came on to relieve Dees in the top of the seventh, tossing a pair of scoreless frames out of the bullpen.
In the bottom of the eighth, Williams doubled down the line and was sacrificed to third on a bunt by Piacentino.
Spiegel stepped to the plate and ripped a double that one-hopped off the right field wall and scored Williams easily.
Mellott worked a perfect ninth for his third save of the season and gave the Nittany Lions a 7-3 win.
With the appearances and the save, Mellott moved into sole possession of fourth in career saves (12) and 10th in appearances in Penn State history.
Up Next
Conor Larkin will be on the mound for Penn State tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
For more information on Penn State baseball, visit gopsusports.com.