LINCOLN, Neb. – The Penn State baseball team rallied to cut its deficit to one in the seventh, but could not complete the comeback, falling 8-5 at Nebraska on Sunday afternoon at Haymarket Park. The Nittany Lions are now 24-22 overall, while the Huskers improved to 29-20-1.
In Big Ten play, Penn State dropped to 6-14 and Nebraska moved to 13-8.
Jordan Morales got the start for the Nittany Lions, going 1.1 frames. He allowed four runs on four hits while striking out one and walking two. Steven Miller faced one hitter and got them to bounce into a double play to end the second and worked 2.2 scoreless innings. Miller also forced a double play in the third and worked out of a jam in the third.
Tommy Molsky threw 3.2 innings. Molsky allowed four runs on five hits. He recorded two strikeouts and two walks. Anthony Steele retired the only batter he faced.
Will Walsh started for Nebraska, tossing four innings. He gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out two. Corbin Hawkins threw 2.1 frames, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and striking out three. Shay Schanaman worked a scoreless inning and struck out one. Kyle Perry held PSU scoreless over the final 1.2 frames.
Penn State recorded 10 hits on the day. Grant Norris went three-for-three, including a double, and scored a run. Josh Spiegel contributed a double and a two-run homer. Bobby Marsh singled and drove in a run. Kyle Hannon collected a hit, a run and a steal.
With the steal, Hannon now has 26 this season. He is one away from tying Michael Campo's program record of 27 in 2000.
The Nittany Lions hit six homers on the weekend, its most in Big Ten series this year. Penn State had six homers in the series at Ohio State in 2022.
Nebraska tallied nine hits. Gabe Swansen doubled and homered, while driving in five runs. Max Anderson had three hits, including an RBI double, and two runs. Cole Evans posted two hits, including a double, and two runs. Josh Caron had a solo homer.
The Nittany Lions got on the board in the top of the first. With two outs, Marsh grounded a single through the right side. Norris chopped a grounder down the left field line and hustled to second for a double as Marsh went to third. A grounder by Spiegel resulted in an errant throw to allow Marsh to score. Penn State held an early 1-0 lead.
The Huskers answered with three runs in the bottom half. Brice Matthews started the inning with a walk. He moved up to second on Casey Burnham's sac bun. Anderson doubled to left to bring home Matthews. A fly ball to center was grabbed on a diving, full-extension catch by Johnny Piacentino, but Anderson tagged from second and scored resulting in a sac fly. Caron lifted a fly ball over the wall in left to put Nebraska ahead, 3-1.
Nebraska added a run in the second. With one out, Evans singled through the left side. Dylan Carey placed a bunt along the left side of the infield for a single. Matthews walked to load the bases. Burnham was hit by a pitch to plate Evans. Nebraska pushed its lead to 4-1.
Penn State plated two runs in the third. Norris led off the inning with a single to center. Spiegel launched the first pitch he saw over the wall in right. The two-run shot cut Penn State's deficit to 4-3.
Nebraska answered with two runs in the fifth. Anderson began the inning with a single to center. Swansen lifted a 1-2 pitch over the wall in right for a two-run homer. Nebraska led 6-3 through five.
The Nittany Lions drove in two runs in the seventh. Hannon started the inning with a single through the middle. A single to left by Thomas Bramley put runners at second and third. Hannon stole third with an errant throw allowing Hannon to score and Bramley to move to second. Piacentino singled up the middle to place runners on the corners. Piacentino stole second before Marsh chopped a grounder to the right side to allow Bramley to score. The inning continued as Norris was hit by a pitch. However, a strikeout ended the inning. Penn State trailed 6-5.
Nebraska extended its lead in the eighth. Evans started the inning with a double to left. A sac bunt by Carey moved Evans to third. Burnham worked a walk before Anderson was intentionally walked to load the bases. Swansen lined a double to left to bring home Evans and Burnham. Nebraska led 8-5.
Penn State meets Pitt on Tuesday, May 16 at PNC Park. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tickets can be found here.
The Nittany Lions host Maryland for their final regular season series. The three-game set begins on Thursday, May 18 at 6 p.m. The series continues on Friday, May 19, at 6 p.m. and concludes with Senior Day on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.
For the Maryland series, Friday features Bark in the Park Night, postgame fireworks and our 4 for $24 deal (four tickets, four hot dogs, four drinks for $24). In addition to senior day, Saturday features postgame autographs and a trading card giveaway.
For updates on the Penn State baseball team, please follow @pennstatebase on Twitter and Instagram.
Single game tickets for the 2023 Penn State baseball season are available here.
The 2023 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
Grant Norris