April 21, 2015
| PENN STATE at KENT STATE | |
| Tuesday, Apr. 21 - 6:00 p.m. ET | |
| Olga A. Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium | Kent, Ohio | |
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Game Notes: Penn State | Kent StateStatistics: Penn State | Kent State
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (12-23, 2-9 B1G)
at KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES (21-15, 9-6 MAC)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Playing a non-conference game on the road for the final time this season, Penn State baseball will look to earn a season-series split at Kent State Tuesday at 6 p.m.
COVERAGE
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Location: State College, Pa.
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On the Mound:
TUE., APRIL 21 - 6:00 p.m. ET
RHP John Birkbeck (0-1, 11.88) vs. RHP Tom Mullin (3-0, 2.84)
All-Time Series vs. Kent State: Since first meeting in 2007, the Nittany Lions and Golden Flashes have met annually since 2009. It has been a closely contested series, as neither team has won more than two straight. In the first meeting this season, Greg Guers homered twice and drove in five of the Lions' seven runs, but Kent State scored four runs in the first two innings and took advantage of PSU miscues to win, 9-7. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Nittany Lions.
Kent State at a Glance: Signature wins include No. 21 Baylor, West Virginia, Coastal Carolina and No. 25 Illinois. Luke Birch leads the team batting .360, while Zarley Zalewski is batting .348 with 21 RBIs. Conner Simonetti is batting .337 with six home runs and 26 RBIs.
Last Time Out: Penn State scored three runs in the top of the first inning, but Minnesota answered with six in the bottom half en route to a 9-5 victory to complete a three-game series sweep.
On Deck: The Lions will open their final home stand of the season (7 games) against No. 11 Illinois Friday, April 24 at 6:30 p.m. First pitch Saturday is at 2 p.m., while Sunday's game has been moved three hours earlier to 10 a.m.
Super Novak: Aaron Novak has been Penn State's top hitter, ranking eighth in the conference in batting (.349). He has two four hit games. 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. He also went 4-for-4 in the series opener with CCSU (3/27).
Streaking: Novak has tallied the longest hitting streaks on the team. From Mar. 27-Apr. 12, he tallied hits in 11-straight games, going 17-for-46 (.370) with three doubles and five RBIs, a .420 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage. From Feb. 14 (Game 2) at Elon to Mar. 11 at No. 7 South Carolina, Novak assembled a nine-game hitting streak, batting .548 (17-for-31) with three homers, three doubles and 10 RBIs. His on-base percentage was .611 and his slugging percentage was .935.
In Guer: Greg Guers is currently on an eight-game hitting streak on which he is batting .303 with a double, two home runs, five RBIs and four stolen bases.
Powering Up: Penn State hit just four home runs in its first 22 games, but with five home runs from Greg Guers and another from Aaron Novak, PSU has totaled totaled six in April. The Lions only sent five out of the park last season. Guers homered twice in 2014 and was the only Nittany Lion to go deep in spacious Medlar Field, doing so once. His three homers at home are the only PSU homers in Medlar this season. The opposition has just one homer in Medlar, a grand slam from Indiana`s Craig Dedelow, but Penn State rallied from a 7-0 deficit in that game to win 13-7
Rookies on the Mound: Penn State has used nine first-year pitchers so far this season, and they have combined to account for just under half of the innings pitched this season. 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.
Back of the Bullpen: Sal Biasi and Jack Anderson have emerged as Penn State's most reliable late-inning arms. Biasi leads with a 2.36 ERA, Anderson follows with a 2.63 ERA. Anderson leads the team with 20 appearances and three wins. He tallied his first save of the season against Bucknell (4/7) and his second in 3 2/3 innings against West Virginia (4/14). Biasi is off to a strong start in his young career, and earned the save in three consecutive games (4/25-29). He is second on the team with 14 appearances and his 23 strikeouts rank third on the team.
Turn It!: Led by the stellar middle infield duo of SS Jim Haley and 2B Taylor Skerpon, the Nittany Lions are second in the nation with 1.23 double plays per game, turning a total of 43 They turned four in a 12-inning win at Pittsburgh (3/17).