Penn State Swept By Purdue

Story posted March 31, 2018 in CommRadio, Sports by Christian Katt

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – What was a pitcher’s duel through four innings, turned into a lopsided affair in favor of Purdue in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader. Purdue defeated Penn State by the score of 9-0 on Sunday afternoon at Medlar Field. The Purdue pitching staff took control of an already stagnant Penn State lineup to lead the way for a doubleheader and series sweep for the Boilermakers.

Trent Johnson (1-1) led the way with five innings, zero earned runs, one hit and six strikeouts. Although he had trouble with his command in the third and fourth inning by giving up a couple of walks and HBP’s, Johnson was able to get out of any and all trouble he was in.

Penn State was able to do absolutely nothing productive at the plate. Only able to squander three hits throughout the game, Penn State was also unable to take advantage of a very sloppy third and fourth inning by Trent Johnson.

When asked about their offensive struggles, Braxton Giavedoni, who homered in the first game of the doubleheader said, “I just think we need to start getting better at-bats…seeing more pitches…and swinging at better pitches.”

Despite their offensive struggles, Penn State head coach Rob Cooper looked on the positive side of the loss.

“There’s a lot of season left…There’s nothing else you can do other than put your head down, keep working, stay positive, and try to pull the good out of what you did today and improve on it”, said Cooper.

The Purdue bullpen was able to follow Johnson’s impressive start with 4 innings of shut-out baseball of their own. Cameron Williams and Matt Moore only allowed three hits in their four innings.

Although the final score looks ugly, Dante Biasi (1-3) put together four innings of shut-out baseball against the potent offense of Purdue. Picking off three runners in four innings, Biasi was able to erase any offensive threat.

When asked what was working at the beginning of the game, Biasi said, “We were just attacking guys, trusting Sloni (Ryan Sloniger), and for whatever pitch he called to throw I was throwing it with a little bit of conviction.”

The wheels fell off in the fifth inning, however, as Biasi loaded the bases and got taken out of the game with one out. Coach Cooper choose to bring in Eric Mock to get out of the jam, but things did not go the Nittany Lion’s way.

A fifth-inning rally was all that was needed for Purdue as they put up a four-spot fueled by walks, a wild pitch and a two-run single by Tyler Powers. Purdue ended up adding one run each in the sixth and seventh inning, and three runs in the ninth inning.

Harry Shipley led the way for Purdue, going two-for-four with two RBI’s, and one run. Charlie Nasuti chipped in an impressive game of his own as he went three-for-four with one RBI and two runs.

Penn State tries to end their four-game losing streak when they take on West Virginia University at Medlar Field this Tuesday. The Nittany Lions will resume their Big Ten season on Friday, April 6th when they start a three-game series against Minnesota.

 

Christian Katt is a sophomore majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact him, email cjk5620@psu.edu.