March 5, 2015
| PENN STATE AT CHARLESTON SOUTHERN | |
| Friday, Mar. 6 - 4 p.m. ET | |
| Saturday, Mar. 7 - 4 p.m. ET | |
| Sunday, Mar. 8 - 2 p.m. ET | |
| CSU Ballpark | Charleston, S.C. | |
| GAME DAY LINKS |
TV: ESPN2 -->Game 1: Live StatsGame 2: Live StatsGame 3: Live StatsBaseball Blog | Baseball VideosFollow Us: @PennStateBASE | Facebook | InstagramGameday Central
Game Notes: Penn State | Charleston SouthernStatistics: Penn State | Charleston Southern
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State opens its spring break trip of eight games in 10 days with a three-game series against Charleston Southern in CSU Ballpark Friday-Sunday. First pitch Friday has been moved two hours earlier to 4 p.m.
Up to Bat: The Nittany Lions bring an 0-6 record and have not played in nearly two weeks since winter weather forced the cancelation of the USA Baseball-Irish Classic in Cary, N.C. last weekend. The Lions are playing eight games in 10 days in three different cities.
Time Change: The series opener has been moved two hours earlier to 4 p.m. due to expected cold temperatures.
Coverage: Live stats are available on CSUsports.com.
All-Time Series vs. Charleston Southern: This is the first meeting between the two teams.
On Deck: Penn State will continue its spring break trip in the Palmetto State in Columbia, playing a pair of midweek games at No. 8 South Carolina. The Lions will then conclude it at the Liberty Inviational in Lynchburg, Va., playing Western Carolina Friday before challenging the hosts Liberty Saturday and Sunday.
Buccaneers at a Glance: Charleston Southern enters the series with a 5-4 record. The Bucs opened the season with a series sweep of Chicago State and a victory over LaSalle, but have dropped four of their last five contests, including a 10-4 defeat at No. 8 South Carolina. They were picked seventh in the 2015 Big South preseason poll by the league's coaches following a 30-26 campaign last season. Andrew Widell has been the top slugger through nine games, batting .389 with three home runs and eight RBIs. Led by LHP Andrew Tomasovich's 29 strikeouts in three starts, CSU leads the nation in strikeouts per nine innings.
Last Time Out: The Lions dropped all three games in their opening series at No. 23 Texas A&M. After suffering defeats of 9-3 and 15-2, PSU hung with the Aggies Sunday, but lost, 5-2, despite career-best three-hit days for Nick Riotto and Aaron Novak.
Rookies on the Mound: Penn State has used eight first-year pitchers so far this season, and they have combined to account for 65.3 percent of innings pitched (31 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. Three of the top four relievers in terms of innings pitched used by Cooper are freshmen. Freshman Marko Boricich and sophomore Dakota Forsyth have both tossed 4 2/3 innings each, while freshmen Sal Biasi and Austin McMonagle have totaled 4 1/3 and 3 1/3 innings, respectively.
The .300 Club: Three Lion batters are batting over .300 through six games, leading the team to a .260 average. Jim Haley is sporting a team-best .320 average and seven RBIs, while Nick Riotto has provided pop at the bottom of the order batting at a .304 clip. Transfer Christian Helsel has had little issue reaching base with a team-best .462 on base percentage to go along with a .300 average. Greg Guers is second in on-base percentage on the team at .429 with a team-high six walks.
Super Novak: Aaron Novak has hits in his last four games, leading to a batting average of .583 in five appearances with three starts. He reached base eight times in three games against No. 23 Texas A&M (Feb. 20-22), going 6-for-10 at the plate with a two-run home run and three of Penn State's seven runs scored. Novak had a career-best three hits in the series finale Sunday.
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