Penn State baseball loses 5-4 to Rutgers in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament
No. 6 seed Penn State was coming off of a 5-2 upset of No. 3 seed Iowa in Thursday’s Big Ten opening-round game.
Penn State’s second-round matchup on Friday brought on the challenge of No. 2 seed Rutgers, which boasted a 42-14 record.
The Nittany Lions fought back from a 4-0 deficit in the ninth inning, tying the game at 4-4. But Rutgers answered with a 10th inning score when right fielder Richie Schiekofer drilled a sacrifice fly that scored first baseman Chris Brito for a 5-4 victory.
Nittany Lions pitcher Steven Miller took the loss, allowing two hits and one run in one inning. Scarlet Knights pitcher Sam Bello picked up the victory by pitching 1.1 innings, striking out two batters and walking one and allowing zero runs.
Penn State center fielder Johnny Piacentino led the team in hits by going 2 for 4. He drove in two runs.
Rutgers struck in the top of the seventh with Schiekofer singling up the middle to plate second baseman Josh Kuroda-Graue.
The Scarlet Knights scored two more in the top of the eighth, when Brito singled on an 0-1 count to left field with one out, scoring Cimillo and shortstop Danny DiGeorgio for a 4-0 lead.
The Nittany Lions and Scarlet Knights had been deadlocked in a 0-0 tie until the top of the sixth inning. With one out, Rutgers’ catcher Nick Cimillo slapped an RBI double to left center that scored center fielder Ryan Lasko.
Penn State began marching back in the bottom of the ninth when designated hitter Anthony Steele grounded out to score left fielder Cole Bartels. Pinch hitter Billy Gerlott followed up with a two-out single to score catcher Matt Wood. Piacentino went on to double for second baseman Ben Kailher and first baseman Josh Spiegel to score for the 4-4 tie.
The Nittany Lions are scheduled to play again in the tournament with a rematch against Iowa at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
