Pitching and some pop paves the way for Penn State's home-opening win

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State faithful was welcomed back to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park with a 3-2 win over the UMass Lowell River Hawks.

Travis Luensmann took the bump and took command of the River Hawk batters. Luensmann went six innings, allowing two hits, one run, three walks and five strikeouts, getting the win.

Not only was there strength coming from the starting pitcher, but some big hits helped propel the Nittany Lions to the win.

Catcher Matt Maloney opened things up in the bottom of the fourth inning with a two-run RBI double to continue his impressive season.

The transfer from Dayton is now up to 16 RBIs on the year, batting .342.

J.T. Marr had a day at the plate, rattling off three hits in four plate appearances. He just missed a home run which was robbed by the River Hawks’ center fielder Alex Luccini.

“He just gives you really good quality professional at-bats all the way through, he can really swing,” head coach Mike Gambino said, having high praise for the graduate transfer.

Marr now has 28 hits in 61 at-bats for a .459 batting average which includes 13 RBIs.

Luccini had himself a night for UMass Lowell crushing two solo home runs and just missing a third that went foul early in the game.

The biggest hit for Penn State came off the bat of center fielder Billy Gerlott who sent the ball 423 feet over the newly renovated left-center field wall in the sixth inning.

His first home run of the year would go on to be the game-winner.

“I feel like this year I’ve been pretty aggressive early in the counts. I got a good pitch to hit,” Gerlott said. He is now batting .308 on the year.

Anthony Steele got the job done over the course of two innings pitched. He limited the River Hawks batters to one hit while striking out three.

“Steele, he has been electric and I think he’s just getting going. He’s starting to believe. We believe in him tremendously,” Gambino said.

David Lee took the ball in the ninth inning and gave up a solo home run to Luccini. The River Hawks threatened, but Lee locked the game down with his third save of the season.

This is the first game that Penn State played in a newly renovated Medlar Field. The renovations included a new Jumbotron, fencing, lights and turf.

The attendance reached 1,680, creating an atmosphere that was felt throughout the ballpark.

“It was unbelievable. It was loud. The crowd here affected the game tonight. I thought (the students) impacted the game in a positive way for us,” Gambino said.

Anthony Desher is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email acd5698@psu.edu.