Sidelined as he rehabbed from an off-season surgery, John Karr emerged late in the season to provide the Nittany Lions with one start and six bullpen appearances. In his freshman season, Karr did not allow a hit through his first three appearances. The highly touted recruit will be an asset for Jason Bell[apos]s pitching staff while in full form in 2009.
2008
Missed much of the first half of the season while recovering and rehabbing from off-season surgery....Made one midweek start on the year and appeared in seven games total....Pitched a season-high of two innings twice as he still continues to be gradually stretched out following his recovery....Was expected to contend for a spot in the weekend rotation this year after starting the last three weekends of the Big Ten schedule last year and in the Big Ten Tournament....Is still a vital part of the program[apos]s future as he will likely be a weekend rotation member next year after fully recovering.
Game-by-Game Highlights
_vs. Pittsburgh (4/9): Made his season debut near his home town of Gibsonia and struck out of the side in his only inning of work.
_vs. Akron (4/15): Pitched a scoreless inning on relief against the Zips, allowing just one hit.
_vs. La Salle (4/22): Struck out three and walked one and did not allow any hits in two innings of work vs. La Salle.
_vs. Villanova (4/30): Made his only start of the year vs. Villanova, going two innings and allowing four runs.
Summer 2007
Pitched for the Southern Ohio Copperheads of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, joining the team after attending the first summer session of classes at Penn State....Appeared in five games during the regular season, making four starts, and compiled a 3-0 record with a 1.48 ERA....Pitched 24.1 innings and allowed just four runs while striking out 20 and limiting opposing hitters to a .230 average....Also started the first game of GLSCL playoffs and threw seven innings, allowing just two hits and no runs and struck out two to pick up the win.
2007
Did not allow a hit for his first six full innings of work as a collegiate pitcher, which were spread over his first five appearances....Made seven straight relief appearances to begin his career before starting his last five games, including three Big Ten starts and one in the Big Ten Tournament....Had a 3.03 ERA in 32.2 innings of work, allowing just 11 earned runs and fewer hits (29) than innings pitched....In Big Ten play, had a 1.65 ERA in five appearances, spanning 16.1 innings of work....Allowed just five runs and two earned runs in Big Ten play while limiting opposing hitters to a .185 average.
Game-by-Game Highlights
_vs. North Carolina (3/2): Made his collegiate debut with a perfect 1-2-3 inning at No. 1 North Carolina.
_vs. Oral Roberts (3/15): Pitched another scoreless inning and struck out one at Oral Roberts.
_vs. Minnesota (3/31): Saw his first action in conference play as he threw two-thirds of an inning and got two straight fly ball outs against the Golden Gophers.
_vs. Kent State (4/4): Tossed 2.1 scoreless innings without allowing a hit as the first reliever out of the bullpen in a win over Kent State.
_vs. Mount St. Mary[apos]s (4/18): Finally allowed his first hit but only allowed two runs and no walks while striking out four in a three-inning stint vs. Mount St. Mary[apos]s.
_vs. Northwestern (4/21): Picked up his first collegiate win by allowing just one hit in 1.2 innings of work as the first reliever out of the bullpen once again against the Wildcats.
_vs. Duquesne (4/24): Earned his first career start and pitched well, allowing four hits and just one run while striking out three.
_vs. Purdue (5/6): Awarded his first Big Ten start against the Boilermakers and allowed just one earned run in five innings of work and also struck out four.
_vs. Michigan (5/13): Struck out four for his second straight start and left the game with the lead after going four innings and allowing four hits and two earned runs at Michigan.
_vs. Ohio State (5/20): Equaled his career high with five innings of work against the Buckeyes, allowing four hits, and just one unearned run.
_Big Ten Tournament (5/25): Set a new career high with a 5.1-inning performance in which he allowed just two earned runs on six hits in a no decision to help Penn State top Illinois in an elimination game in the Big Ten Tournament.
Pine Richland HS
Was a three-year letterwinner at Pine Richland High School in Gibsonia, Pa. and was also a team captain his senior year....Compiled a career record of 27-1 with 273 career strikeouts....Was a three-time All-District selection and was named All-WPIAL his junior and senior seasons....Named the Pittsburgh Post Gazette Player of the Year and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Player of the Year his senior season....Went 14-0 with 146 strikeouts as a senior as the team went 23-4....Threw a complete game, one-hitter and struck out 13 in the state championship game to lead Pine Richland to the State AAA Championship....Team won sectionals and the WPIAL during each of his three years on the varsity as well....Went 6-1 with five complete games, a 2.90 ERA and 58 strikeouts as a sophomore and then went 7-0 with six complete games, a 2.16 ERA and 69 strikeouts as a junior, as he started and won the WPIAL championship game in both seasons....Threw a one-hitter in his first varsity start as a sophomore....Played in the Keystone State Games and was also selected to play for the Allegheny Pirates fall select team sponsored by the Pittsburgh Pirates....Also played basketball for one season and football for three seasons.
Background
John William Karr was born on October 16, 1987....He is the son of John and Gwenn Karr and has a younger sister, Kaitlyn (17)....His father attended and played tennis at Penn State....Intends to major in business and marketing with career aspirations of having a career in marketing after a professional baseball career....He plays the guitar and drums as a hobby.