May 15, 2013
Michigan State Series Notes / / Listen Live
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State baseball team will close out the 2013 season this weekend, hosting Michigan State for a final Big Ten series. The Nittany Lions (13-34, 3-18 Big Ten) will open the three-game set against the Spartans (31-16, 10-8 Big Ten) on Thursday, May 16 at 6:05 p.m. at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Friday's first pitch is slated for 2:05 p.m., while Sunday's 1:05 p.m. contest will serve as Senior Day.
Promotions: All Penn State students are welcomed to attend all three contests for FREE. Thursday will feature Winning Weeknights scratch-off tickets, while Friday's contest is FREE for all residents of The Village at Penn State. Saturday's Senior Day will feature vouchers for a FREE appetizer from The Texas Roadhouse, as well.
Links: All games will be available via and Listen Live at GoPSUsports.com, as well as updated at the @PennStateBASE Twitter account.
Lion Stats: Coming off of a 7-4 win over Villanova on Tuesday, the Lions return to action with sophomore J.C. Coban (Boca Raton, Fla.) leading the pack with a .293 batting average and a .372 slugging percentage. After going 3-for-4 against the Wildcats with a run and an RBI, Coban continues to co-lead Penn State along with senior Luis Montesinos (Miami, Fla.) in RBIs with 23. Montesinos, Coban and sophomore Aaron Novak (Ambler, Pa.) each holds seven doubles, as well, with the senior second baseman sitting with a .367 slugging percentage.
Leading the Lions in hits, Steve Snyder (West Chester, Pa.) collected his 50th hit of the season on Tuesday on his 15th career double, while freshman James Coates (Girard, Ohio) sits with a team-best 24 runs. Coates had a stellar day against the Wildcats, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a double, leaving him with 46 hits and 17 RBIs. The rookie and Snyder sit atop the PSU conference stats, with Snyder collecting 23 hits, nine runs and three RBIs in Big Ten play, and Coates recording 21 hits, seven runs and six RBIs. Montesinos has now tallied 20 hits, four doubles, seven RBIs and three runs in conference games, while Coban posted 16 hits, four doubles, seven RBIs and three runs. The foursome has combined for 191 hits, 80 runs and 75 RBIs overall this season.
PSU Rotation: Making the start on Friday, freshman Nick Hedge (Winnetka, Ill.) currently sits with a 3.86 ERA and a 2.81 conference ERA. The rookie most recently fired 7.1 scoreless innings in the Illinois series, including a 5.0-inning performance on May 12 with just one hit allowed and two strikeouts. Hedge has now allowed 30 hits and 16 earned runs with 19 strikeouts in 37.1 innings of work. Junior Greg Welsh (Holland, Pa.) will take the mound on Saturday, making his ninth start of the season and 10th overall appearance. Following 46.0 innings of work, Welsh holds a 4.89 ERA after allowing 57 hits and 25 earned runs while striking out 35. Expected to make the start on Sunday after fighting off an injury, senior Steven Hill (Colleyville, Texas) will compete in the final Penn State baseball game of his career. Hill holds a 3.72 ERA with an opposing batting average of 2.91, striking out a team-best 42 and firing a total of 67.2 innings this season. The veteran is now second in the Penn State record book in all-time innings pitched with 338.0, third in all-time career starts with 48, eighth in all-time appearances with 61 and ninth in all-time strikeouts with 203.
Scouting the Spartans: Riding a three-game winning streak, Michigan State topped Big Ten opponent Iowa 4-2 before cruising past Central Michigan 5-4 and 10-0 on Tuesday. The Spartans are led by Blaise Slater, resting with a .347 batting average and a team-best 58 hits. The sophomore, who has collected 13 doubles this season, also leads his squad in conference play with a .362 average and a .621 slugging percentage. Also posting 13 doubles and a team-high eight home runs, sophomore Jimmy Pickens leads the Spartans with 36 runs and 37 RBIs, while collecting 23 hits, 16 runs and 15 RBIs in Big Ten contests. The trio of Salter, Pickens and sophomore Ryan Krill has combined for 168 hits, 93 RBIs and 86 runs this season, while also adding 14 home runs and 37 doubles.
MSU Rotation: Facing off with Hedge on Friday, Andrew Waszak is fifth in the Big Ten with a 2.44 ERA and an eighth-best opposing batting average of .234 after 12 starts for the Spartans. The senior has allowed 73 hits and 23 earned runs with 53 strikeouts and 16 walks in 84.2 innings of action. Junior David Garner will make the start on Saturday, holding an overall ERA of 3.57 with a 4.05 conference ERA. Garner has struck out a team-high 66, third-best in the Big Ten, while giving up 82 hits and 32 earned runs in 80.2 innings. Rounding out Michigan State's weekend rotation, Mick VanVossen will take the mound with a current ERA of 3.19. After firing 67.2 innings in 10 starts, the sophomore has allowed 54 hits and 24 earned runs while walking 18 and striking out 27. The Spartan bullpen is led by freshman Anthony Misiewicz, who has fired 32.2 innings in 18 appearances and one start. The rookie boasts a 1.65 ERA and a 2.39 opposing batting average, allowing 27 hits and just six earned runs while striking out 20.
All-Time Series: Michigan State leads the all-time series against Penn State, holding a 39-32 overall record. The two squads had a sole meeting in 1920, but did not meet again until the Lions' Big Ten debut in 1992. PSU took the conference series, 2-1, last season, winning 6-5 and 3-2 at Michigan State. The Spartans have not traveled to Happy Valley since 2010, when the Lions swept the opposition 18-7, 22-5 and 9-1.
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.