Feb. 19, 2015
| PENN STATE AT No. 23 TEXAS A&M | |||
| Friday, Feb. 20 - 7:35 p.m. ET | |||
| Saturday, Feb. 21 - 3:05 p.m. ET | Sunday, Feb. 22 - 1:05 p.m. ET | ||
| Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park | College Station, Texas | |||
| GAME DAY LINKS |
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Game Notes: Penn State | Texas A&MStatistics: Penn State | Texas A&M
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State baseball returns to action this weekend looking to upset No. 23 Texas A&M.
Weekend Matchup
Penn State (0-3, 0-0 Big Ten) at Texas A&M (4-0, 0-0 SEC)
Friday, Feb. 20 - 6:35 p.m. (Central)
LHP Nick Hedge (0-0, 12.00) vs. LHP AJ Minter (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Saturday, Feb. 21 - 2:05 p.m. (Central)
RHP Nick Distasio (0-1, 4.91) vs. RHP Grayson Long (0-0, 12.27 ERA)
Sunday, Feb. 22. 2015 - 12:05 p.m. (Central)
LHP Taylor Lehman (0-1, 14.73) vs. LHP Mark Kent (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Up to Bat: Penn State faces a stiff early season test with a three-game series against No. 23 Texas A&M, traveling to College Station, Texas for the first time since 2010. As per usual for a northern-based school, the Lions are in the midst of an 18-game road trip to start the sesaon. The series opener is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. central/7:35 eastern on Friday with junior Nick Hedge drawing the first start again on the mound for the Blue and White. Freshmen Nick Distasio and Taylor Lehman, will start the Saturday and Sunday games, respectively.
Coverage: Live video is avaliable on SEC Network+, which is available through WatchESPN. Will Johnson (play-by-play) and Mark Johnson (color) will call the action. Live audio and live stats are available on 12thMan.com.
All-Time Series vs. Texas A&M: The Nittany Lions and Aggies have met eight times since 1994, with Penn State's lone win in the series coming in the second meeting, a 6-1 victory on March 14, 1994. All eight meeting have been in College Station, and A&M has won the last six, including most recently two games in 2010.
On Deck: Penn State will participate in the USA Baseball-Irish Classic in Cary, N.C. at the USA Baseball training complex. They will take on NC State Friday, Cincinnatti Saturday and Notre Dame Sunday.
Aggies at a Glance: Texas A&M enters the series at 4-0 after sweeping Holy Cross and defeating Stephen F. Austin in a mid-week game. Aggie pitchers have not allowed a run in 17 innings. Texas A&M has reached the NCAA tournament for eight-straight seasons. A&M returns All-SEC second team selection Nick Banks (OF).
Fresh Rotation: Penn State is starting two freshmen on the mound: Nick Distasio and Taylor Lehman are both true freshmen from head coach Rob Cooper's first recruiting class. Lehman was drafted in the 34th round of the MLB draft in June by the Florida Marlins, but did not sign. He stands at a towering 6-8. Distasio and Lehman are both Pennsylvania natives.
Fresh Relief: Six of the 11 pitchers Penn State used last weekend were making their collegiate debuts.
Last Time Out: The Lions dropped all three games in their opening series at Elon last weekend. The Lions nearly erased a 10-run deficit in the opener, but came up one-run short, 15-16. Two Elon pitchers held PSU to two hits in the second game, as the Phoenix won, 7-2. Elon then claimed the nightcap of the doubleheader to conclude the series, 11-6.
Richter to the Rescue: Ryan Richter was the only Lion batter to get a hit in all three games at Elon, extending his hitting streak dating back to last season to six. Richter accounted for both hits and both runs scored Penn State's 7-2 loss to Elon.
Strong Starts: Jim Haley and Taylor Skerpon both had career-best four-hit games in the season opener. Haley batted .400 for the weekend.
Tough Slate: Penn State is playing a challenging schedule this season, including games against five teams (Texas A&M, South Carolina, Liberty, Indiana, Bucknell) that reached the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Five teams also are projected to win their respective conference championships: Western Carolina (SoCon), Liberty (Big South), Canisius (MAAC), Kent State (MAC) and Bucknell (Patriot).
The Nittany Lions will have five home series and seven midweek games at Medlar Field. In all, Penn State plays 55 games, including 23 at home, 29 on the road and three on a neutral field. Twenty-four will be Big Ten contests. The home opener will be Wednesday, Mar. 18, against Canisius. The game will start a season-long 10-game homestand that also includes the Big Ten opener that weekend (Mar. 20-22) against Indiana. The Big Ten Tournament will be held at Target Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins, in Minneapolis, Minnesota from May 20-24.
Sweet Caroline: Three of Penn State's first four road trips will be in the Carolinas. The Lions opened at Elon and will compete in the Raleigh area next week. PSU's spring break trip the following week will take the team to South Carolina to face Charleston Southern and South Carolina. In total, Penn State is scheduled to play 11 games against six different teams in five different cities in North and South Carolina. Additionally, the spring break trek will conclude in Lynchburg, Va., where the Blue and White will play another North Carolina school, Western Carolina, as part of the Liberty Invitational.