UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team earned a 13-6 win over Purdue on Saturday afternoon at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The Nittany Lions scored four in the second, two in the third and four in the fourth to break the game open. Penn State clinched the series and will go for the sweep on Sunday. PSU improved to 24-13 overall (12-8 Big Ten), while Purdue dropped to 23-15 (5-12 Big Ten).
Penn State has won at least four Big Ten series (vs. Indiana, at Northwestern, at Minnesota, vs. Purdue) in a season for the first time since 2012 (vs. Michigan, at Iowa, vs. Ohio State, at Minnesota, vs. Illinois, at Michigan State).
The Nittany Lions tallied 10+ runs for the 20th time this season and the eighth time against a Big Ten opponent. In program history, PSU has posted 20 games of 10+ runs in a season on just one previous occasion (22; 2000).
Mason Horwat earned the start for the Nittany Lions, going 1.1 innings. He allowed four runs on four hits and two walks. Ben DeMell fired 3.2 scoreless frames, giving up two hits and three walks, while striking out four. DeMell struck out three batters in the fourth.
Anthony Steele worked 1.2 scoreless frame, allowing no hits. He gave up four walks, while striking out two. Chase Renner finished the game with 2.1 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and striking out two.
Cole Van Assen got the start for Purdue, throwing 1.2 innings. He gave up four runs on five hits with one walk and one strikeout. Isaac Milburn went 1.2 innings, allowing six runs on five hits. Gavin Beuter threw 3.2 innings, giving up two runs on two hits. Lance Lauve allowed a run over two-thirds of an inning. Matthew Tarr recorded the final out of the eighth.
Penn State tallied 13 runs on 13 hits. Jesse Jaconski collected three hits with two doubles and a homer, while driving in three runs and scoring three times. Joe Jaconski added two hits, including a double, three RBI, two runs and two steals. Jack Porter recorded two hits and three runs, while Paxton Kling had two hits, including a double, and drove in two runs.
Ryan Weingartner recorded his 24th stolen base of the season. He moved into a tie for third in a season at Penn State with Rod Perry (24; 2001), Zach Smithlin (24; 2003) and Sean Deegan (24; 2010). He is three steals behind the PSU season record held by Michael Campo (27; 1999) and Kyle Hannon (27; 2023).
With two steals by Joe Jaconski and one by Weingartner on Saturday, Penn State now has 85 steals as a team this season. The program season record is 91 steals in 2000.
The Boilermakers registered six runs on 11 hits. Brandon Anderson collected three hits, an RBI and a run. Keenan Spence had an RBI double among two hits, while Avery Moore contributed two hits and scored a run.
Purdue jumped out to an early lead in the first. Anderson led off with a single through the right side. Logan Sutter lined a double to right to bring in Anderson. Sutter moved to third on a groundout and scored on another groundout. Houston Russell held off on a 3-2 pitch for a walk before Spence lined a double to center to bring in Russell. A single by Ty Gill landed in front of a diving Cohl Mercado as Spence hustled home. Purdue led 4-0.
The Nittany Lions tied the game in the second. Jack Porter worked a leadoff walk. Jesse Jaconski lined a double to right to put runners on second and third. Joe Jaconski sent a single to center to bring in Porter. As Joe Jaconski stole second, an overthrow by the catcher allowed Jesse to cross the plate and Joe to move to third. Joey DeMucci flared a single into left to bring home Joe Jaconski. Cohl Mercado singled to center to put runners on first and second. Two batters later, Paxton Kling smacked a line drive into left and hustled to second for a double as DeMucci scored. The game was even at 4-4 through two innings.
Penn State took the lead in the third. Porter reached on an infield single to begin the frame. Jesse Jaconski blasted a 2-2 pitch over the wall in left. Jaconski’s 433-foot blast put PSU ahead, 6-4.
PSU added four runs in the fourth. Kling worked a walk to begin the frame. Two batter later, Porter singled for his third hit of the day. Jesse Jaconski bounced a double over the wall in right-center to bring in Kling. Joe Jaconski followed with a double to left to drive in Porter and Jesse Jaconski. Joe Jaconski stole third before scoring on a single by Patrick Graham. PSU led 10-4.
Purdue plated two runs in the eighth. Moore started the inning with a single to left before Camden Gasser worked a walk. Anderson lined a single to center to drive in Moore. The ball was misplayed to allow Gasser to score on the play. Penn State still led 10-6.
Penn State added three runs in the eighth. Ryan Weingartner drew a walk and stole second before scoring on a single to left by Kling. Kling moved to second on a throwing error on a pickoff play. Bryce Molinaro singled to center to put runners on the corners. A wild pitch allowed Kling to score. On a dropped third strike play, Molinaro hustled home to score after the plate was left unattended. The Nittany Lions extended their lead to 13-6.
The Nittany Lions and the Boilermakers meet for the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. and includes postgame kids run the bases.
All home games are free admission for all ages.
The 2025 Penn State Baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.