CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Penn State baseball team fell 10-2 at No. 22 Miami on Saturday evening at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. The Nittany Lions and Hurricanes will battle on Sunday at 1 p.m. after splitting the first two games of the series.
Daniel Ouderkirk made his first start as a Nittany Lion, going 3.1 innings. He allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits. Ouderkirk struck out three batters and walked four.
Ryan Partridge faced two batters in the fourth inning, allowing a run and a hit before Chase Renner took over and threw 2.2 innings. He gave up three runs on four hits while striking out two and walking three. Jacob Coffin made his PSU debut two batters into the seventh, going 1.1 innings and picking up a strikeout. Carson Kohls entered with one out in the eighth, going two-thirds of an inning and allowing two runs on one hit with a strikeout and a walk.
Karson Ligon got the start for Miami, throwing 6.2 innings. Ligon allowed one run on two hits and two walks, while striking out two. Rafe Schlesinger finished the seventh. Ronaldo Gallo entered in the eighth and went two innings, allowing a run on three hits and striking out four.
Penn State tallied six hits. Jay Harry collected two hits, including an RBI single. Kyle Hannon also recorded two hits and an RBI single. Thomas Bramley and Bobby Marsh each registered a double, while Marsh scored a run.
Miami scored 10 runs on nine hits, led by Zach Levenson's two-homer, three-RBI night. Edgardo Villegas contributed a double, a homer, two runs and three RBI. Carlos Perez tallied two hits, including a two-run homer.
The Hurricanes got on the board in the first. After Dario Gomez reached on an error, Villegas launched the first pitch of his at-bat over the wall in right-center to give Miami a 2-0 lead.
Miami added three runs in the fourth. After back-to-back walks drawn by Dominic Pitelli and Gomez, a double to right by Villegas scored Pitelli and moved Gomez to third. A wild pitch allowed Gomez to cross the plate. Two batters later, Yohandy Morales shot a ground ball through the right side to score Villegas. Miami led 5-0 through four innings.
The Hurricanes extended their lead in the fifth on a solo homer by Levenson. Penn State trailed 6-0 after five.
Penn State got a run back in the top of the seventh. With one out, Josh Spiegel worked a walk. A ground out by Billy Gerlott pushed Spiegel to second. After a pitching change, Hannon dribbled a single up the middle to score Spiegel. The Nittany Lions cut their deficit to 6-1.
Miami added two runs in the bottom half of the seventh on a homer to left by Perez. Miami led 8-1 through seven.
Penn State answered with a run in the eighth. With one out, Marsh lined a pinch-hit double to right. Two batters later, Harry drove a single to right to score Marsh. The inning continued as Bramley doubled down the line in left to put runners at second and third. However, a strikeout ended the inning and kept the deficit at 8-2.
Miami scored two runs in the eighth on a homer to left by Levenson to extend its lead to 10-2.
The Nittany Lions conclude the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ACCNX.
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.