UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Sunday's showdown with UMass Lowell brought a football-like score and a signature comeback from Penn State, which rallied despite trailing 9-0 before having an at-bat. The warm March weather, blended with a palpable buzz around the program, created an energetic environment where students hoisted their classmates skyward when the Nittany Lions got to their 21st run, mimicking a touchdown celebration at Beaver Stadium.
It was moments like these that embodied the difference a home crowd can make on a game. 3,820 students and fans packed the newly-renovated Medlar Field at Lubrano Park across the three-game set against the River Hawks and saw a talented team featuring a high-flying offense and a never quit mentality.
Penn State erased a nine-run deficit and trailed 13-8 in the bottom of the seventh inning before 13 runs between the seventh and eighth gave the Nittany Lion faithful an opportunity to make a difference.
"This is awesome," head coach Mike Gambino said. "I mean, they are affecting games. Other programs are talking about it, we have recruits here talking about it. I do believe this group is a group that you can get behind. That's who we're gonna be, we're just not gonna stop and I think it can be a group that this town and these students get behind."
Penn State's 'Medlar Magic' included a plethora of chants from the passionate students who provided a tangible level of energy throughout the weekend. The craziness in the stands matched the offensive explosion on the field where Penn State's 21-14 win totaled 35 runs and 36 hits.
The Nittany Lions received contributions from up-and-down the lineup and responded with six in the bottom of the first after allowing nine in the top half. It wasn't until the eighth inning where Penn State would take its first lead off the bat of senior outfielder Tayven Kelley who blasted a single through the left side of the infield to score a pair.
Those were two of the nine Nittany Lion runs scored in the bottom of the eighth as the crowd roared louder with each run. The noise of the crowd rose with the noise of the Penn State bats who capitalized with 13 different players scoring at least one run.
"It's definitely awesome and I think it plays a factor," graduate student infielder Grant Norris said. "You have all the students in the stands that have the chants going and everything like that so I think it just brings a better atmosphere to the field than we've had before."
The crowd didn't extend exclusively to the offense as redshirt sophomore right-hander Connor Throneberry gave Penn State three pivotal innings out of the bullpen. The St. Louis, Missouri, product allowed just one run and kept providing the Nittany Lions offense a chance while silencing UMass Lowell.
Throneberry struck out three during his outing by "living in the strike zone" and said, "we just stayed in the game, we were never out of it. We always had life in the dugout, life in the bullpen and just stayed with it."
"It's super awesome to see the buy-in from the students, the community," Throneberry said. "We've played here and it's dress as an empty seat day and having the crowd behind us all three days, a messed up schedule because of the rain, everybody coming out, it's awesome. It makes you want to play like that much harder for your school, for your city."
Gambino praised his team's ability to play with "grit, toughness and fight" and emphasized the "belief" of the 19 different players that touched the field for Penn State. Gambino's also instilled a mantra of 'ubuntu' which stands for "I am because we are."
Gambino said, "I think it plays well with this university because we can't reach our potential, none of us, in anything we're doing without the help of everybody around us."
Penn State gained a sense of that togetherness and potential with a unique home environment in a weekend that brought everyone both on and off the field together.
"We're a super close-knit group of guys," Throneberry said. "I feel like we're closer than we've ever been. Just the culture is everybody's got each other's back, like fight for each other, play for the name on the front and the brothers beside you."
