Penn State knocks off top-seed Illinois in B1G Tournament

Penn State baseball’s first year under manager Mike Gambino earned a late invite to the Big Ten Tournament with a three-game sweep of Maryland last week. Wednesday morning in Omaha, Neb., the Nittany Lions made the most of it.

Riding a wave of clutch hitting, the No. 8-seed Penn State baseball program knocked off No. 1-seed Illinois in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Penn State will face the winner of Michigan and Iowa on Thursday.

With the win, the Nittany Lions improved to 27-23 overall for the 2024 campaign. Penn State also eclipsed .500 against Big Ten competition with the win, improving to 13-12. It is the program’s first winning record since the 2016 season.

How it happened

Penn State put the pressure on the top-seed Illini from the jump. Despite a 10 a.m. local start after a weather postponement on Tuesday, the Nittany Lions quickly delivered a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Following a walk and single in successive at bats from the top of the order, Bobby Marsh loaded the bases with a walk.

Grant Norris paid it off. Delivering a fly ball to right field, the sacrifice allowed Joe Jaconski to score and give Penn State a lead it wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way.

With Travis Luensmann in control on the mound, the Nittany Lions kept their lead when Adam Cecere delivered an out on a deep fly to right field from Coltin Quagliano to end the second inning.

“I got a pretty good read right off the jump,” said Cecere to BTN’s broadcast team. “Pretty good talk from my centerfielder, kind of let me right where I was. I was able to take that last little step, which is what we’re looking for there at the wall. So I was happy to keep that ball from being a knock.

“I take pride in my outfield play. We take pride in our defense. It all starts with Travis. He’s doing a great job out there battling for us, so we got to do what we can for him.”

Creating separation

It wouldn’t be Cecere’s last big play of the morning. After trading scoreless innings in the third, then building a 3-1 lead with two more runs in the fourth, the Nittany Lion delivered another huge play in the batters box in the top of the sixth.

With Jaconski again on base, Cecere caught an up-and-in fastball on the barrel to send it over the centerfield wall against Illinois reliever Julius Sanchez.

“The approach stays the same all the time. I had the opportunity to face that guy last year at Wake Forest when Illinois came down. And I just had to settle myself out a little bit,” said Cecere. “I was still sleeping throughout the first three innings. That 10 a.m. game, I was still in the hotel room. So I got my head out of my rear and got back to work. Pitch up, that’s what I was looking for, and I got the barrel to it.”

The two-run shot gave Penn State a cushion it wouldn’t relinquish. Though Luensmann and reliever Mason Horwat found trouble in four successive innings, the Illini wouldn’t threaten again.

And a big eighth inning at the plate ensured as much. With Kevin Michaels leading off with a double, followed by a Jaconski walk and J.T. Marr single, the loaded bases were batted in with a sac fly from Cecere and a two RBI double for Marsh.

Reliever Anthony Steele wrapped the occasion in the bottom of the ninth to deliver the 8-4 win.

“We’re bunch of 23 year old savvy vets. We’ve been in the game for a long time. You look up and down our lineup, you’re looking at 22 to 23 year olds basically throughout,” said Cecere. “We’ve been around the game. We’ve seen basically everything that you can see from the bump and from the batter’s box. So we’re confident with whoever we face and every day, kind of playing nameless, faceless opponents. Just play the game.”

Penn State returns to action at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Talk about it with our premium members in the Lions Den, here!