It’s been a mostly disappointing Big Ten season for the Ohio State baseball team, and that continued on Friday evening in a 10-3 loss to Penn State in Happy Valley.
The Buckeyes couldn’t get anything going in the top of the first, but the Nittany Lions put a big number on the board in the bottom of the inning thanks to a Grand Slam. That was followed by two more runs in the bottom of the third inning by Penn State to go ahead 6-0.
Buy Buckeyes TicketsOSU finally got on the board in the top of the fifth inning with three-straight singles and a run-scoring groundout by Tyler Pettorini to cut the lead to 6-1. That was short-lived however because the Nittany Lions got the run back in the bottom part of the fifth and added two more in the bottom of the sixth to extend the lead to 9-1.
Kade Kern added a two-run homer in the top of the seventh inning to make it 9-3, but that would be all the runs scored for the Scarlet and Gray. Penn State would add another run in the bottom of the eighth inning and then set the Buckeyes down in order in the top of the ninth to secure the easy victory.
FINAL Tough result tonight, but we've still got two more chances against the Nittany Lions this weekend. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/dYbKVkkhMc
— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioStateBASE) April 22, 2023
With the loss, Ohio State drops to 20-18 overall, and just 3-10 in the Big Ten. It’ll be an uphill climb to get into the Big Ten Tournament as the season gets toward the home stretch. The Buckeyes will battle Penn State again on Saturday and Sunday to round out the three-game set.
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