Feb. 14, 2014
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Feb. 14, 2014 - The Penn State baseball team will take the field for the first time this season on Sunday afternoon in the first of a three-game series versus Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs, N.C. The meeting will be the first between Nittany Lions and Bulldogs. The two sides are scheduled to play a double-header on Sunday beginning at 1 p.m., followed by one game on Monday at 1 p.m.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Gardner-Webb is coming off a 29-27-1 season, as they enter the 2014 campaign. The Bulldogs have been selected to finish second in the South division of the Big South this year by the conference coaches.
GWU returns five every day position starters and its entire weekend rotation for last year. The Bulldogs' ace figures to be Matt Fraudin, a junior who finished third in the preseason Big South Conference Pitcher of the Year voting this season. The right-hander finished 2013 with a record of 8-5, while posting an ERA of 2.88 in 106.1 innings on the mound. The senior struck out 96 opposing hitters to lead the Big South. Fraudin was selected as a first team All-Big South Conference honoree in 2013.
At the plate, the Bulldogs graduated their top two hitters in Benji Jackson and Brad Collins from a season ago. The top returner from 2013 is senior outfielder JJ Nazzaro, who hit .286 with 43 runs and 22 RBIs. Nazzaro is also a threat on the bases, stealing 13 bases last season. Other returning starters include junior infielder Scott Johnson, senior infielder/outfielder Scott Coleman, junior infielder Henry Rundio and junior infielder Ryan Hodge.
ALL-TIME VS. BIG SOUTH: Despite the upcoming series with the Bulldogs being the first between Penn State and Gardner-Webb, the Nittany Lions have played a number of teams from the Big South. The Blue and White has compiled an overall mark of 8-13 against the conference, playing High Point (1-2), Liberty (0-3), UNC Asheville (0-1), VMI (3-2) and Winthrop (4-5).
OWNING THE OPENERS: Historically Penn State has thrived in the first game of the season. The Nittany Lions have an overall record of 77-48 (.616) in the season opener.
Last season the Blue and White defeated East Tennessee State by a score of 6-4 to start the season 1-0. The Nittany Lions have won three of their last four first games of the year, picking up wins over ETSU in 2013, Seton Hall in 2011 and Cincinnati in 2010.
NEW ERA OF PSU BASEBALL: Head Coach Rob Cooper was named head coach of the Nittany Lion baseball program on August 9, 2013, becoming the 14th coach in Penn State history. Cooper has nine years of experience as a skipper with Wright State prior to this season, where he compiled a record of 286-230, with three trips to the NCAA Tournament. Joining Cooper on staff is pitching coach Brian Anderson, hitting coach Ross Oeder and outfield coach Blake Beemer.
PSU PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Nittany Lions placed three players on the Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch List this week, as Alex Farkes, James Coates and Greg Guers each received the recognition.
Farkes is coming off a 2013 campaign in which he earned a career-high 32 starts and played in 37 games. The catcher hit .259 last year with 12 RBIs and 18 runs.
A season ago, Coates impressed at the dish, hitting .295 for the season, while leading the team in runs scored with 27. Coates finished the season on fire, recording a seven-game hitting streak that will carry into the start of the 2014 season.
Guers, who will be making his Penn State debut after sitting out last season due to NCAA rules after transferring from USC-Upstate, started 42 games and batted .309, while compiling 37 runs, 36 RBIs and four home runs as a freshman with the Spartans.
FRESH FACES: Penn State welcomes 11 newcomers to the 2014 roster, consisting of eight freshmen, two sophomores and a junior. The eight new freshmen include Jim Haley, Jake Prbanic, Jake Pilewicz, Dakota Forsyth, Steve Robinson, Nick Riotto, Schuyler Bates and Tom Mullin. The two new additions for sophomores are Tim Scholly and Alex Malinsky. Christian Marcin is the lone incoming junior.
COACH SPEAK: The Penn State baseball coaching staff is very active on Twitter. Follow Head Coach Rob Cooper @16RobCooper, Assistant Coach Brian Anderson @BA_PSUBaseball, Assistant Coach Ross Oeder @lifesarush3 and Assistant Coach Blake Beemer @BTBeem24.