OMAHA, Neb. – The Penn State baseball team picked up a 5-3 win over No. 5 seed Washington on Wednesday to open its Big Ten Tournament Presented by IFS.ai pool play at Charles Schwab Field. The Nittany Lions, the No. 9 seed, broke the game open with three runs in the sixth, including a two-run sac fly by Bryce Molinaro, to bring home Joe Jaconski and Paxton Kling, and a solo homer by Ryan Weingartner. Penn State improved to 32-22 on the season, while Washington dropped to 29-27.
Penn State’s 32 wins are tied for the second-most in a season in program history. PSU also had 32 wins in 1985, 1996, 1999 and 2011. The program record is 45 wins in 2000.
The Nittany Lions continue Big Ten Tournament pool play on Thursday against USC at 3 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
More info on the Big Ten Tournament can be found here.
Ryan DeSanto made the start for the Nittany Lions, working 5.2 scoreless innings. He allowed just three hits, all singles, and three walks, while striking out three batters. DeSanto did not allow a Washington baserunner to reach third base.
DeSanto picked up his eighth win of the year. He is tied for eighth in a season at PSU with Bob Fenton (1962), Joel Johnson (1987), Mike Bellaman (1985), Nate Bump (1995, 1996, 1997) and Mike Watson (2000).
Dimond Loosli tossed 1.1 shutout frames. He allowed no hits or walks and notched two strikeouts. Anthony Steele threw one inning, giving up two runs on three hits and striking out one. Matthew VanOstenbridge closed out the ninth, giving up a run on two hits and a walk, to pick up his first career save.
Steele made his 69th career pitching appearance. He broke a tie with Greg Welsh (68; 2011-14) for seventh all-time at Penn State.
Max Banks got the start for Washington, tossing six innings. He gave up four runs on five hits and two walks. Banks recorded seven strikeouts. Isaac Yeager threw one inning, allowing a run on a hit and two walks. Josh Emanuels went two perfect innings and tallied four strikeouts.
Penn State collected five runs on six hits. Paxton Kling had two hits, including a double, and scored twice. Ryan Weingartner added a solo homer. Bryce Molinaro drove in two runs, while Jesse Jaconski and Cohl Mercado each had an RBI single.
With his two-run sac fly, Molinaro now has 60 RBI on the season. He moved into a tie for second in a season at PSU with Dan Beers (60; 1998). On the day, he jumped Chris Wright (58; 2000). Shawn Fagan (80; 2000) holds the program season RBI record.
Penn State also picked up its 109th double as a team this season. PSU is one away from tying its program doubles record of 110 in 2024.
Washington plated three runs on eight hits. AJ Guerrero led the Huskies with four hits, including a two-run homer and an RBI single.
The Nittany Lions got on the board in the first. With one out, Kling sent a sharp line drive past the shortstop for a single. Molinaro held off on a 3-2 pitch for a walk to put runners on first and second. Jesse Jaconski smacked a single into left to drive in Kling. PSU led 1-0.
Penn State added three runs in the sixth. Joe Jaconski started the frame with a single to right. Kling’s sharp grounder on the left side bounced off of the glove of a diving third baseman and into left as Jaconski hustled to third and Kling to second. Molinaro sent a fly ball to the warning track in center as Jaconski crossed the plate and Kling raced home from second. Two batters later, Weingartner lifted a 1-1 pitch over the wall in right. His 11th homer of the year gave the Nittany Lions a 4-0 advantage.
The Nittany Lions plated a run in the seventh. Nate Voss held off on a 3-2 pitch for a leadoff walk. Derek Cease laid down a sac bunt to move Voss to second. Mercado sent a single through the right side as Voss hustled home. PSU pushed its lead to 5-0.
Washington cut its deficit in the eighth. After a leadoff single by Casen Taggart, Guerrero lifted a fly ball that carried over the wall in right. The two-run homer trimmed PSU’s lead to 5-2.
The Huskies threatened again in the ninth. With two outs, Blake Wilson reached on a single through the middle. He moved to second and third on defensive indifference before Taggart drew a walk to put runners on the corners. Taggart advanced to second on defensive indifference. A single by Guerrero to the left side of the infield allowed Wilson to score and cut the Washington deficit to 5-3. However, a line drive by Sam DeCarlo was snagged by Weingartner to end the game.
The 2025 Penn State Baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.