MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The Penn State baseball team fought back from an early deficit to earn an 8-4 win at West Virginia on Wednesday at Monongalia Park. The Nittany Lions erased a 3-0 deficit with key hitting at the plate, including six extra-base hits.
Penn State improved to 18-21 overall, while West Virginia dropped to 24-15. The Nittany Lions have now won five straight road matchups against the Mountaineers. WVU owns wins this season over No. 10 TCU, No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 8 Texas Tech.
Tyler Shingledecker made his first start, and 15th appearance, of the season. The senior went 2.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits. He struck out three while not allowing a walk. Mason Mellott finished the third inning and pitched 1.2 shutout frames. Mellott allowed a hit and a walk while securing the win.
Ryan Partridge faced two batters, inducing a lineout and giving up a single. Steven Miller got a groundout to end the fifth and pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk, while striking out one. Kellan Tulio began the seventh and threw two innings. He gave up a run and two hits, while striking out three. Jordan Morales entered in the ninth, throwing a perfect inning, including two strikeouts.
Over his last three outings, Mellott has thrown eight shutout innings.
Aidan Major got the start for the Mountaineers, throwing 2.1 frames. He allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits. He struck out four and walked three. West Virginia used nine relievers, who combined to allow five runs (four earned).
Penn State tallied eight runs on 10 hits. Josh Spiegel collected two hits, including a homer, three runs and two RBI. Johnny Piacentino had two doubles and drove in three runs. Billy Gerlott had an RBI triple, while Jay Harry drove in a run with a single. Tayven Kelley had a double and scored a run, while Ben Kailher also doubled.
The Mountaineers had four runs on 11 hits. Dayne Leonard and Mikey Kluska each had three hits, while Leonard scored a run. Victor Scott II had two hits, a run and an RBI.
West Virginia plated two runs in the first. With one out, J.J. Wetherholt reached on an infield single. Scott II then flared a double down the line in right as Wetherholt just beat a throw to the plate. McGwire Holbrook followed with a line-drive single to center to bring home Scott II.
The Mountaineers extended their lead in the second. Leonard and Kluska began the inning with singles, putting runners on the corners. A grounder to shortstop to Harry turned into a double play, but Leonard crossed the plate. West Virginia led 3-0 after two innings.
Penn State tied the game in the top of the third. Cole Bartels led off the inning with a sharp single to left, followed by a walk by Harry. Spiegel sent a line drive into right field for a single to bring home Bartels. After a pitching change, Piacentino dropped a liner down the line in right for a double to score Harry. An errant pickoff throw towards third allowed Spiegel to cross the plate to even the game at 3-3.
The Nittany Lions took the lead in the fourth. Kelley roped a one-out double to the wall in right-center. A fly out by Bartels moved Kelley up to third. Harry then sent a ground ball to the shortstop and reached on an infield single as Kelley scored. Penn State held a 4-3 lead.
Penn State scored two runs in the fifth. Spiegel greeted a new pitcher by launching a fly ball into the PSU bullpen beyond left field for a solo homer. Two batters later, Kailher reached on an error and then stole second. Gerlott followed with a line drive to the wall in right for a triple to score Kailher. The Nittany Lions extended their lead to 6-3.
West Virginia cut the lead to two runs in the eighth. A walk by Grant Hussey and back-to-back singles by Leonard and Kluska setup Tevin Tucker. The junior hit a grounder back to Tulio, who fired to Harry at second for an out, but PSU could not turn the double play, allowing Hussey to score. Austin Davis drew a walk to re-load the bases, but Tulio caught Wetherholt looking on a 3-2 breaking ball to end the inning. Penn State led 6-4 through eight.
The Nittany Lions added two key insurance runs in the ninth. Matt Wood led off the inning by reaching on an infield single to extend his hit streak to 21 games. Spiegel drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Piacentino then roped a line drive to the gap in left-center for a double to plate Wood and Spiegel to extend PSU's lead to 8-4.
Penn State hosts Omaha for a three-game series, beginning on Friday, April 29. Friday's game is set to begin at 6 p.m. as fans are encouraged to Wear White.
Saturday's contest, beginning at 6 p.m., is Little League Day and will feature postgame fireworks. Sunday is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch on Paper Appreciation Day.
The 2022 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
Josh Spiegel