Feb. 16, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State baseball and softball teams will be featured multiple times on the Big Ten Network, as announced on Tuesday. Six regular season baseball games and four softball tilts will air on either the Big Ten Network or their website while the entire Big Ten Baseball Tournament will air on the network as well.
Baseball not only opens its conference schedule on Apr. 2 at Illinois, but it also opens baseball's Big Ten Network coverage. All three games from the weekend series can be viewed live on BigTenNetwork.com.
The Lions' home series from May 7-9 against Iowa will be shown live on the Big Ten Network as well. With the television coverage, two of the three original game times have changed; Friday will now begin at 7 p.m. while Saturday's start time is now 4 p.m.
Sophomore Jordan Steranka and the Nittany Lions open their season Saturday against Coppin State. |
A number of exciting promotions and giveaways are scheduled for Medlar Field at Lubrano Park that weekend. Each day brings a different season ticket holder ticket exchange - Friday (Lady Lion Basketball), Saturday (Nittany Lion Basketball) and Sunday (State College Spikes). In addition, blue and white shakers will be given away on Friday while hot dogs are only $1.
The promotions continue on Saturday with Alumni Day and free retro t-shirts. A special "4 for $24" ticket package can be purchased as well, with four tickets, four hot dogs and four sodas for only $24. The series wraps up on Sunday at its original start time of 11 a.m. with trading cards as the featured giveaway.
Penn State could be seen additional times, should it qualify for the Big Ten Tournament. The entire tournament at Bill Davis Stadium (Columbus, Ohio) can be seen on the Big Ten Tournament.
Softball will appear on the Big Ten Network and their website for a total of four games. The Nittany Lions travel for a doubleheader at Michigan on Apr. 21, which will be broadcast on BigTenNetwork.com. Their two-game series at Northwestern on May 1-2 will be shown on the Big Ten Network.
Check back to GoPSUsports.com all season long for complete baseball and softball coverage.
Entire release c/o the Big Ten Network
CHICAGO - The Big Ten Network has nearly doubled its coverage plans for the Big Ten's baseball and softball seasons. The network will produce at least 102 baseball and softball games for the Big Ten Network or www.BigTenNetwork.com this spring.
The network will nationally televise up to 33 Big Ten baseball games, including the entire Big Ten Baseball Tournament, and stream an additional 20 games for www.BigTenNetwork.com. Twenty Two Big Ten softball games will be televised this spring, plus an additional 29 games for the internet. A selected number of streamed games will be televised on delay through the network's Student U initiative.
Every telecast will be produced in high definition.
"We're thrilled to expand our coverage of Big Ten baseball and softball this spring through our streaming initiative and to provide these student-athletes with a national and international stage for their talents," Big Ten Network president Mark Silverman said.
The network's live baseball coverage begins with the Penn State-Illinois series in Champaign. Game one of the series is slated for 7 PM ET on Friday, April 2, and will be streamed live at www.BigTenNetwork.com. The network's first telecast of the season will be at 7 PM ET on Friday, April 9, as Michigan hosts Purdue.
Forty-four games on the Big Ten Network baseball schedule will be conference matchups, including the entire Big Ten Baseball Tournament, played Wednesday, May 26, through Saturday, May 29. The 2010 tournament will be played at Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
Ohio State finished atop the 2009 Big Ten regular season baseball standings with an 18-6 conference record, but Indiana took home the tournament title. The Buckeyes and Hoosiers were joined in last year's NCAA Tournament by Minnesota.
The Big Ten Network's live softball coverage begins with the Illinois State-Iowa game in Iowa City. First pitch is scheduled for 5 PM ET on Wednesday, March 24, and the game will be streamed live. The network's first live softball telecast of the year is set for 1 PM ET on Saturday, April 3, as Michigan State takes on Minnesota in East Lansing.
The Big Ten features three teams listed in the USA Softball preseason top 25, including No. 3 Michigan, No. 16 Ohio State and No. 17 Northwestern. The Wolverines won the Big Ten in 2009 with a 17-3 conference mark and a season record of 47-12. Overall, six Big Ten teams earned NCAA Tournament bids in 2009, including Illinois, Iowa, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue and Women's College World Series participant, Michigan.
PENN STATE BASEBALL GAMES
| April 2 | Penn State at Illinois | Champaign, Ill. | 7 PM | BigTenNetwork.com |
| April 3 | Penn State at Illinois | Champaign, Ill. | 4 PM | BigTenNetwork.com |
| April 4 | Penn State at Illinois | Champaign, Ill. | 1 PM | BigTenNetwork.com |
| May 7 | Iowa Penn State | University Park, Pa. | 7 PM | Big Ten Network |
| May 8 | Iowa Penn State | University Park, Pa. | 4 PM | Big Ten Network |
| May 9 | Iowa Penn State | University Park, Pa. | 11 AM | Big Ten Network |
Please note: The entire Big Ten Tournament from May 26-29 in Columbus, Ohio will also air on the Big Ten Network.
PENN STATE SOFTBALL GAMES
| April 21 | Penn State at Michigan (DH) | Ann Arbor, Mich. | 4 PM | BigTenNetwork.com |
| May 1 | Penn State at Northwestern | Evanston, Ill. | 12 PM | Big Ten Network |
| May 2 | Penn State at Northwestern | Evanston, Ill. | 2 PM | Big Ten Network |
ALL TIMES EASTERN