ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Penn State baseball team dropped a 9-1 decision at Navy on Sunday at Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium. Navy broke the game open with six runs in the fourth. The Nittany Lions are now 21-20 on the season, while the Midshipmen improved to 26-20.
Jaden Henline got the start for Penn State, working 3.2 innings. He allowed seven runs (one earned) on seven hits. Henline recorded two strikeouts and two walks. David Lee faced three batters, giving up a hit and two walks.
Frankie Sanchez tossed three innings, giving up one run on four hits. He tallied two strikeouts and a walk. Anthony Steele allowed a run over 1.1 innings of work.
Tyler Grenn made the start for Navy, going four scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and two walks, while striking out five. Brady Bendik fired three shutout frames, while striking out seven. Matthew Shirah threw a scoreless inning and struck out one. Nolan Jorgenson gave up a run on two hits over one inning.
Penn State tallied one run on six hits. Matt Maloney recorded an RBI double. Adam Cecere and Bryce Molinaro each had two hits, while Molinaro scored a run. Kevin Michaels added a double.
Navy recorded nine runs on 13 hits. Brock Murtha had two hits, including a double and a homer, and two runs. Hudson Lehnertz added three hits and two RBI, while Logan Keller had three hits, including a double, and an RBI.
The Midshipmen got on the board in the second. Leading off the inning, Andrew Manning sent a double to the left-center gap. A groundout moved Manning to third. After Jack Killelea reached on a walk, Anthony Fiallo chopped a grounder on the right side. It was mishandled on a fielder's choice to allow Manning to cross the plate. Navy led 1-0.
Penn State threatened to score in the top of the fourth. Cecere started the inning with a single through the right side. With two outs, Molinaro lined a single to left to put runners at first and second. However, a strikeout ended the inning.
Navy added on in the fourth. With one out, Logan Keller doubled to left followed by a single by Killelea. A bunt by Fiallo resulted in a throwing error as Keller scored and Killelea went to third. Fiallo stole second before Hudson Lehnertz shot a single through the middle to bring home two runs. Lehnertz stole second before Eduardo Diaz reached on an error to allow Lehnertz to score. After walks by Brock Murtha and Victor Izquierdo, a wild pitch brought home Diaz. Following a walk by Manning, Keller reached on an infield single as Murtha crossed the plate. Navy held a 7-0 advantage.
The Midshipmen scored another run in the sixth on a leadoff, solo homer by Murtha. Penn State trailed 8-0.
In the eighth, Michaels started the inning with a double to left. Joe Jaconski was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. However, a strikeout, pop out and line out ended the inning.
Navy plated a run in the eighth. With two outs, Henry Mitchell was hit by a pitch and moved up to second on a passed ball. A single by Evan Brown drove in Mitchell to extend Navy's lead to 9-0.
Penn State scored a run in the ninth. With one out, Molinaro singled through the middle. He advanced on a wild pitch. Maloney sent a fly ball into the left field corner for a double as Molinaro scored. PSU trailed 9-1.
The Nittany Lions travel to Morgantown on Wednesday to take on West Virginia. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. with a broadcast on ESPN2.
For updates on the Penn State baseball team, please follow @pennstatebase on X and Instagram.
The 2024 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
Matt Maloney