March 25, 2015
| PENN STATE vs. VILLANOVA | |
| Wednesday, Mar. 25 - 6:30 p.m. ET | |
| Medlar Field at Lubrano Park | University Park, Pa. | |
| GAME DAY LINKS |
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Game Notes: Penn State | VillanovaStatistics: Penn State | Villanova
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (4-14, 1-1 B1G)
vs. VILLANOVA WILDCATS (7-11, 0-0 BIG EAST)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Winners of three of their last four games, Penn State hosts intrastate rival Villanova in the Nittany Lions' lone mid-week baseball contest Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. no Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The game is the first of six remaining during the first homestand of the season.
COVERAGE
TV
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Radio
WQWK-AM/ESPN Radio 1450
Location: State College, Pa.
Dates: All
Talent: Tyler Ferguson, Andy Madore, Brian Tripp
Internet
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Audio: GoPSUsports.com
Twitter: @PennStateBASE
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On the Mound:
(VU) LHP Mike Sgaramella (3-1, 4.43) vs. (PSU) LHP Geoff Boylston (1-1, 2.19)
All-Time Series vs. Villanova: The in-state series began in 1902, and Penn State holds a slim 32-29 advantage all-time. The Wildcats won six consecutive meetings from 2003-2009, but after a three-year hiatus, Penn State has won the last two contests in 2013 and 2014.
Villanova at a Glance: Most recently, winter weather cost Villanova its weekend series against Binghamton. `Nova and PSU share Indiana as a common opponent, as the Wildcats lost 4-3 to the Hoosiers in Port Charlotte, Fla. on 3/6. Todd Czinega leads the team batting .329, while Max Beermann leads the team with 22 RBIs.
Last Time Out: The Nittany Lion faithful that braved the cold were rewarded with a thrilling doubleheader Sunday, as PSU went 12 innings with No. 21 Indiana in the first game, a 5-4 defeat, but rallied from a 7-0 deficit in the second game to win, 13-7. For the day, PSU got big performances offensively from Jim Haley, who went 6-for-11 with a double and three-RBI triple, Christian Helsel, who went 4-for-8 with four RBIs and two walks, and Aaron Novak, who went 3-for-8 with three RBIs and three walks. The bullpen yielded two runs in 12 innings.
On Deck: Penn State returns to non-conference play for one final weekend, hosting Central Connecticut for a three-game series. The series will open Friday at 5:30 p.m., and continue Saturday (1 p.m.) and Sunday (12 p.m.)
Super Novak: Aaron Novak continues to be Penn State's hottest hitter, ranking fifth in the conference in batting (.383) and home runs. At Charleston Southern (3/8), Novak became the fourth Nittany Lion to tally eight RBIs in a game (first since 1984), as he tallied two home runs and doubled as part of a 4-for-5 day at the plate. The totals were career highs, and his eight RBIs matched a team record. It was also his first game of the season in the cleanup role.
Call the `pen: Eight different relievers have combined to pitch 25 innings over the last five games, posting an ERA of 1.44 with 24 strikeouts to 14 hits and 12 walks over the stretch.
Nine up, Nine Down: Penn State rookie RHP Sal Biasi struck out nine consecutive batters over two appearances last week to earn Big Ten Baseball Co-Freshman of the Week honors. Biasi made his first appearance of the week in the Nittany Lions' home opener Wednesday against Canisius, striking out the side in one inning of work. He then entered the first game against No. 21 Indiana Sunday in the eighth inning with a runner on third base, two outs and a tie score. He struck out that batter and the next five he faced, ultimately pitching through the 11th inning and not yielding a run. For the week he posted a line of 4 1/3 innings pitched, one hit, no runs allowed, three walks and nine strikeouts.
Reliable Rookie: Biasi is off to a strong start in his young career, posting the best ERA on the team so far amongst relievers with at least 10 innings pitched at 2.51 in 14 1/3 innings. He also has 15 strikeouts, good for a three-way tie for second on the team behind starter RHP Nick Hedge, who has 16 strikeouts.
Blue and White Submarine: RHP Jack Anderson has apparently settled in. Throwing with a true "submarine" motion, Anderson allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits and four walks in his first four outings, totaling just 5.0 innings pitched. In his last six appearances however, Anderson is boasting a 0.77 ERA, yielding just two runs (one earned) on seven hits and five walks in 11 2/3 innings of work.
Streak Snappers: Penn State halted multiple streaks with its win over Indiana. The Hoosiers had won eight-straight over the Lions and their last 12 overall. PSU was 0-6 in games against nationally-ranked opponents this season and had dropped its last 12, earned its first win over a ranked foe since defeating No. 19 Purdue on April 1, 2012. It was also the Lions first ranked win at home since defeating No. 24 Pittsburgh on April 13, 2010.
