On Sunday, it all fell apart at once for Penn State.

After the Nittany Lions held a 2-0 lead through six innings, No. 21 Duke turned the game on its head with five runs in a span of two outs. The offensive explosion would prove to be enough for the Blue Devils, who went on to rout Penn State 9-2.

Duke’s defeat of the Nittany Lions in the rubber match hands Penn State its first series loss of the young season. The Nittany Lions are now halfway through their spring break trip in Florida, posting a record of 1-2 thus far.

After allowing 10 runs in the first two games of the series, ineffective relief pitching continued to hinder Penn State. The bullpen struggled from start to finish, allowing all nine of the Blue Devils’ runs.

The Nittany Lions utilized five relief pitchers in the contest, four of which allowed at least one run. Collectively, the bullpen allowed nine runs, 10 hits and four walks in three innings of work.

Duke used extra-base hits to effectively generate eight of its nine runs. In total, the Blue Devils hit two doubles, a triple and two home runs in the game.

The offensive inferno began in the seventh when Duke loaded the bases. Center fielder Kennie Taylor finished the job, blasting a grand slam to give the Blue Devils a 4-2 lead.

Duke put up another crooked number in the eighth, tacking on four more runs. The Blue Devils hit for the cycle in the frame.

Taylor hit his second bomb of the game in the inning, a two-run shot to left field. The senior accounted for six of Duke’s nine runs in the matchup.

Despite the high score, the game was actually a pitcher's duel during the early and middle innings. The two starting pitchers combined for a total of 12 strikeouts on the afternoon.

FRIDAY'S GAME:

Right-hander Eric Mock got the starting nod for Penn State and was electric. The redshirt junior tossed six frames of shutout baseball, allowing just two hits in his first no-decision of the season.

“I thought Eric Mock pitched really, really well,” coach Rob Cooper told GoPSUsports. “Eric is starting to learn how to control his emotions, and I mean that in a good way.”

He was opposed by freshman Cooper Stinson, who was also stellar. The right-hander threw five innings, allowing one run on three hits.

The Nittany Lions opened the scoring with a lead-off solo home run from second baseman Gavin Homer. The junior smashed one over the left field wall to give Penn State the lead in its first at-bat of the contest.

With the dinger, the Nittany Lions have now had a first-inning home run in three of their last four games. The moon shot was Homer’s second of the year.

Penn State added to its lead in the sixth with an RBI triple from first baseman Parker Hendershot. The Nittany Lions got very little going on offense in the following frames, recording just three hits and no runs in the last three innings.

“We struck out a lot,” Cooper told GoPSUsports. “We got to learn how to make some things happen and take advantage of some pitches that we did have to hit, especially when you’re playing a good team.”

SATURDAY'S GAME: