May 1, 2014
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; May 1, 2014 - Penn State travels west for its furthest Big Ten road trip this weekend, as the Nittany Lions face the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a three-game series in Lincoln. The series will be the final regular season conference road trip for the Blue and White. The first game is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. ET, with the second game set for Saturday at 3:05 p.m. and the finale for 12:05 p.m.
On Deck: The Nittany Lions have no games during the upcoming week due to finals and then host the top team in the Big Ten in Indiana next weekend at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park for a three-game set. The series opener is scheduled for Friday at 6:30 p.m. with game two on Saturday at 2 p.m. The finale will be played on Sunday with first pitch coming at 1 p.m.
Follow the Games Live: This week's games will have a number of options in ways fans can follow the action. All three games can be viewed online through the Big Ten Digital Network (subscription required). The games can be listened to live on State College ESPN 1450 or can be heard on GoPSUsports.com. Fans can also follow along with the live stats found on GoPSUsports.com, which allows users to get up to the minute stats and plays from the game.
All-Time Series vs. Nebraska: Penn State and the Cornhuskers have met just one time on the diamond prior to this weekend's series. The two sides faced one another in the Big Ten Tournament in 2012 and Nebraska came away with a 12-3 victory to end the Nittany Lions' season.
Cornhuskers at a Glance: Nebraska enters the weekend in a tie for second place in the Big Ten standings with Illinois. The Huskers have an overall record of 29-17 on the season and are 10-5 in conference action. Nebraska is winners of four of its last five contests with wins over Northwestern, Michigan and Nebraska Omaha. The Cornhuskers have earned sweeps two times in league play, taking all three games against Ohio State and Minnesota.
Nebraska at the Dish: The Huskers feature the top offense in the Big Ten, scoring a league-high 278 runs on the season. Nebraska ranks in the top three teams in batting average (2nd; .299), slugging percentage (3rd; .385), on base percentage (2nd; .371), hits (1st; 476) and RBIs (1st; 252). The team features six players with batting averages over .300. Pat Kelly is the team's top run producer, driving in 37 runs on the season.
Nebraska on the Mound: The Cornuskers come into the series with a team ERA of 3.80, ranking sixth in the conference. However, the squad's earned run average drops to 2.71 for Big Ten games, which places the Huskers second for league games only. The team's ace has been Chance Sinclair, who is scheduled to start the Friday series opener. Sinclair leads Nebraska with six wins and has posted an ERA of 1.66. Zach Hirsch has been the Huskers best arm out of the pen, making 22 appearances while recording an ERA of 1.54, the best on the team.
Last Game vs. Nebraska: The Cornhuskers were victorious in the only meeting between Penn State and Nebraska, winning the game by a final of 12-3 at the 2012 Big Ten Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. The Nittany Lions jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first before Nebraska scored nine unanswered runs between the fourth and sixth innings for the win. A number of current Nittany Lions had success in the game, as Steve Snyder and Alex Farkes each had multi-hit performances. Tim Dunn pitched an inning of relief, giving up no hits or runs for the Blue and White.
Last Time Out: The Nittany Lions were swept by the Golden Gophers over the weekend. Penn State dropped a pitcher's duel in the opener by a final of 2-1. In Saturday's doubleheader to wrap up the three-game set, PSU lost game one by a final of 4-0 before dropping a 12-0 contest in the series finale.
Getting it Dunn: Senior pitcher Tim Dunn has gone from starting the season coming out of the bullpen to now serving as the Friday starter for the Nittany Lions. The senior has an overall ERA of just 1.40 and has stymied opposing bats, allowing a batting average against of .179 in 38.2 innings of work. For Big Ten games only Dunn ranks in the top 10 in ERA (7th; 1.82), batting average allowed (5th; .188), earned runs allowed (T-4th; 5) and hits allowed (T-4th; 16). In his most recent outing, Dunn tossed his first career complete game, going eight innings at Minnesota while allowing just five hits and two earned runs.