Penn State Baseball Beats Pitt With 14-Run 9th at PNC Park
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The Penn State baseball team trailed Pitt by one run entering the final inning after giving up a five-run eighth. The Lions ended up winning by 13 runs following one of the more remarkable rallies in their history.
Penn State scored 14 times in the top of the ninth to stun Pitt 19-6 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The Lions sent 18 hitters to the plate, hitting two three-run home runs and facing five Pitt pitchers.
The half-inning took nearly an hour and featured a homer from Pittsburgh-area native Josh Spiegel, who began his college career at Oklahoma State.
"Being from Pittsburgh, it’s Pirates, Penguins, Steelers," Spiegel told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "It was a great feeling to be out there."
Penn State unleashed its offense in the ninth, though the Panthers' pitching certainly contributed. Pitt walked six batters (two with the bases loaded), threw three wild pitches (including one that scored the final run) and hit a batter. Tayven Kelley added a two-run triple, and four Penn State batters contributed singles.
Penn State concludes the regular season this week with a chance to qualify for its first Big Ten tournament since 2012. The Lions host Illinois for a three-game series beginning Thursday.
Penn State (25-24 overall) is 11-10 in the conference and currently fifth in the conference standings. The top eight teams make the Big Ten tournament, which begins May 25 in Omaha.
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