- Kansas State and Centenary Game Notes(.PDF)
| Scott Gaffney and the Nittany Lion baseball squad opens play this weekend against Kansas State and Centenary. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; February 15, 2007 - The Penn State baseball team opens up its 133rd season of baseball this weekend with four games against two different opponents in Shreveport, La. The Nittany Lions will play Kansas State on Friday and Saturday at 5:00 p.m. (ET) on both days and the host Centenary Gents on Friday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
The baseball program, which is the oldest intercollegiate sport at Penn State, will play its first season in the new Medlar Field at Lubrano Park this year. Prior to opening at home, however, the Nittany Lions will play their first 14 games on the road, beginning with this weekend.
Centenary has already played seven games this year and has a 3-4 record entering this weekend. The Gents were swept by Texas A&M-Corpus Cristi to open the year, then took three from Jackson State before dropping a midweek game to Northwestern State this week. Kansas State, meanwhile, will also be opening its season this weekend.
Craig Clark will get the start on opening day as he is scheduled to take the mound against Kansas State in the opener on Friday at 5:00 p.m. (ET). He will be followed by Mark Wyner against Centenary. Seth Whitehill, the local product out of nearby Bellefonte, Pa., is slated to start on Saturday while Scott Gaffney, who is the normal starting shortstop, is scheduled to make his first career start on Sunday.
Penn State returns a total of 18 letterwinners from last year and welcomes nine total newcomers to this year's team. Cory Wine is the leading-returning hitter on the team. Both he and Brian Ernst are returnees that hit over .300. Ernst is just one of a host of players that had outstanding summers in their respective summer leagues last year, a list that also includes Matt Cavagnaro, Rick Marlin, Wyner and Clark.
All four games this weekend will be broadcast on the internet at www.GoPSUsports.com. Justin Weyman returns for his second season as the voice of Nittany Lion baseball.