UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team had a strong performance in all phases of the game to earn a 5-3 win over No. 20 Maryland on Friday evening at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The Nittany Lions scored two go-ahead runs in the fifth and added another in the eighth. Penn State moved to 25-24 overall, while Maryland dropped to 36-19.
Penn State owns three wins over teams currently ranked among the D1Baseball Top 20. The Nittany Lions started the season with a 9-5 win at No. 22 Miami (currently ranked 11th). PSU earned an 11-6 win over West Virginia (currently ranked sixth) on April 11.
The Nittany Lions are now 7-15 in Big Ten play, while Maryland fell to 16-7.
Tommy Molsky made the start on the mound for the Nittany Lions. Molsky was tremendous on the mound holding in check one of the top offenses in the country. The sophomore worked six innings, tying a career high, allowing three runs on eight hits. Molsky struck out four batters and walked three. Only one of the eight hits surrendered was an extra-base hit.
On senior weekend, Ryan Partridge closed out the game with three shutout innings to earn the save. Partridge got eight of the nine outs through ground balls.
Jason Savacool got the start for Maryland, going six innings. He allowed four runs on eight hits. Savacool recorded six strikeouts and five walks. Nigel Belgrave gave up a run on two hits in 1.1 frames, while striking out two. Andrew Johnson pitched the final two outs of the eighth.
Penn State collected 10 hits, including three doubles. Thomas Bramley tallied two hits, including a double, and two RBI. Jay Harry added two hits, two RBI and a run. CJ Pittaro drove in a run and scored a run while collecting two hits. Johnny Piacentino registered two hits, including a double, and scored a run.
Maryland recorded 10 hits. Nick Lorusso went three-for-four with an RBI and a run. Ian Petrutz had two hits, including an RBI triple. Kevin Keister doubled among his two hits and scored a run.
Penn State got on the board in the second inning. Harry led off the inning with a single to right. With two outs, Pittaro lined a single to right-center as Harry hustled to third. Bramley launched a high fly ball off the top of the right field wall for a double as Harry and Pittaro crossed the plate. Penn State led 2-0.
Maryland took the lead with three runs in the fifth. Jacob Orr started the frame with a single to center. Keister worked a walk. Luke Shliger hit a grounder to the right side to move the runners to second and third. Matt Shaw chopped a high grounder to the right side as well, scoring Orr from third. Lorusso lined a single to left to drive in Keister. After Shaw was picked off second, Petrutz ripped a triple to the nook in left-center as Lorusso hustled home. Maryland held a 3-2 lead.
Penn State answered with two runs in the bottom half. Piacentino placed a soft line drive down the right field line and raced to second for a double. A groundout by Bobby Marsh moved Piacentino to second. Grant Norris and Josh Spiegel worked back-to-back walks to load the bases. Harry shot a line drive into center to bring home Piacentino and Norris. The Nittany Lions led 4-3.
The Nittany Lions extended their lead in the eighth. Hannon led off the inning with a double off the right field wall. Two batters later, Pittaro shot a grounder through the right side to bring home Hannon. Penn State pushed its lead to 5-3.
The series and season concludes on Saturday at noon. Saturday is Senior Day, featuring a postgame ceremony and senior poster giveaway as well as postgame autographs and a trading card giveaway. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network. Tickets are available here.
For updates on the Penn State baseball team, please follow @pennstatebase on Twitter and Instagram.
The 2023 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
Tommy Molsky