UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team dropped a tough 7-3 result in 10 innings against Illinois on Friday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The Nittany Lions tied the game in the eighth, but the Fighting Illini scored four runs in the top of the 10th to re-take the lead.
Penn State is now 25-26 overall and 11-12 in Big Ten play, while Illinois moved to 30-20 overall and 16-7 in conference action.
Travis Luensmann made his 12th start of the season for the Nittany Lions. Luensmann allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits. He struck out one batter and walked one. Luensmann retired eight straight batters between the third and fifth innings.
Tyler Shingledecker got the final out of the fifth and threw 4.1 innings, pitching through the first batter of the 10th. He allowed one run on two hits, while striking out four and walking two batters. Mason Mellott gave up three runs on two hits in an inning.
Riley Gowens got the start for Illinois, throwing six innings. He gave up two runs on three hits. Gowens struck out seven batters and walked three. Joseph Glassey entered the game after Gowens faced one batter in the seventh. Glassey went 1.1 frames, surrendering an unearned run and two hits. Tommy Green got the win with 2.2 scoreless innings, while striking out five.
Penn State tallied three runs on five hits. Josh Spiegel launched a solo homer, his ninth of the season. Kyle Hannon had an RBI double, while Johnny Piacentino drove in a run. Matt Wood extended his reached-base streak to 33 games with a single and scored a run.
Illinois had seven runs on eight hits. Brody Harding recorded two hits, including a solo homer, and two RBI. Cam McDonald notched a double and two RBI. Danny Doligale had two hits and a run.
The Illini got on the board in the top of the second. With one out, Kellen Sarver hit a fly ball towards center field that was carried by the wind into the left-field gap for a double. Two batters later, Harding shot a ground ball through the left side of the infield to bring home Sarver and give Illinois a 1-0 lead.
Penn State tied the game in the bottom half of the frame. Billy Gerlott worked a one-out walk. Two batters later, Hannon dropped a line drive just inside the right-field line and into the corner for a double, allowing Gerlott to score from first. The game was even at 1-1 through two innings.
The Nittany Lions took the lead in the fourth. Leading off the inning, Spiegel launched an 0-2 pitch over the wall in left. The 438-foot shot gave Penn State a 2-1 advantage.
Illinois plated two runs in the fifth, aided by errors. With two outs, Doligale reached on a single up the middle. Branden Comia followed by drawing a walk. Justin Janas chopped a ground ball towards second that was misplayed, allowing Doligale to cross the plate. Campbell sent a ground ball towards third, which resulted in an error as Comia scored from third. Illinois took a 3-2 lead.
Penn State tied the game in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Wood lined a single to left-center. Spiegel sent a ground ball to shortstop, which was misplayed to allow both runners to reach safely. A balk moved the runners to second and third and an intentional walk issued to Gerlott loaded the bases. Piacentino hit a high chopper to shortstop, resulting in a ground out, but scoring Wood from third. The teams were tied 3-3 through eight innings.
Illinois re-took the lead with four runs in the top of the 10th. Back-to-back walks by Janas and Campbell setup a two-run double to left-center by McDonald. An error on a throw allowed McDonald to move up to third and he scored on a wild pitch. Brody Harding followed with a solo homer to right to extend Illinois' lead to 7-3.
The Nittany Lions and Fighting Illini conclude the three-game series on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m. with the team's 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.
Josh Spiegel