Baseball

During an up-and-down road trip, Penn State (3-8) found itself back on the downswing as the Nittany Lions fell to Houston (10-3) for a second-straight night Wednesday, this time by a 15-5 score.

Houston was first on the board when Josh Vidales doubled down the left field line and was driven in two batters later by shortstop Frankie Ratcliff.

The Lions responded by finding some rhythm in the second inning to post four runs. Right fielder Aaron Novak got it started for the Lions when a pitch on the first at-bat hit him. Following the opening at-bat, first baseman J.J. White reached base on a walk. Both baserunners advanced when Houston starter Jared West threw a wild pitch.

Catcher Alex Farkes moved the runners again, driving in Novak on an RBI groundout. James Coates and Elliot Searer kept the momentum going with back-to-back base hits, one driving in White. West was pulled for Daniel Smith, who allowed back-to-back RBI hits by center fielder Steve Snyder and infielder Taylor Skerpon that drove in Coates and Searer to make it 4-1.

Houston would not stay down as it drove in four runs of its own in the bottom of the second. Two of those runs were brought on by errors.

In the bottom of the third, Houston relief pitcher Tyler Ford kept the Lions off the board and the Cougars’ offense capitalized. Leading 5-4, Houston got to Penn State starter Tim Dunn. The Cougars piled on five runs in the inning, including a two-RBI single by catcher Caleb Barker to make it 10-4.

The Lions attempted to fight back when Searer scored his second run of the game in the fourth on a Skerpon pop-up, but that would be their last run of the game.

Houston buried the Lions with two runs in the seventh and three in the eighth. Small ball by the Cougars killed Penn State all game long, but Ratcliff closed the game with a 2-RBI triple in the bottom of the eighth.

The Lions continue their stint in Texas as they take on Houston Baptist for a three-game series starting Friday.