CARY, N.C. – The Penn State baseball team fell 11-5 against Holy Cross on Sunday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary. The Crusaders took the lead with a six-run third inning and held on for the victory. Penn State dropped to 6-3 and snapped a five-game win streak.
Tommy Molsky made his third start of the year for the Nittany Lions, going two full innings and pitching into the third. He allowed six runs (four earned) on four hits and three walks. Jaden Henline worked one-third of an inning, giving up three runs on two hits before Jacob Coffin finished the third inning.
Coffin tallied four shutout innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out four. Connor Throneberry finished the seventh inning and pitched 2.2 frames, giving up two runs and two hits. Throneberry struck out five batters and walked three.
Nate Chudy got the start on the mound for Holy Cross, throwing 3.2 innings. He allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits. Chudy walked five batters and struck out seven. Oliver Brown threw three innings in relief, giving up one run on five hits. Luke LeMond got the final out of the seventh and pitched 2.1 innings, allowing just one hit.
Penn State collected 10 hits, including a two-run homer by Jay Harry. Kyle Hannon had a double to go with two runs and an RBI. Bobby Marsh and Josh Spiegel each had a double and scored a run. Anthony Steele also had a double.
Holy Cross scored 11 runs on 10 hits. Sean Scanlon drove in four runs to go with two hits. Jack Toomey hit a two-run homer and an RBI single, while scoring two runs. Brendan Jones collected three hits, including a double, and scored three runs. Lucas Manning drew four walks and scored three runs.
The Nittany Lions took an early lead in the first. Hannon worked a leadoff walk. The junior stole second before Harry crushed a 2-0 pitch over the wall in right. Harry's first homer of the season gave Penn State a 2-0 advantage.
Holy Cross answered with three runs in the second. After a single to right by Jones, the Crusaders' Toomey lifted the first pitch he saw over the wall in left. A walk by Manning, a single by Connor Peek and Connor Cooney reaching on an error loaded the bases for Scanlon, who worked a 3-1 count and took ball four to allow Manning to cross the plate. Holy Cross led 3-2.
Penn State responded with a run in the bottom half. Spiegel began the inning with a line drive to the gap in left-center and raced to second for a double. Spiegel moved up to third on a wild pitch before a hard ground ball by Grant Norris skipped over the shortstop and plated Spiegel. The game was tied at 3-3 through two innings.
Holy Cross re-gained the lead with six runs in the third. With the bases loaded, Toomey lined a single to right to score Jake Jaszcz. A wild pitch brought Jake McElroy home from third. After Manning drew a walk, Peek reached on a fielder's choice with an errant throw resulting in Jones and Toomey scoring. A ground out by Cooney allowed Manning to score. Scanlon's single to right-center brought home Peek for the sixth run of the inning. Holy Cross led 9-3 through three innings.
Penn State got a run back in the fourth. With two outs, Marsh crushed a double to the wall in left. Hannon followed with a fly ball to center, resulting in a double and Marsh scoring. Penn State trailed 9-4 through four innings.
The Nittany Lions added a run in the sixth. Hannon drew a leadoff walk. He reached second on a wild pitch and moved up to third on a fly out to right by Harry. Thomas Bramley dropped a single into right to plate Hannon. Penn State trimmed its deficit to 9-5.
Holy Cross plated two runs in the ninth. With the bases loaded, Scanlon hit a line drive to left-center for a single and brought home Jones and Manning. Holy Cross extended its lead to 11-5.
The Nittany Lions take on the Crusaders on Monday for a 1 p.m. first pitch. Penn State meets No. 13 North Carolina on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Chapel Hill.
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.
Jay Harry