Penn State baseball pulls huge upset, looks to storm through Big Ten Tournament

Penn State baseball will try to make some postseason magic for a second-straight day.

The Nittany Lions (27-23) will go for another Big Ten Tournament upset tonight against Michigan (7 p.m., Big Ten Network) in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Lions will attempt to match their season-best five-game winning streak against the Wolverines in the tournament's second round. Penn State upset No. 1 seed Illinois, 8-4, on Wednesday.

Penn State is the tournament's eighth seed after going 12-12 in Big Ten play during the regular season. The Lions needed a three-game, season-ending sweep of Maryland just to qualify for the tournament.

On Wednesday, the Lions beat Illinois (33-18) behind five strong pitching innings from Travis Luensmann (seven strikeouts, four hits, one run).

Teammates Adam Cecere and J.T. Marr and Joe Jaconski fueled the offense. Cecere homered and drove in three runs while Marr collected three hits and two RBI. Jacosnki singled, doubled and scored three times.

Cerere's 16th homer ties him for third place in school history for a single season. Ben Heath set the record with 19 in 2010.

Penn State defeated Illinois after suffering three losses to the Illini earlier this season. The Lions also lost two of three to the Wolverines in March.

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Frank Bodani covers Penn State sports for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at  fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State baseball attempts to shock Illinois, Michigan Wolverines