PITTSBURH, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team blasted five home runs but fell 11-7 against Pitt on Tuesday at Charles L. Cost Field. After trailing 8-1 after the second, Penn State battled back with three, 10-7, into the sixth inning. Spencer Barnett launched two homers in his return to his hometown while Jayden Davis, Bryce Molinaro and Avery Smith each added one.
Penn State is now 15-33 overall, while Pitt improved to 29-21.
Mason Butash earned the start for the Nittany Lions, going one-third of an inning. He surrendered four runs on three hits and two walks. Frankie Sanchez worked 1.1 frames, giving up four runs on five hits. Sanchez struck out one and walked two. Harrison Lollin threw one-third of an inning and walked two.
Robert Brown III fired three innings, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks. Ethan Bauerschmidt tossed one inning, surrendering a run and a hit. Dimond Loosli worked a scoreless seventh and notched two strikeouts. Matthew VanOstenbridge threw a scoreless eighth and struck out two.
Michael Savarese got the start for Pitt, tossing two innings. He allowed one run on three hits and a walk, while striking out one. Joey Ciancimino threw one inning, giving up one run on two hits. Freddy Beruvides Jr. worked one-third of an inning, allowing four runs. Daniel McAuliff threw 2.2 frames, giving up one run on four hits and striking out four. Eddie Smink threw a scoreless inning and recorded one strikeout. David Leslie threw the final two innings, both scoreless, and recorded four strikeouts.
Penn State tallied seven runs on 17 hits. All 10 Nittany Lions with an at-bat recorded at least one hit and six had multiple hits. Spencer Barnett launched a pair of solo homers. Bryce Molinaro added a solo homer among two hits, while Jayden Davis had a two-run homer and a double. Avery Smith contributed a solo homer. Preston Yaucher had a season-high three hits and scored a run.
In the fourth inning, Barnett and Smith launched back-to-back homers before Davis added a third homer in the frame. It was PSU’s second three-homer inning of the year joining its fourth inning against Rutgers on April 19.
The Nittany Lions hit five homers in a game, tying its season high from April 19 against Rutgers.
In his return to his hometown, Barnett recorded his second multi-homer game this season, joining his two-homer game at Richmond on February 20.
Molinaro launched his 15th home run of the season and the 39th of his career. He is tied with Shawn Fagan (15; 2000) for the sixth-most home runs in a season at PSU and trails Fagan by four homers for the career home run record (43; 1997-00).
Pittsburgh collected 11 runs on 15 hits. Mason Ligenza contributed a solo homer and drove in two runs. Carter Dierdorf doubled and drove in three runs, while Sebastian Pisacreta had three RBI. Lorenzo Carrier notched four hits, including two doubles, and scored three times.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Pitt jumped out to an early lead. With one out, Caden Dulin worked a four-pitch walk. Lorenzo Carrier lined a double off the wall in center to put runners at second and third. Kai Wagner smacked a single to center to drive in Dulin. Trey Fenderson sent a single through the right side to bring in Carrier. Carter Dierdorf drew a walk before Sebastian Pisacreta lined a single to left to plate Wagner and Fenderson. The Panthers led 4-0.
The Nittany Lions plated a run in the second. Jesse Jaconski began the frame with a double off the top of the wall in center. Spencer Barnett held off on a 3-2 pitch for a walk. Jaconski moved to third on a flyout to right by Avery Smith. Maddox McDonald sent a fly ball to the warning track in center to drive in Jaconski. PSU trailed 4-1.
Pitt added to its lead in the bottom of the second. AJ Nessler bounced a single through the middle before stealing second. Dulin singled to right but Nessler was thrown out at home by Jaconski. Carrier landed a double along the right field line to put runners on second and third. A walk by Fenderson loaded the bases. A line drive by Dierdorf landed in left and want into the corner for a double to clear the bases. After a walk by Pisacreta, Joey Baran worked a walk to re-load the bases. Mason Ligenza held off on a 3-2 pitch for a walk to allow Dierdorf to score. The Panthers held an 8-1 advantage.
Penn State chipped away in the top of the third. With two outs, Bryce Molinaro lifted a 3-2 pitch over the wall in right-center. His 15th homer of the year cut the PSU deficit to 8-2.
The Panthers added two runs in the bottom of the third. With one out, Carrier’s grounder to the left side was mishandled. Wagner drew a walk before Fenderson bounced a single into left to bring in Carrier. After a walk by Dierdorf loaded the bases, a foul popout along the first base line by Pisacreta resulted in a sac fly as Wagner scored. Pitt led 10-2.
The Nittany Lions trimmed their deficit again in the fourth with the help of three homers. Leading off the inning, Barnett launched a 3-2 pitch over the wall in left. Avery Smith hammered a 2-0 pitch over the wall in left for back-to-back homers. Two batters later, Preston Yaucher dropped a single into center. Jayden Davis lifted an 0-1 pitch over the wall in left for the third homer of the inning. PSU trailed 10-6.
Penn State plated a run in the fifth. Once again leading off the inning, Barnett hammered a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right. PSU trimmed its deficit to 10-7.
Pitt answered in the sixth. With two outs, Ligenza lifted a fly ball over the wall in left. The Panthers led 11-7.
Up Next
The Nittany Lions finish the regular season next weekend, May 14-16, at Maryland.
Thursday and Friday games are set for 6 p.m. first pitches, while Saturday’s finale begins at 1 p.m. All three games will be streamed on B1G+.