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Penn State Baseball Makes Dramatic Run to Big Ten Tournament Semifinals

The 8th-seeded Nittany Lions are making a postseason charge under first-year coach Mike Gambino.

Mark Wogenrich

Penn State baseball coach Mike Gambino speaks to the media at his introductory press conference in 2023.
Penn State baseball coach Mike Gambino speaks to the media at his introductory press conference in 2023. / Penn State Athletics

Penn State baseball is among the nation's hottest teams, riding a five-game win streak into the Big Ten Tournament semifinals and potentially a dramatic return to the NCAA Tournament. The latest bit of magic came Thursday night in Omaha, where Bryce Molinaro hit an eighth-inning, go-ahead grand slam as the Nittany Lions defeated Michigan 9-5 and advanced to the Big Ten semifinals.

Penn State, 28-23 under first-year coach Mike Gambino, will make its first Big Ten Tournament semifinal appearance since 2007. The Nittany Lions get a rematch with Michigan, which eliminated Illinois 4-2 on Friday. The Big Ten semifinal game is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET Saturday on Big Ten Network. Nebraska plays Indiana in the other semifinal.

Last week, Penn State's chances of reaching the Big Ten Tournament appeared slim. The Nittany Lions were 9-12 in conference play and faced a three-game series at Maryland to close the regular season. They needed a sweep, and some fortune, to make the postseason. Penn State took care of the sweep, taking three straight from the Terps, including a 6-5, 10-inning victory in Game 2. Penn State punctuated the regular season with a 19-7 victory over Maryland that, coupled with Michigan State's loss to Nebraska, got the team into the Big Ten Tournament as the eighth and final seed.

Penn State headed to Omaha's Charles Schwab Field to face top-seeded Illinois, which scored 43 runs in sweeping a three-game series from the Nittany Lions in March. But Penn State gained a measure of vengeance Wednesday, upsetting the Illini 8-4 in the opening round. Starting pitcher Travis Luensmann allowed one run on four hits through five innings for the win, and Adam Cecere drove in three runs, two on a sixth-inning home run.

On Thursday, the Nittany Lions followed with a dramatic win over Michigan, highlighted by Molinaro's go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the eighth. Michigan had taken a 5-3 lead in the top of the eighth before Molinaro responded.

Penn State's win also featured timely defense. Cecere made two huge plays in right field; a diving grab in the fourth and a throw home in the seventh that ended a potential Michigan rally.

Penn State will play in the Big Ten semifinals for the first time since 2007, when the program won a school-record 20 conference games. Penn State has not qualified for the NCAA Tournament since 2000, when it reached the Super Regionals. Penn State's last appearance in the College World Series was 1973. Upon being hired last year, Gambino said he wanted to take Penn State back to the College World Series.

"I want people to talk about us going to the College World Series here. I do," Gambino said at his introductory press conference in 2023. "It's something that I want to talk about and it's not just about going to Omaha for the Big Ten tournament. I understand that the Big Ten tournament is great and it's fun and I would like to take a shot at winning that thing for sure. But we want to go to the College World Series. I'm not going to hide behind that."

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is Editor and Publisher of AllPennState, the site for Penn State news on SI's FanNation Network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs and three Rose Bowls.

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