Nittany Lions showcase a home run parade en route to a 15-4 road victory over Indiana
By Zach Horwitz @HorwitzZach April 12th, 2024
Penn State entered the weekend riding a four-game win streak and three consecutive outings in which they scored double-digit runs. The bats stayed scorching hot, tacking on three runs in the first inning, most significantly a long ball from Joe Jaconski to lead off the game.
Indiana Hoosiers 4, Penn State Nittany Lions 15:
Inning by inning details in the Live Game Blog | Box Score
Ty Bothwell was handed the ball for his third start of the season and it was a rocky one. The sixth-year senior followed up with a clean second inning but found himself in some trouble again in the third. The Nittany Lions took advantage of defensive mistakes, as JT Marr mashed a two-run shot to extend the lead to five. “Not great… not great” was how head coach Jeff Mercer wrapped up the defensive effort. The two errors and additional miscues not visible on the stat sheet, “that’s what comes back to haunt you.”
When speaking on Bothwell, Mercer mentioned “Some days you have C-plus stuff and you don’t have your best on the mound. You just go and compete to the best of your abilities and they (Penn State) can really hit. There’s a reason they’re leading the league in slugging…” Mercer said postgame.
The fifth inning emptied the seats at Bart Kaufman Field as Bobby Marsh, Adam Cicere, and Bryce Molinaro all fired long balls onto the right field lawn, adding up to the visitors’ ninth run of the evening. Cicere’s homer is his tenth of the season, which now leads the Big Ten.
Meanwhile, the Indiana offense couldn’t muster up any run production to back the early pitching struggles. Travis Luensmann was in control, finishing the day tossing a season-high 6.1 innings in which he allowed just four hits. The reigning Big Ten Co-Pitcher of the Week struck out eight batters on his staggering 115 pitche
The Hoosiers put down a run off the bat of Jake Stadler, who has now earned an RBI in four consecutive contests. Despite the single, the home side only put up two runs before they saw themselves down double-digits.
Jack Moffitt took the trot from the bullpen to the mound, cleaning up the mess in the fifth. He later allowed an RBI sac fly and single prior to Grant Norris joining in on the home run derby. Norris’ bomb was the exclamation point as the first six Nittany Lions in the batting order sailed one out of the park on the night. Eli Shaw, Ryan Rushing, and Seth Benes each finished up an inning of work.
Benes, coming off of Tommy John surgery and another abrupt halt to his freshman campaign, was successful tonight. “He didn’t throw a pitch under 91 mph, and then got a lot of bad swings on the changeup and a couple breaking balls.”
Back to the bottom half, Jasen Oliver, who was the lone Hoosier with two hits, and Devin Taylor added runs to the board in the seventh. “They threw their best two guys and that’s where you have to take it from the weekend,” Mercer added.
To cap off the home run parade, Bryce Molinaro crushed his second into the night sky, the seventh for the squad in the first base dugout. Five of the seven PSU homers were to right field, a product of the howling Bloomington winds. “It’s a tough matchup… and you’re trying to keep the ball on the ground.” The approach on the pitching side did not favor the Hoosiers tonight.
Evidently, it was all Penn State, who smacked 15 runs on 14 hits. The visitors take game one of the three-game set. Fortunately for Indiana, their most reliable starter in Connor Foley toes the rubber in what could be a series-deciding matchup tomorrow. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m.