OMAHA, Neb. – The Penn State baseball team fell 6-3 against Nebraska in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament Presented by IFS.ai on Saturday evening at Charles Schwab Field. The Nittany Lions, the No. 9 seed, took a 3-2 lead in the fourth on solo homers by Jesse Jaconski and Matt Maloney and after Nebraska, the No. 8 seed, re-took the lead in the bottom of the fourth, held the difference at one-run until a homer in the seventh. The Nittany Lions dropped to 33-23, while Nebraska moved to 31-27.
The Nittany Lions concluded another great run in the Big Ten Tournament, advancing to the semifinals for the second-straight year. PSU knocked off No. 5 seed Washington, 5-3, on Wednesday and No. 4 seed USC, 2-1, on Thursday. PSU reached back-to-back Big Ten Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2000-01.
PSU’s 33 wins in 2025 are its second-most in a season in program history, behind only 45 wins in 2000.
Ben DeMell made the start for the Nittany Lions, working two innings. He allowed two runs on three hits and recorded two strikeouts. Matthew VanOstenbridge tossed 1.1 innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and notched one strikeout.
Anthony Steele fired 2.2 scoreless innings. He allowed just one hit, while securing two strikeouts. Dimond Loosli threw one inning, giving up two runs and recording two strikeouts. Chase Renner threw a scoreless eighth and struck out one.
Tucker Timmerman got the start for Nebraska, going 3.1 innings. He gave up three runs on four hits and struck out two. Drew Christo worked three scoreless innings, allowing three hits and a walk, while striking out three. Luke Broderick finished the game with 2.2 scoreless innings and struck out four.
Penn State collected three runs on nine hits. Jesse Jaconski recorded a solo homer. Paxton Kling added two hits, including an RBI double. Matt Maloney added two hits, including a solo homer. Derek Cease notched two hits and scored a run.
With doubles by Kling and Cohl Mercado, Penn State broke its program season record with 111 doubles. The previous record was 110 in 2024.
Ryan Weingartner drew his 44th walk of the season to break a tie with Joe Jaconski (43; 2024) for fourth in a season at PSU.
Nebraska plated six runs on 12 hits. Gabe Swansen hit a two-run homer. Hogan Helligso added two hits, including a two-run single. Dylan Carey and Cayden Brumbaugh each had two hits and scored a run.
The Huskers got on the board in the second. Swansen worked a five-pitch walk to begin the frame. Case Sanderson dropped a bunt down the third base line to beat the shift and put runners on first and second. Carey followed with a bunt single on the left side of the infield to load the bases. Devin Nunez chopped a grounder on the right side, picked up by Joe Jaconski who fired home to get Swansen out at the plate. Two batters later, Helligso sent a grounder through the left side to bring in Sanderson and Carey. Nebraska led 2-0.
Penn State answered with a run in the third. Leading off the inning, Cease lined a single to center. He moved up on a wild pitch with one out. Kling crushed a double to the gap in left-center to drive in Cease and cut the PSU deficit to 2-1.
The Nittany Lions took the lead in the fourth. Jesse Jaconski launched a 1-1 pitch over the wall in left for a leadoff homer. Two batters later, Maloney sent a 2-1 pitch into the Penn State bullpen in right field. The 406-foot homer by Jaconski and 360-foot homer by Maloney gave PSU a 3-2 advantage.
The Huskers responded in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Rhett Stokes and Helligso reached on back-to-back bloop singles. Riley Silva roped a line drive to the right-center gap for a double to bring home Stokes. A groundout by Robby Bolin allowed Helligso to score. Nebraska led 4-3.
In the top of the seventh, Mercado landed a line drive inside the left field line and raced to second for a double. Two batters later, Kling worked a walk. A groundout moved the runners to second and third. However, a strikeout ended the inning.
Nebraska extended its lead in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Brumbaugh shot a grounder through the left side. Swansen lifted a 2-1 pitch over the wall in right for a two-run homer. Penn State trailed 6-3.
In the top of the ninth, with one out, Kling lined a single up the middle. He moved to second on defensive indifference before Jesse Jaconski worked a walk. Weingartner sent a 1-2 pitch to deep right, but it was caught on the warning track to end the game.
The 2025 Penn State Baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.