March 6, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State baseball team returns to the Sunshine State to play three of its nine games during Spring Break this weekend. The Nittany Lions compete in three games at the Santaluces Sports Complex in Lantana, Fla. on Saturday and Sunday before a two-game midweek series at Florida Gulf Coast and a four-game set versus Rutgers next weekend. Penn State opens up against Akron on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Head coach Robbie Wine's squad plays an intrastate doubleheader Sunday when it takes on Lehigh and St. Joseph's beginning at 1 p.m.
Last Time Out
Penn State comes off an exhausting series in Austin, Texas last weekend in which the No. 2 Longhorns swept the Nittany Lions in four games. Texas featured one of the nation's top pitching staffs and held Penn State to four total runs. After T.J. Macy's complete-game five-hitter was overshadowed by Cole Green's 1-0 shutout, the Longhorns' Brandon Workman threw a no-hitter, in which he faced the minimum 27 batters, in a 9-0 victory for Texas.
Tracking the Nittany Lions
Penn State is scoreless in its last 18 innings, garnering a total of five hits in the past two contests. The two games dropped the Nittany Lions' batting average to .244 while opponents are hitting .280. Grant Youngblood leads the charge for the team with a .409 batting average. Youngblood, who was not in the lineup during Workman's no-hitter, batted .333 in Austin. He also holds the highest on-base percentage (.480) amongst starters. Cory Wine possesses the team lead in RBIs with four. Wine also has five runs, two stolen bases and three extra base hits.
As of Monday, T.J. Macy has held opposing batters to the lowest batting average (.137) amongst Big Ten pitchers. Macy hasn't received any run support in the 15 innings he has pitched and has two no-decisions. Macy struck out 15 batters - an average of one per inning pitched. David Lutz has been a presence in the bullpen with a 1.59 ERA in 5 2/3 innings pitched. Opposing hitters are batting a sparse .105 against the junior reliever.
Scouting the Zips
As of Thursday, Akron stands at a 1-9 record. The Zips' lone win came against Lehigh, Penn State's opponent for Sunday afternoon. A well-rested Penn State squad is facing a haggard Akron team, which will have played its fifth game in four days come Saturday night. The Zips recently played 27 innings on Wednesday when their tilt with North Carolina State lasted 18 innings. Akron nearly defeated reigning Big Ten champion Michigan on Sunday, but the Wolverines poured on five runs in the final inning.
Akron's hitting has been fairly consistent while it's pitching has struggled early on. The Zips are averaging .286 from the plate but they have a collective ERA of 7.55 in ten games. Akron hitters average well more than one strikeout per inning. The leading hitter for the Zips is Matt Roberts with seven RBIs and a .400 batting average. Starting for Akron is right-hander Andrew Brown, who has a 6.14 ERA in 7.1 innings pitched. Akron leads the series history, 1-0.
Scouting the Mountain Hawks
Prior to Friday's game versus Mount St. Mary's, Lehigh has gone 3-8 this season. Lehigh's pitching staff has been battered with a staff ERA of 9.37. Mountain Hawk opponents have hit .352 in 11 games. They have also outscored Lehigh, 118-56. The Patriot League school's leading hitter is Geoff Campbell, who is hitting .450. Andy Russell is the leading RBI-getter with 13. The Mountain Hawks and Nittany Lions opened the 2008 season at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Penn State took two of three games with Lehigh pulling one out in extra innings, 3-1.
Scouting the Hawks
St. Joseph's enters the Palm Beach Challenge winless after five games. The Hawks were swept in four games against San Jose State and lost one to Old Dominion. Like the Zips and Mountain Hawks, Hawks pitching has been shaky, owning a 6.64 ERA. St. Joseph's hitters have been, for the most part, silent so far with a .234 batting average. Opposing pitchers have a 2.40 ERA. David Valesente is the lone Hawk batting above .400. Valesent is hitting .438 with two RBIs. Dominic Favazza is 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA in five innings. Favazza walked four and struck out three. Penn State leads the season series versus the Hawks, 8-2.