CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Penn State baseball team fell 3-2 against No. 22 Miami on Sunday afternoon at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. The Nittany Lions took a 2-0 lead in the fourth and maintained the advantage until a walk-off homer by CJ Kayfus with two outs in the ninth. Penn State went 1-2 on opening weekend, including a 9-5 win on Friday.
In the ninth, Dominic Pitelli led off the inning with a single to left. With Dario Gomez at the plate, Pitelli took off for second but was thrown out by Josh Spiegel. After Gomez struck out, Edgardo Villegas lined a single to left-center. On the first pitch of his at-bat, Kayfus hit a fly ball to right that carried over the fence to end the game.
Tommy Molsky earned the start for the Nittany Lions. The sophomore fired five shutout innings, allowing just three singles. Molsky struck out five batters, while walking five. Molsky did not allow a hit to any of the Hurricanes' top four hitters. The Pennsylvania native got two key strikeouts in the second, including one with runners on second and third to end the inning.
Steven Miller entered the game to begin the sixth. Miller held Miami scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings before the homer by Kayfus. Overall, Miller went 3.2 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits. He struck out two batters and walked one.
Alejandro Rosario started on the mound for Miami. Rosario went 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits. He struck out six batters and walked four. Chris Scinta took over in the sixth inning, pitching a full inning of work. He allowed one hit and one walk while striking out one. Brian Walters threw two-thirds of an inning before being replaced by Andrew Walters, who threw two scoreless frames and struck out five.
The Nittany Lions recorded six hits. Tayven Kelley led PSU with two hits, including an RBI single. Johnny Piacentino registered a hit and a run, while Kyle Hannon, Jay Harry and Josh Spiegel each had a base hit. Thomas Bramley scored a run.
Miami tallied nine hits. Blake Cyr contributed two hits and an RBI, while Ian Farrow and Edgardo Villegas each had a hit and a run. Zach Levenson registered two hits.
Penn State got on the board first, scoring a run in the third inning. With two outs, Bramley drew a walk. Spiegel followed with a single up the middle, allowing Bramley to race to third. With Billy Gerlott at the plate, a wild pitch bounced away from the catcher to let Bramley cross home plate and give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead.
The Nittany Lions extended their lead in the fourth. Piacentino led off the inning with an infield single. A ground out by Anthony Steele moved Piacentino to second. Two batters later, Tayven Kelley lined a single to center to drive in Piacentino. Penn State held a 2-0 lead.
Miami cut the lead in half in the sixth. With one out, Farrow singled up the middle. He moved to second on a pickoff error. Cyr followed with a single to center to plate Farrow. Penn State led 2-1 through six innings.
In the eighth inning, Miami got runners to second and third with two outs. However, a pop up was snagged in shallow left field by Hannon to end the inning.
The Nittany Lions travel to Cary, N.C. next weekend to play four games. Penn State meets Maine on Friday, February 24 at 1 p.m. The Nittany Lions take on Northern Illinois in a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning at noon, before concluding the weekend on Sunday at 10 a.m. against Monmouth.
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.
Tommy Molsky