Friday’s late-night outing saw Penn State battle UCLA on the West Coast for the first time in program history, as the Bruins moved from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten in August.
Penn State’s offence was dormant for most of the evening. A late four-run comeback was not enough as UCLA held on to win 7-6.
Penn State opened the game with two walks, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Jack Porter and Paxton Kling both stole a bag on a Bryce Molinaro strikeout, putting Jesse Jaconski in a position to take the lead for the Nittany Lions.
The Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, native ripped a single into left field, scoring Porter and Kling to take a 2-0 lead in the top half of the first.
Ryan DeSanto took the mound for the blue and white, boasting a 7-1 record after securing three wins in his last four starts.
Despite his recent success, UCLA’s hitters responded to Penn State’s offensive burst in kind, with Roch Cholowsky and AJ Salgado both hitting two-run home runs to give the Bruins a 4-2 lead.
DeSanto responded after a shaky first inning, forcing two strikeouts to retire UCLA in order in the second frame before tallying two more in the bottom of the third. Heading into the fourth, UCLA still held the lead at 4-2.
Penn State struggled to get its offence going after the first inning. Batters seemed to be chasing pitches outside the strike zone, and the Nittany Lions only registered one hit across four innings.
The blue and white had a chance to take the lead in the fifth, following two walks and a throwing error by UCLA pitcher CJ Bott. However, after Ryan Weingartner and Kling walked to put two on with two outs, Bott drew a popout to second base to end the inning.
With one out in the sixth, Penn State had runners on the corners following a base hit from Joe Jaconski, the Nittany Lions’ second hit of the night.
Despite another scoring opportunity waiting to be taken, the blue and white failed to convert again, with Nate Voss striking out and Patrick Graham flying out to right field to end the inning.
UCLA pitchers walked a combined eight batters on Friday evening, but Penn State’s offence couldn’t convert and get runners home.
UCLA threatened to extend its lead after Cholowsky singled to right and Mulivai Levu was hit by an Anthony Steele pitch. After Cholowsky stole third, the Bruins converted where Penn State couldn’t, as Salgado brought a run in on a fielder’s choice to take a 5-2 lead.
Penn State put pressure on UCLA’s defence in the top of the ninth. Voss was hit by a pitch, while Matt Maloney and Weingartner both walked.
Voss scored after UCLA registered another hit-by-pitch, with Easton Hawk hitting Kling to close the gap to 5-3.
After recording only three hits through the top of the ninth, Penn State battled back to tie the game on a single from Porter that scored Weingartner and Maloney.
Penn State continued its offensive push in the ninth, retaking the lead, 6-5, after a single from Jesse Jaconski.
Dimond Loosli took the mound in the ninth for Penn State, looking to close out the potential upset. An infield hit by pinch-hitter Blake Balsz put the Bruins in scoring position. The hit deflected off Loosli, as he stumbled while fielding the ball, causing him to leave the game with an injury, being replaced by Ben DeMell.
DeMell walked Aidan Espinoza before Penn State gave up a throwing error, sending the tying run home.
Cholowsky was intentionally walked to load the bases for UCLA. After an uncoordinated defensive effort, Penn State failed to turn the double-play, and UCLA sealed its 7-6 victory with Levu scoring the game-winning run.
Up Next
Penn State has a chance to respond in Game 2 against UCLA. The first pitch is set for 5 pm Saturday.
Injury Report
Pitcher Dimond Loosli left the game in the ninth with an unknown injury after misfielding the ball.
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