CARY, N.C. - Xavier baseball had a ninth inning rally fell short as the Musketeers fell 7-5 to open the weekend against Penn State at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.
Xavier stranded a pair in the ninth after getting within two on a wild pitch, but the threat was ended by a fielder's choice play.
With the loss, XU drops to 2-3 on the young season. Penn State picked up its first win to move to 1-3 after an opening sweep at No. 1 TCU last week.
• Rylan Bannon hit his first home run of the season in the fifth inning and finished the day 2-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI.