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University of Maryland Athletics

Nick Lorusso at Penn State
3
Maryland UMD 36-19, 16-7 Big Ten
5
Winner Penn State PSU 25-24, 7-15 Big Ten
Maryland UMD
36-19, 16-7 Big Ten
3
Final
5
Penn State PSU
25-24, 7-15 Big Ten
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Maryland UMD 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 10 0
Penn State PSU 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 X 5 10 0

W: Molsky, Tommy (3-4) L: Savacool, Jason (6-5) S: Partridge, Ryan (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

No. 20 Terps Fall To Penn State, 5-3

STATE COLLEGE, PA – The No. 20 ranked University of Maryland baseball team (36-19, 16-7 B1G) dropped the second game of its final Big Ten series against Penn State (25-24, 7-15 B1G), 5-3, Friday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Despite the defeat, Maryland clinched the Big Ten title for the second year in a row as Indiana lost to Michigan State, 7-6, later on Friday night. The Terps also secured the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. 
Rob Vaughn's squad became the first team to repeat as Big Ten champions since Indiana won the conference in 2013-14. The Terps secured the sixth overall conference championship in program history, adding to last season's Big Ten title, ACC Championship seasons in 1965, 1970 and 1971 and a Southern Conference crown in 1936.  
The Terps battled back from an early deficit to take a 3-2 advantage in the middle innings, but a go-ahead single from Penn State's Jay Harry in the bottom of the fifth proved to be the decisive blow.
 
Maryland pieced together a three-run fifth inning to pull ahead of Penn State after the Nittany Lions took the lead on a two-run Thomas Bramley double. Jacob Orr and Kevin Keister got on base for the top of the lineup with a single and a walk, respectively, before Matt Shaw got the Terps on the board by legging out an RBI infield single. Nick Lorusso tied the game with an RBI single of his own before Ian Petrutz gave the Terps the edge by giving Lorusso a ride home on a stand-up RBI triple.
 
However, in the next frame, Harry responded with his two-run single, and CJ Pittaro tacked on an insurance run for the Nittany Lions in the eighth inning. The Penn State bullpen pitched three shutout frames after a quality start from Tommy Molsky.
 
On Lorusso's RBI single, he continued his record-breaking campaign with his 94th RBI of the season, tying Ivan Melendez's 2022 output with Texas for the most by a Division I college baseball player since 2003, when New Mexico State's Billy Belcher drove in 118 RBI. The Monroe, CT native finished the contest hitting 3-for-4.
 
Other streaks continued for the Terps, as Luke Shliger extended his reached-base streak to 53 games with a third-inning single. Additionally, Shaw extended his hitting streak to 17 games with his RBI single. Petrutz also delivered a multi-hit effort for the Terps, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk on his ledger.
 
Despite taking the loss, Jason Savacool turned in a quality performance for Maryland, going six innings and striking out six Nittany Lions in his outing.
 
Breaking Down The Action
  • Penn State fired the opening salvo with a two-run double from Thomas Bramley, putting the Nittany Lions up 2-0 in the bottom of the second.
  • Shaw and Lorusso knotted the game, 2-2, in the top of the fifth with consecutive RBI singles for Maryland.
  • Later in the fifth inning, Ian Petrutz legged out a go-ahead RBI triple, scoring Lorusso to put the Terps up 3-2.
  • The Nittany Lions retook a 4-3 lead on a two-run single from Harry in the next half inning.
  • Pittaro gave Penn State some breathing room, extending its lead to 5-3 with an RBI single.
 
By The Numbers
  • 11: Lorusso had his 11th three-hit game of the season. 
  • 13: Petrutz turned in his 13th multi-hit outing of 2023.
  • 16: Orr's base knock in the fifth frame continued his season-best 16-game reached-base streak.
  • 17: Shaw extended his season-best hit streak with his RBI single in the fifth.
  • 46: Shaw's season-best reached-base streak reached 46 games.
  • 53: Shliger got aboard with a single in the third, continuing his record-breaking reached-base run of 53 games.
  • 94: By driving in Keister with an RBI single, Lorusso equaled the most RBI by a collegiate baseball player since 2003, matching Ivan Melendez of Texas, who drove in 94 RBI in 2022. His total ties for the most by any player in all of Division I College Baseball since Billy Becher of New Mexico State, who had 118 in 2003. 
  • 164: Lorusso extended his career program record RBI total to 164.
 
Up Next
  • The Terps will look to claim the outright title, when they conclude the 2023 regular season in the series finale against Penn State Sunday afternoon at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. First pitch is scheduled for noon, and the game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network and the Maryland Baseball Network.
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