UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team fell 18-7 against Illinois on Thursday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The Nittany Lions climbed back into the game after an early deficit, but Illinois plated seven runs in the last three innings to pull away.
Penn State dropped to 25-25 overall and 11-11 in Big Ten play, while Illinois improved to 29-20 overall and 15-7 in conference action.
Jaden Henline made his seventh start of the year for the Nittany Lions, throwing 1.2 innings. He gave up seven runs on eight hits, while striking out two and walking two. Chase Renner got the final out of the second and went a full inning, allowing four runs (one earned) on three hits.
Ryan Partridge took over, throwing a career-best 3.1 innings. He gave up one run on two hits and walked three. Chad Rogers went 2.2 innings, allowing six runs on four hits. He struck out two batters and walked one. Carson Ertter threw one-third of an inning, striking out one and walking one.
Cole Kirschsieper took the mound to start for Illinois. He went 4.2 innings, giving up five runs on six hits. Kirschsieper struck out three batters and walked four. Ty Rybarczyk pitched 1.1 frames, allowing two runs on three hits. Alex Vera entered in the seventh, going three scoreless innings.
Penn State tallied seven runs on 11 hits. Cole Bartels had a career-high four hits, including a double, and two RBI. Johnny Piacentino drove in two runs, while Billy Gerlott had a two-run double.
Illinois recorded 18 runs on 17 hits. Branden Comia went four-for-six, including two doubles and a homer, four runs and five RBI. Cam McDonald drove in three runs and added a triple, while Taylor Jackson had two hits, two runs and two RBI.
The Fighting Illini plated a run in the top of the first. With two outs, Justin Janas sent a ground ball up the middle for a single. Jacob Campbell followed with a line drive to the gap for a double as Janas scored from first.
Illinois added six runs in the second. Singles by Kellen Sarver, Jackson and Brody Harding began the inning. Cal Hejza worked a walk as Sarver touched home. A single to right by Danny Doligale to right scored Jackson and Harding. A three-run homer to right by Comia extended Illinois' lead to 7-0.
Illinois scored four runs in the third. With runners on first and second, an error on a sac bun by Doligale allowed Harding to cross the plate. A single by Comia drove in Hejza. A sac fly to right by McDonald scored Doligale from third. Back-to-back walks by Sarver and Jackson resulted by Comia scoring to extend the Illini advantage to 11-0.
Penn State plated five runs in the fifth. Kyle Hannon led off the inning with a walk. He moved up to second on a sac bunt and to third on a groundout. A single to right by Bartels brought home Hannon. Bartels stole second before Matt Wood and Josh Spiegel worked back-to-back walks to load the bases. Piacentino lined a single to center to score Bartels and Wood. After a walk by Jay Harry, and a pitching change, Gerlott roped a line drive down the line in left for a double to allow Spiegel and Piacentino to cross the plate. The Nittany Lions cut their deficit to 11-5.
The Nittany Lions added two runs in the sixth. A leadoff single by Tayven Kelley and a walk by Derek Cease put runners on first and second. A balk moved each runner up a base before a ground out to shortstop by Bartels allowed Kelley to cross the plate. Wood followed with a sharp single to right to drive in Cease. Penn State trailed 11-7 through six innings.
Illinois responded with three runs in the top of the seventh. After a leadoff walk by Doligale, Comia doubled down the line in left to drive in Doligale. After a single by Janas and Campbell was hit by a pitch, McDonald sent a fly ball to deep right, in foul territory, for a sac fly which scored Comia. A groundout to first by Sarver allowed Janas to score and extend Illinois' lead to 14-7.
Illinois scored four runs in the ninth, including an RBI single by Jackson and an RBI walk by Hezja.
The series against Illinois continues on Friday at 6 p.m. for Bark In The Park night. It concludes on Saturday, scheduled for 10 a.m., with a Senior Day Ceremony, presented by the Penn State Alumni Association, following the game.
The 2022 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
Cole Bartels