UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team travels to Los Angeles to take on No. 15 UCLA in a three-game Big Ten series at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The series begins on Friday at 9 p.m. and continues on Saturday at 5 p.m. The series concludes on Sunday at 4 p.m. All games will be broadcast on B1G+.
Friday’s matchup will be the first ever game between the programs and will be PSU’s first game in California since March 5, 2018 at UCSB.
Penn State, led by head coach Mike Gambino, is 25-14 this season (12-9 Big Ten) after a 3-2 win over No. 17 West Virginia on Tuesday. PSU snapped the Mountaineers’ nation-best 14-game win streak.
UCLA, coached by John Savage, is 29-11 overall (13-5 Big Ten) and is ranked No. 15 in the D1baseball poll. The Bruins dropped a 5-3 decision at No. 12 UC Irvine on Tuesday.
For updates on the Penn State baseball team, please check @pennstatebase on X and Instagram.
The 2025 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
FOLLOW ALONG
LEADING OFF
- Penn State visits No. 15 UCLA for a key Big Ten series.
- Friday’s game will be the first ever matchup between the programs.
- The Nittany Lions will play their first game in the state of California since March 5, 2018 at UCSB.
- Penn State is coming off a 3-2 win over No. 17 West Virginia on Tuesday, snapping the Mountaineers’ nation-best 14-game win streak.
- Mason Butash fired 4.2 shutout innings, while Jack Porter launched a solo homer and Bryce Molinaro drove in two runs.
- After its series win over Purdue last weekend, PSU has won at least four Big Ten series in a season for the first time since 2012.
- With 62 home runs and 85 steals this season, PSU is the only D1 team this season with 60+ homers and 72+ steals this year.
- PSU is one of only eight teams in D1 with five or more players with 5+ homers and 5+ steals this year.
- Penn State’s 85 steals are 10 more than any other Big Ten team this season.
- Ryan Weingartner’s 24 steals in 2025 are tied for third-most in a season at PSU.
- Weingartner is one of four D1 players with 8+ HR and 24+ SB in 2025.
- He ranks 27th in the nation in total steals and 35th in steals per game (0.62).
YEAR TWO GROWTH UNDER GAMBINO
- With a 21-10 start, Penn State got off to its best 31-game start since going 23-8 to begin the 2000 season.
- With its sweep over Minnesota, the Nittany Lions have won two Big Ten road series (at Northwestern, at Minnesota) in a season for the first time since 2012 (at Iowa, at Minnesota, at Michigan State).
- PSU also has earned two road series sweeps (at Longwood, at Minnesota) in a season for the first time since 2000 (at Norfolk State, at Iowa).
- With its series win against Purdue, Penn State has won at least four Big Ten series in a season (vs. Indiana, at Northwestern, at Minnesota, vs. Purdue) for the first time since 2012.
- Penn State’s 24 wins in Big Ten play over the last two seasons are its most in a two-year span since 2011-12 (not counting the Big Ten-only schedule in 2021).
- PSU is 9-1 in series/weekend openers this season and 20-4 in series/weekend openers over the last two years.
- In non-conference action, Penn State earned a win over Missouri in its season opener, its first win over an SEC team since 1995, and a 3-2 victory over No. 17 West Virginia to snap the Mountaineers’ 14-game win streak.
- With its win in game one against Indiana on March 7, the Nittany Lions had a nine-game win streak for the first time since 2000.
NITTANY LIONS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN HOMERS, STEALS
- Through 39 games, Penn State has slugged 62 home runs, on pace to break its team season record of 91 in 2000.
- The Nittany Lions have tallied 10+ runs in 20 games this season, tied for fifth in the country, and 10 times in Big Ten games. PSU has 20 games of 10+ runs in a season for just the second time in program history (22; 2000).
- The Nittany Lions rank 29th in the country, averaging 1.59 homers per game.
- Penn State also ranks 34th in the nation in total home runs.
- Paxton Kling leads the Nittany Lions with 12 homers, while sitting 74th in the country in total homers (8th in Big Ten).
- Kling is among nine Nittany Lions with at least one home run this season and is one of eight with 4+ homers.
- Jesse Jaconski has 10 homers, Bryce Molinaro owns nine homers and Ryan Weingartner has eight, Jack Porter has seven and Nate Voss has six, while Joe Jaconski has five homers. Cole Wagner has four.
