Baseball Secures Run-Rule Win, 12-2, Over St. John’s

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team enjoyed a strong night at the plate as it earned a 12-2, run-rule victory over St. John’s on Wednesday evening at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The Nittany Lions set the tone with four runs in the second. Michael Anderson blasted two homers and drove in seven runs.

 

Penn State improved to 4-6 on the season, while St. John’s dropped to 1-10.

 

Frankie Sanchez made his first start of the season for the Nittany Lions, working two scoreless innings. He allowed just one hit and one walk, while striking out one. Mason Butash tossed two innings. He gave up run on one hit, while tallying two strikeouts and three walks.

 

Ethan Bauerschmidt went two innings. He gave up one run (unearned) on two hits. Harrison Lollin threw a scoreless seventh and recorded a strikeout.

 

Tommy Conley got the start for St. John’s, going 1.2 frames. He gave up four runs on three hits. Conley struck out three batters and walked four. Dylan Johnson threw 1.2 innings, surrendering two runs on three hits. Conor Burns gave up three runs on two hits over an inning of work. Evan Hoeckele tossed 1.2 scoreless innings. Kyle Chase allowed three runs without recording an out. Tyler Longoria walked one batter before a balk ended the game in the seventh.

 

Penn State collected 12 runs on 11 hits. Anderson recorded his fourth-career multi-homer game and first as a Nittany Lion. He had homers of two and three runs to go with a two-run single. Jayden Davis hit a solo homer, while Preston Yaucher had an RBI triple among two hits. Cohl Mercado added two hits, including an RBI single, three runs and a stolen base.

 

Anderson joined Spencer Barnett among Nittany Lions with multi-homer games this season. Anderson is the first Nittany Lion with seven or more RBI in a game since Aaron Novak tied the program record with eight RBI against Charleston Southern in 2015.

 

St. John’s tallied two runs on four hits. Shaun McMillan had two hits and scored a run, while Adam Agresti had an RBI single.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Nittany Lions jumped out to an early lead with four runs in the second. Leading off the inning, Jayden Davis sent a 1-0 pitch over the wall in left. Jesse Jaconski worked a five-pitch walk. Two batters later, Preston Yaucher lined a triple to center as Jaconski hustled home. Joey DeMucci bounced a grounder to the right side to bring in Yaucher. Maddox McDonald drew a walk before stealing second. Cohl Mercado dropped a single into right-center to drive in McDonald and extend PSU’s lead to 4-0.

 

St. John’s got a run across in the fourth. Sean Britt was hit by a pitch to start the frame. Adam Agresti held off on a 3-2 pitch for a walk. A sac bunt by Rob Mansour moved the runners to second and third. Lewis Rodriguez lifted a sac fly to left to bring in Britt and cut the Red Storm’s deficit to 4-1.

 

The Nittany Lions added two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Mercado worked a five-pitch walk to lead off the inning. Michael Anderson blasted the first pitch he saw off the scoreboard. The 437-foot homer gave Penn State a 6-1 advantage.

 

St. John’s responded with a run in the fifth. Shaun McMillan reached on an infield single to begin the inning. Two batters later, Ayden Frey reached on catcher’s interference. A single to left by Agresti brought in McMillan. The Red Storm trailed 6-2.

 

Penn State plated three runs in the fifth. DeMucci drew a leadoff walk. After he stole second, Mercado singled to right to put runners on the corners. Anderson blasted an 0-1 pitch over the right-center fence. His second homer of the day was a three-run shot to push Penn State’s lead to 9-2.

 

The Nittany Lions completed the run-rule victory in the seventh. DeMucci started the frame with a single to left. McDonald followed with an infield single before Mercado was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Anderson brought in DeMucci and McDonald with a sharp grounder through the right side. After a pitching change, Bryce Molinaro drew a walk to re-load the bases. A slip on the mound by the St. John’s pitcher was ruled a balk, allowing Mercado to score and end the game at 12-2.

 

UP NEXT

This weekend, the Nittany Lions travel to Lubbock, Texas for a three-game series at Texas Tech. Friday’s contest is set for 7:30 p.m., Saturday’s game is scheduled for 3 p.m. and Sunday’s game will start at 2 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.

 

The 2026 Penn State Baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.