EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Penn State baseball team dropped a 6-5 result at Michigan State on Friday night at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field. The Nittany Lions fought back with three runs in the eighth but could not complete the comeback. Penn State is now 18-16 overall and 5-8 in Big Ten play.
Penn State snapped a seven-game win streak against the Spartans.
Travis Luensmann got the start for the Nittany Lions. He went five innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits. Luensmann recorded five strikeouts and six walks.
Mason Horwat went 2.2 innings, giving up two runs on two hits. Anthony Steele got the final out of the eighth.
Joseph Dzierwa started on the mound for Michigan State, going six innings. He gave up two runs on three hits. Dzierwa tallied six strikeouts and five walks. Aaron Mishoulam worked 1.2 frames, giving up three runs (one earned) on four hits and striking out two. Nolan Higgins earned the save, going 1.1 scoreless innings.
Penn State collected five runs on seven hits. Grant Norris launched his 10th homer of the season. J.T. Marr recorded two hits, including a double, and two RBI. Bryce Molinaro and Matt Maloney each had an RBI double.
With Norris' 10th homer, Penn State has two players with double-digit homers (Adam Cecere, 12; Norris, 10) for the first time since 2022 (Matt Wood, 12; Josh Spiegel, 10).
The Spartans had six runs on six hits. Jack Frank had two hits, including an RBI triple, and scored twice. Dillon Kark doubled and drove in three runs.
Michigan State got on the board in the second. Greg Ziegler lined a single to center to leadoff the inning. A sac bunt moved Ziegler to second before Sam Busch worked a walk. A double steal moved Ziegler to third and Busch to second. A chopped grounder up the middle by Sam Thompson resulted in a groundout but allowed Ziegler to score. The Spartans led 1-0.
Penn State answered with a run in the top of the third. Tayven Kelley drew a walk to start the frame. Two batters later, Joe Jaconski sent a single through the right side. Marr dropped a single into shallow left as Kelley hustled home. The game was even at 1-1.
The Blue and White took the lead in the fourth. Leading off the inning, Norris blasted a 2-2 pitch over the wall in left. Norris' 10th homer of the season gave Penn State a 2-1 advantage.
Michigan State re-took the lead in the fifth. Randy Seymour was hit by a pitch to start the inning. A single by Frank put runners on first and second. Kark shot a double down the line in left to bring home both runners. After Kark went to third on an error on a pickoff attempt, Ryan McKay singled to right to drive in Kark. The Spartans led 4-2.
Michigan State added two runs in the sixth. Thompson had a leadoff single and moved to second on a sac bunt. Frank hit a fly ball to deep center, which fell in for a triple as Thompson scored. Kark followed with a fly ball to left for a sac fly as Frank touched home. MSU held a 6-2 lead.
Penn State cut into the deficit in the eighth. Bobby Marsh reaches on an error to start the inning. Marr sent a double to the warning track in left-center as Marsh hustled home. With two outs, Molinaro doubled off the wall in right to bring home Marr. Maloney followed with a double to left-center to drive in Molinaro. PSU trailed 6-5.
The Nittany Lions and Spartans continue the series on Saturday at 3:35 p.m. Sunday's series finale is set for 1:05 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on B1G+.
For updates on the Penn State baseball team, please follow @pennstatebase on X and Instagram.
The 2024 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
Grant Norris