CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Penn State baseball team began the 2023 season with a 9-5 win at No. 22 Miami on Friday night at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. The Nittany Lions scored four runs in the second and added three insurance runs in the eighth to earn the victory.
The Hurricanes are ranked 22nd in the D1Baseball Poll and No. 8 in the Baseball America Poll.
Penn State earned its first win over a ranked non-Big Ten opponent since an 8-7 victory against No. 21 Duke on March 2, 2019. The Nittany Lions collected their first ever win over Miami.
Travis Luensmann got the opening night start for the Nittany Lions, going five innings. Luensmann allowed just one run on two hits. The junior fanned four batters and walked two. Luensmann ended the first two innings with strikeouts before inducing a ground ball doubleplay to end the third. A 1-2-3 fourth inning was followed by a scoreless fifth.
Jordan Morales entered the game to begin the sixth and went 2.2 innings, giving up four runs on four hits. He tallied three strikeouts and a walk. Jaden Henline recorded the final out of the eighth. Steven Miller took the mound in the ninth and struck out two in a scoreless inning.
Miami's Gage Ziehl made his first career start. Ziehl threw two innings, into the third inning, allowing five runs on nine hits. He struck out two batters and walked one. Ben Chestnutt finished the third and went a total of 2.1 innings, giving up one run on one hit. Chestnutt struck out four and walked four. Alejandro Torres threw 2.2 innings, giving up a run on three hits, before Carlos Lequerica allowed a run in a third of an inning. Rafe Schlesinger finished the eighth, allowing a run. Gunther Graendel entered in the ninth and threw a scoreless frame.
Penn State tallied nine runs on 16 hits. Six Nittany Lions had multiple hits, including three hits each by Billy Gerlott and Johnny Piacentino. Gerlott scored a run, while Piacentino had an RBI single and a run. Jay Harry collected two hits, including a bases-clearing double to get PSU on the board in the second. Kyle Hannon crushed a solo homer to go with two runs and two RBI, while Tayven Kelley launched a solo homer and scored two runs. Thomas Bramley had two hits, including an RBI double.
The Hurricanes' offense was paced by three solo home runs, with one each by Ian Farrow, Zach Levenson and Dominic Pitelli. Yohandy Morales added an RBI double.
The Nittany Lions got on the board with four runs in the top of the second. Penn State started the inning with back-to-back singles by Piacentino and Anthony Steele. PSU loaded the bases on a walk drawn by Kelley. Harry followed with a double to the corner in right to clear the bases. Bramley then roped a double to right to drive in Harry and give Penn State a 4-0 advantage.
Penn State added a run in the top of the third as Hannon led off the inning with an opposite-field homer to extend the lead to 5-0.
Miami got a run back in the bottom half. Pitelli hit a solo homer to right-center to cut Penn State's lead to 5-1.
The Nittany Lions threatened in the fourth. Bramley worked from an 0-2 count to draw a walk. After a fielder's choice by Spiegel, Billy Gerlott drew a walk. A wild pitch pushed the runners to second and third. Two batters later, Piacentino was intentionally walked to load the bases. Steele launched a fly ball to left, but it was caught on the warning track to end the frame.
Penn State tacked on a run in the top of the fifth. With one out, Kelley launched a fly ball over the wall in right-center for a solo homer. The Nittany Lions led 6-1.
The Hurricanes tallied a run in the seventh on a one-out solo homer to center by Levenson. Miami cut its deficit to 6-2 through seven.
Penn State plated three runs in the eighth. A pair of singles by Bramley and Gerlott were followed by a ground ball by Hannon, which resulted in a throwing error to allow Bramley to score. Piacentino then lined a single to right to drive in Gerlott. A passed ball brought Hannon home from third. The Nittany Lions extended their lead to 9-2.
Miami answered with three runs in the bottom half. After a one-out single by CJ Kayfus, Morales doubled to left to score Kayfus. The next batter, Farrow, launched a homer to left-center to plate two more runs. Penn State led 9-5 through eight.
The Nittany Lions continue the series against the Hurricanes on Saturday with a 7 p.m. first pitch. The series concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Season and single game tickets for the 2023 Penn State baseball season are available here. Season tickets are $75 for adults and free for youth (ages 12 and under).
The 2023 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
