On a cold, wet day in Central Pennsylvania, Penn State baseball played host to a team from sunny Southern California, USC.
In a low-scoring affair, the Nittany Lions’ small-ball mentality allowed for a successful late-inning comeback over the Trojans, 3-1.
“It was really just us being us,” centerfielder Paxton Kling said. “So it was just sticking with it and being us.”
In a game with temperatures in the 40s, the expectation was for runs to be at a premium. That theory was proven in the opening innings with both teams’ aces starting strong.
“We kind of knew coming in it was going to be like this,” Kling said. “So we kind of just got our mind around it and just played the game of baseball.”
Penn State starting pitcher Ryan DeSanto opened the game with two strikeouts while USC starter Caden Hunter struck out the first three batters he faced.
The second inning was very similar, with DeSanto adding his third strikeout. Penn State’s offense woke up with a walk and a single, setting up runners on first and second. However, Cole Wagner’s delayed steal to third was unsuccessful.
Just a few pitches later, Hunter picked off Jesse Jeconski’s attempt to steal second, ending the threat of a run on the base paths.
DeSanto dealt with some struggles in the third inning. USC second baseman Abbrie Covarrubias reached safely on an infield single. He was followed by Richard Tejada, who was hit by a pitch before centerfielder Brayden Dowd bunted himself on, loading the bases.
This set up USC’s best hitter, third baseman Ethan Hedges, with a bases-loaded opportunity. DeSanto walked him on a full count, bringing in the game’s first run.
“Even with the three-two change up to Hedges to walk him in that scenario, I was like ‘Whatever, man that kid could potentially be player of the year,’ so I was fine with that pitch,” coach Mike Gambino said. “I like the pitch to get us out of that, that was awesome.”
With nobody out, the Trojans threatened to put up a crooked number in the third inning. But, DeSanto shut down the offense with a strikeout, popout and groundout, limiting the damage to just one run.
Hunter continued to limit Penn State runners, restricting threats on the base paths. Through five innings, the Nittany Lions had just two hits and three base runners. In that time, Hunter had seven strikeouts on 82 pitches thrown.
It was clear that the opening game was going to be a pitching duel, but DeSanto and Hunter raised that bar even higher, allowing a combined five hits and one run across five innings with USC leading 1-0.
The sixth inning showcased the pitchers once again. Both starters remained in the game and each sent down their opposition in order.
DeSanto returned to the mound for the seventh inning, potentially raising his previous career-high of six innings.
“I felt in the pregame bullpen that all my pitches were working and it gave me a lot of confidence going in,” DeSanto said.
Despite allowing a triple, he struck out two batters, keeping the game in reach for his offense with a 1-0 deficit.
That deficit quickly disappeared as centerfielder Paxton Kling launched a home run to right field, tying the game at 1-1. His solo homer was enough for DeSanto to avoid getting credited for the loss, opening the chance of a late-inning victory.
DeSanto’s evening came to an end after seven innings, but it was nothing short of impressive. The Frederick, Maryland, native went seven innings, allowing just four hits and one run while striking out seven hitters.
Similarly, Hunter’s outing ended after seven innings. The Granite Bay, California, native dealt seven innings, allowing three hits and one run while striking out eight Nittany Lions.
Despite both starters being removed, the pitchers still dominated. Dimond Loosli relieved DeSanto and had all of his pitches working. The Walnut Creek, California, native forced two groundouts and a strikeout, showcasing his fastball and slider.
“If you draw that thing up going into the game, you’d hope it’s (DeSanto) for seven and (Loosli) for two,” Gambino said.
The same couldn’t be said for the bottom half of the inning. Back-to-back walks and a bad throw on a pickoff attempt set up two runners in scoring position for rightfielder Cohl Mercado.
On a 3-1 pitch, Mercado sent a weak ground ball to USC first baseman Adrian Lopez. The transition from Lopez’s glove to his hand sent the ball away from him, allowing pinch runner Mike Lucarelli to score.
After shortstop Ryan Weingartner walked, Kling sent a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring pinch runner Joey DeMucci from third. The small ball game allowed Penn State to take the lead, 3-1.
“We’re aggressive with what we do,” Gambino said. “If you can tell it’s something that’s in there head, that you have to control… it’s hard.”
Loosli returned to the mound for the final inning, attempting to close out the game. The right-hander sent down the Trojans in order to end the game.
Penn State moved to 22-10 on the season with the win while USC dropped to 21-12 as both teams remain near each other in the Big Ten standings.
Up Next
Penn State and USC return to the diamond for Game 2 of the three-game series at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
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