- Minnesota Series Game Notes(.PDF)
| Brian Ernst, who is hitting .458 in his last six games, and the Nittany Lions open Big Ten play this weekend by hosting Minnesota for a four-game series at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; March 29, 2007 - After a successful opening weekend at Medlar Fied at Lubrano Park last weekend that saw the Nittany Lions take two out of three from Central Connecticut, Penn State will host another first this weekend at its new stadium, as the Lions host Minnesota in the first Big Ten series at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
This will mark the second straight year that Penn State has opened its conference schedule against the Golden Gophers. Penn State and Minnesota split its conference-opening series last year at the Metrodome with Penn State winning the first two games of the series and Minnesota winning the final two.
The Gophers enter this weekend's series having won their last five games. They are currently receiving votes in USA Today/Sports Weekly Top 25 poll currently have the second-highest winning percentage in the Big Ten entering conference play.
Penn State has increased its offensive output over its last five games. After hitting just .220 over the first 12 games of the season, the Lions have hit .326 with a .423 slugging percentage and a .391 on-base percentage over the last five contests. Highlighting these offensive numbers are Brian Ernst (Boyertown, Pa.), who has hit .458 over his last six games, Scott Kelley (Arlington Heights, Ill.), who has hit .444 over the last seven games, and Rob Yodice (Staten Island, N.Y.), who hit .444 with an. 889 slugging percentage in the Central Connecticut series.
The Nittany Lion pitching staff and particularly the bullpen was also strong last weekend, as Penn State pitching gave up just three runs, one of which was unearned, over the three games while the bullpen had a 0.00 ERA in 10.2 innings of work. Craig Clark (Phoenixville, Pa.), who is slated to start the series opener on Friday, took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and ended his performance with just one hit allowed in eight innings last Friday.
Friday's series opener gets underway at 6:35 p.m. Saturday's doubleheader begins at 1:05 p.m. while Sunday's single game also starts at 1:05 p.m. After every Sunday game this year, weather-permitting, all children attending the game will be able to run the bases oat Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Additionally, beginning this weekend, all Penn State students that attend the games can enter a drawing to win a prize pack from the Penn State Bookstore. Winners will be drawn in each game during the seventh-inning stretch. Tickets for students are just $2.00 per game. General admission tickets for adults are just $4.00 and reserved seats are $6.00. Youth 18 and under are also $2.00.