- Molinaro has three multi-homer games this season, tied for fifth in D1.
- With 62 home runs and 85 steals this season, PSU is the only D1 team with 60+ homers and 72+ steals this season.
- PSU is one of 22 D1 teams with seven players owning 5+ homers.
- PSU, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Samford and Utah Valley are the only teams in the country with five or more players with 5+ homers and 5+ steals.
- Penn State has launched six grand slams, including two by Kling, one by Jesse Jaconski, one by Molinaro, one by Voss and one by Weingartner.
- PSU is tied-sixth in the country with six grand slams this year.
- The Nittany Lions are also 34th in the country in stolen bases per game (2.18), pacing the Big Ten, and 39th in total steals (85).
- Penn State has 10 more steals than any other Big Ten team this season and is approaching its team record of 91 steals in 2000.
- PSU has eight players owning 4+ steals.
- Weingartner leads the Big Ten in total steals (24), sitting 27th in the country, and steals per game (0.62), holding 35th.
- Weingartner’s 24 steals are tied-third in a season at PSU.
- Weingartner is one of four players in Division I this season with 8+ homers and 24+ stolen bases
- Wagner has 11 steals and Kling has 10.
- Penn State has three players with 10+ steals in a season for the first time since 2015 (Greg Guers, 14; Jim Haley, 11; Taylor Skerpon, 11).
HAGENMAN MAKES MLB DEBUT
- Former Nittany Lion Justin Hagenman made his Major League baseball debut for the New York Mets on Wednesday, April 16.
- After entering the game in the second inning, against the Minnesota Twins, Hagenmen went 3.1 innings. He was charged with one run on three hits, while striking out four.
- Hagenman notched two strikeouts in the first inning, including a punch out against the first batter he faced, the Twins’ Ryan Jeffers.
- He is the 24th Penn State player to appear in a MLB game and the first since Nate Bump in 2005.
- After being selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 23rd round of the 2018 MLB Draft, Hagenman’s professional baseball journey includes stops with the Ogden Raptors (2018), Great Lakes Loons (2018-19), Tulsa Drillers (2021-22), Oklahoma City Dodgers (2022-23), Worchester Red Sox (2023-24) and Syracuse Mets (2025).
- Hagenman was traded from the Dodgers to the Boston Red Sox in July 2023 and signed with the Mets in November 2024.
- In his minor league career, Hagenman is 32-16 with 22 saves and a 3.95 ERA in 203 appearances (27 starts) and 433 strikeouts in 419.1 innings.
- He was a three-year starter at Penn State from 2016-18, posting a 4.64 ERA, 10 wins and 190 strikeouts. He is fourth all-time at PSU with 42 career starts.
DOLLAR DOG NIGHT
- The Nittany Lions hosted their sixth and final Dollar Dog Night of the 2025 season against West Virginia on April 22.
- Penn State set records for attendance (6,106) and hot dogs consumed (12,112).
- PSU fans have consumed 39,324 hot dogs over six Dollar Dog Nights this year, an average of 6,554 hot dogs.
- Penn State’s first five Dollar Dog Night totals of 2025: vs. FDU (5,960), vs. St. Bonaventure (7,506), vs. Pitt (6,733), vs. Bucknell (4,429) and vs. Delaware (2,584).
- Across 15 Dollar Dog Nights in 2023, 2024 and 2025, Penn State fans have consumed 74,501 hot dogs, averaging 4,967 per Dollar Dog Night.
PURDUE SERIES RECAP
- Penn State earned a series win over Purdue with a 10-2 win on Friday and a 13-6 victory on Saturday.
- PSU tallied 31 runs and 31 hits in the series.
- Jesse Jaconski posted two doubles and two homers with five RBI in the series.
- On Friday, PSU pitchers retired the final 11 batters of the game.
- Jack Porter led PSU with three hits, two doubles and three RBI, while Bryce Molinaro had a two-run triple and scored twice.
- On Saturday, Jaconski collected two doubles and a homer, while driving in three runs. Joe Jaconski added a double and three RBI.
- Jesse Jaconski added a two-run homer on Sunday and Molinaro recorded three RBI.