April 4, 2013
Wright State Notes / Tickets / / Listen Live
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Facing off for the first time in program history, the Penn State baseball team will welcome Wright State for a three-game weekend series beginning Friday, April 5. The Nittany Lions (5-19, 0-6 Big Ten) and the Raiders (10-15, 4-5 Horizon) will battle at 6:05 p.m. on Friday, with Saturday's contest beginning at 2:05 p.m. and Sunday's first pitch slated for 12:05 p.m. at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Promotions: Friday's contest will feature free appetizer coupons to the Texas Roadhouse for all fans while supplies last. All children in attendance on Sunday are welcomed to run the bases following the conclusion of the game.
Links: All contests will be available via and Listen Live at GoPSUsports.com, as well as updated at the @PennStateBASE Twitter account.
Lion Stats: Last time out, the Lions fell 10-0 to Kent State in Ohio, with sophomore J.C. Coban (Boca Raton, Fla.) recording the squad's lone hit. Coban has now collected 26 hits this season and is amidst a seven-game hit streak. The sophomore leads the team, along with senior Luis Montesinos (Miami, Fla.) with 12 RBIs. Redshirt junior Steve Snyder (West Chester, Pa.) and freshman James Coates (Girard, Ohio) have each tallied 13 runs, with Snyder holding a team-best 27 hits and four infield singles. Continuing to lead with a .310 batting average, sophomore Taylor Skerpon (Sayre, Pa.) has collected eight runs, 22 hits and 11 RBIs.
Penn State Rotation: Redshirt sophomore T.J. Jann (Westford, Mass.) is set to make his fourth start of the season on Friday, sitting with a 5.06 ERA after 21.1 innings of action. Taking the mound on Saturday, senior Steven Hill (Colleyville, Texas) has posted a team best 28 strikeouts and holds a 3.54 ERA after allowing 44 hits and 16 earned runs this season. Hill is just 38.2 innings away from topping the all-time Penn State record of innings pitched. Junior Greg Welsh (Holland, Pa.) will once again close out the weekend series, coming off of an 8.0-inning performance against Purdue for a new career record. Welsh, who holds a 3.52 ERA, struck out a career-best 11 batters on March 31, bringing his season total to 15. Redshirt seniors Cody Lewis (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and Dave Walkling (Nanaimo, B.C.) continue to lead Penn State out of the bullpen, holding ERAs of 3.55 and 2.93, respectively. Lewis has made a team-high 10 appearances this season with just nine hits and five earned runs, while Walkling has appeared in seven contests and holds a team-best opposing batting average of .216.
Scouting the Raiders: Coming off of a 17-6 win over Otterbein and a 6-2 loss to Cincinnati, Wright State currently holds a 10-15 overall record with a 4-5 mark in conference play. The Raiders are led by junior Mark Fowler, boasting a .355 batting average with a team-best 33 hits, 15 RBIs and 17 runs. Kieston Greene, Beau Phillips and Garrett Gray have each earned 13 RBIs this season, with Green having collected 23 hits and a team-best four home runs. Phillips has tallied 17 runs, while Gray has posted 26 hits, three triples and three home runs. The four Raiders have combined for 104 hits, 54 RBIs and 61 runs this season.
Wright State Rotation: Expected to make the start on Friday, senior Casey Henn has made seven appearances with seven starts, holding a 3.35 ERA with a 3-4 record. Henn has allowed 40 hits and 16 earned runs in 43.0 innings with a team-best 40 strikeouts. Junior Joey Hoelzel will face off against Hill on Saturday, sitting with a 5.02 ERA after 28.2 innings of action. In eight appearances and four starts, Hoelzel has allowed 16 earned runs and 28 hits. Taylor Braun will take the mound on Sunday, making his eighth start of the season. The junior has allowed 48 hits and 28 earned runs in 34.1 innings for a 7.34 ERA. Wright State's leaders out of the bullpen are Travis Hissong and Cody Kopilchack, who hold ERAs of 2.70 and 3.13, respectively. Hissong has made 10 appearances, striking out 28 in 16.2 innings with five earned runs allowed, while Kopilchack has fired 23.0 innings with 32 strikeouts and eight earned runs in 15 appearances.
Up Next: The Lions will host Kent State on Tuesday, April 9 and Bucknell on Wednesday, April 10 before heading back out on the road to face Big Ten foe Michigan next weekend. Penn State's contest against the Golden Flashes will be aired by the Big Ten Network with coverage beginning at 7:05 p.m. from Medlar Field.
Tickets: Season tickets for students are just $20, with Student General Admission tickets starting at $2 and Student Bleacher tickets at $1. Season tickets for Adult General Admission start at $63, while Adult General Admission tickets are sold for $4. For fans interested in the Diamond Club "In the Box" seats, single games start at $6 and season tickets will be sold for $99. Youth General Admission and Season tickets are the same cost as student tickets. Single game tickets can be purchased at the Spikes' Box Office or via the Tickets page on GoPSUSports.com.
Check back to GoPSUSports.com for continued updates during the 2013 season. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/PennStateBASE and find us on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstatebaseball.