ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Behind a stellar outing by Travis Luensmann, the Penn State baseball team earned a 7-2 win over Georgetown on Friday at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. The Nittany Lions collected 13 hits, while posting 12 strikeouts on the mound. Penn State improved to 21-19, while Georgetown dropped to 29-16.
Luensmann made the start for the Nittany Lions, firing his strongest performance of the season. He struck out a season-high nine batters, include multiple strikeouts in the first, third and fifth innings. The Altoona native allowed two runs on five hits, while walking five, over a career-high seven innings. Luensmann tossed scoreless frames in six of his seven innings.
Mason Horwat worked two scoreless frames and struck out three.
It was the Penn State pitching staff's sixth game with 12 or more strikeouts this season.
Everett Catlett got the start for Georgetown, tossing five innings. He allowed two runs on four hits. Catlett tallied seven strikeouts and a walk. Andrew Williams threw one-third of an inning, giving up two runs on three hits. Cody Bowker worked 3.2 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits. He struck out three batters.
Penn State posted seven runs on 13 hits. Grant Norris tallied three hits, including two doubles and a triple, two RBI and a run. J.T. Marr contributed three hits, including a double, two RBI and three runs. Adam Cecere added two hits, including a double, and two RBI.
Georgetown recorded two runs on five hits. Jake Hyde had two hits and scored a run, while Christian Ficca had two RBI.
The Nittany Lions got on the board in the second. Leading off the inning, Norris snuck a ground ball inside the third base bag and hustled to second for a double. A groundout moved Norris to third. Bobby Marsh lifted a fly ball to center for a sac fly as Norris scored. Penn State led 1-0.
Penn State extended its lead in the fourth. Marr worked a leadoff walk. Two batters later, Norris hit a fly ball to the warning track in left-center and raced to third for a triple as Marr scored. PSU held a 2-0 lead.
The Hoyas responded in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs, Michael Eze sent a single through the middle. He stole second before Hyde drew a walk. Ficca followed with a double to left-center to drive in Eze and Hyde. The game was tied 2-2.
Penn State plated two in the sixth. With one out, Marr and Cecere ripped back-to-back doubles with Marr crossing the plate on Cecere's two-bagger. After Cecere advanced to third on a wild pitch, Norris roped a line drive to right-center for a double to bring home Cecere. Penn State led 4-2.
The Blue and White added two runs in the seventh. With one out, Kevin Michaels was hit by a pitch. Pinch-runner Derek Cease moved up to second on a groundout and scored on a single by Marr. With Cecere batting, Marr stole second. Cecere lined a single to right to drive in Marr. PSU extended its lead to 6-2.
Penn State plated a run in the ninth. Cease reached on an infield single to start the inning and went to second on a throwing error. Cease moved up to third on a flyout by Joe Jaconski. Marr's third hit of the day was a single to right to drive in Cease. PSU led 7-2.
The Nittany Lions take on Navy on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's contest is set for 6 p.m., while Sunday's first pitch is at 1 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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.
Travis Luensmann