Late Rally: Scoring a combined 11 runs in the seventh and eighth innings, the Lions comeback win over Indiana was their first when trailing after the seventh inning since the 2013 season.
Strange but True: Penn State's 12-inning, 13-unanswered run, eight Hoosier error, come-from-behind victory over Indiana was far from the typical baseball game: IU made two errors in the sixth, four errors in the seventh and two more errors in the 8th ... Penn State scored four runs on two hits and four errors in the seventh inning, and seven runs on five hits and two errors in the eighth ... both errors in the eighth were on balls put in play by Alex Malinsky, allowing him to reach twice on an error in the same inning ... Not as fortunate as Malinsky, Nick Riotto recorded two of the three outs with a ground out and fly out, as PSU sent 13 batters to the plate in the inning.
Rookies on the Mound: Penn State has used nine first-year pitchers so far this season, and they have combined to account for 46.8 percent of innings pitched (73 1/3 IP). The Lion rotation includes two true freshmen: LHP Taylor Lehman and RHP Nick Distasio. Both are 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. Freshmen Sal Biasi and Marko Boricich are two of Cooper's most reliable arms in the bullpen.
Turn It!: Led by the stellar middle infield duo of SS Jim Haley and 2B Taylor Skerpon, the Nittany Lions rank second in the nation and tops in the Big Ten with 1.33 double plays per game, turning a total of 24. They turned four in a 12-inning win at Pittsburgh (3/17).
Bonus Baseball: The Lions are giving fans their money's worth this season, with two 12-inning games in the past week. Last season, PSU played just one extra inning, a 4-3 win at Gardner-Webb in the finale of the opening series. Just seven of the 50 games played went over three hours, with the longest finishing in jsut 3 hours, 12 minutes. Through just 18 games in 2015, the Lions have played nine games that have gone beyond the three-hour mark, and three that have gone beyond the four-hour mark. Penn State's season opener at Elon, a 15-16 defeat, went 4:03, while 12-inning affairs at Pitt (4:05) and vs. No. 21 Indiana (4:04) went into Red Sox-Yankees territory.
Winter Weather Woes: Penn State has lost four games due to winter weather this season. The Lions were scheduled to participate in the USA Baseball/Irish Classic Feb. 27-Mar. 1 in Cary, N.C., but snow forced the cancelation of the entire series. Most recently, a late-season snow storm only allowed Penn State to face No. 21 Indiana on Sunday, forcing a double header and one cancelation.
Home Sweet Home: PSU enjoyed its best home start in 35 years last season, winning its first eight games at Medlar. So far in 2015, the Lions have two wins in three gams after winning just two out of 15 games in
The Road is Tough: Penn State opened its 2015 season with 15 consecutive games on the road. The Nittany Lions tallied just two wins, but were playing one of the tougher schedules in the country. Eight of the 13 losses were by three runs or less, including six out of the last seven. Texas A&M was barely a Top-25 team when the Lions played them in late February, but the Aggies have just one loss and are in the top three of all major rankings.
The Whiff: The Nittany Lions struck out 16 batters in their home opener against Canisius, their most since April 8, 2005 at Northwestern.
Seniors Boylston, Smith Shine Against Canisius: Geoff Boylston struck out a career-high eight batters and Ryky Smith drove in a career-best four runs in an 11-1 victory over Canisius in the home opener. The lone run Boylston allowed came on back-to-back, two-out doubles in the first inning. Working six innings for Penn State, Boylston yielded just five hits and no walks. Smith also matched his career high of three hits. The Canisius starter was only able to get one out, as the Nittany Lions drove in four first-inning runs, capped by a two-RBI single by Smith. Pitching with a lead, Boylston retired 14 of the next 17 Golden Griffins, surrendering only three singles.
Dominate the State: The Lions went to the 12th inning at Pitt (3/17) to snap a five-game losing streak. After eight consecutive scoreless innings in a 1-1 game, Penn State exploded for five runs in the 12th to defeat Pittsburgh, 6-1. Greg Guers drove in the deciding runs in the game, tying it in the third with an RBI-double, and then singling with runners on the corners in the 12th. The Nittany Lion pitchers did not yield an unearned run, as starter Jordan Donmoyer enjoyed a career-best outing, yielding just the unearned run on a hit and two walks in five innings of work. RHP Jack Anderson earned the win with 4 2/3 innings of relief, yielding just three hits and two walks with three strikeouts. It was the longest game PSU had played since a 12-inning win over Bucknell in 2013, and the longest game ever played in 127 meetings with Pittsburgh. The only previous extra-inning game in the intrastate rivalry was in 1921, a 5-2 Penn State victory.
Putouts: With just three strikeouts in nine innings at Pittsburgh, first baseman J.J. White was credited with 19 putouts. It is the most in a game for a Nittany Lions since at least 2004.
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