| PENN STATE vs. ILLINOIS | |
| Friday, Apr. 24 - 6:30 p.m. ET | |
| Saturday, Apr. 25 - 2:00 p.m. ET | |
| Sunday, Apr. 26 - 10:00 a.m. ET | |
| Medlar Field at Lubrano Park | University Park, Pa. | |
| GAME DAY LINKS |
| TV: BTN (Apr. 26) |
| Game 1: | Live Audio | BTN2Go |
| Game 2: | Live Audio | BTN2Go |
| Game 3: | Live Audio | BTN2Go |
| Baseball Blog | Baseball Videos |
| Follow Us: @PennStateBASE | Facebook | Instagram |
| Gameday Central |
| Game Notes: Penn State | Illinois |
| Statistics: Penn State | Illinois |
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (13-23, 2-9 B1G)
vs. No. 8 ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI (33-6-1, 10-1 B1G)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State opens its final homestand of the season with its toughest challenge, hosting Big Ten-leading No. 8 Illinois is a three-game baseball series opening Friday at 6:30 p.m. on BTN Plus. The series will continue Saturday at 2:00 p.m. on BTN Plus and conclude Sunday, starting at 10:00 a.m., on BTN.
COVERAGE
TV
Big Ten Network
Location: National
Date: Apr. 26
Talent: Andy Masur, Danan Hughes
Radio
WQWK-AM/ESPN Radio 1450 (Apr. 24-25)/WRSC - The Fanatic 1390 AM (Apr. 26)
Location: State College, Pa.
Dates: All
Talent: Brian Tripp, Tyler Feldman
Internet
Video: BTN Plus (Apr. 24-25)
Audio: GoPSUsports.com
Twitter: @PennStateBASE
Facebook: PennState Baseball
Instagram: @PennStateBASE
On the Mound:
FRI., APRIL 24 - 6:30 p.m. ET
(Ill.) LHP Kevin Duchene (6-1, 0.82) vs. (PSU) LHP Nick Hedge (1-5, 5.16)
SAT., APRIL 25 - 2:00 p.m. ET
(Ill.) RHP Drasen Johnson (6-2, 3.32) vs. (PSU) LHP Taylor Lehman (1-4, 7.41)
SUN., APRIL 26 - 10:00 a.m. ET
(Ill.) RHP John Kravetz (3-0, 2.91) vs. (PSU) RHP Nick Distasio (1-5, 5.29)
Last `Stand: The Nittany Lions will play seven-straight home contests before finishing the season on the road with weekend series at Michigan State and at Purdue. Following this weekend's Illinois series, PSU will conclude its home-and-home series against Pittsburgh Wednesday, and then host Rutgers Fri.-Sun., May 1-3.
Ain't Going In (Until the Car is Parked): Fans attending weekend Penn State baseball games at Medlar Field Friday-Saturday, April 24-25 and Friday-Saturday, May 1-2 are advised that traffic conditions and parking availability will be adjusted due to the series of Garth Brooks concerts at the Bryce Jordan Center. Fans are encouraged to plan for heavier than normal traffic. For all four games, fans attending the Penn State baseball game are encouraged to park in the Porter North lot or the Jordan East lot (Lot 44). Game specific information is available on GoPSUsports.com.
Rebooked: First pitch for Sunday's Big Ten baseball game against No. 8 Illinois has been moved three hours earlier to 10 a.m. The schedule alteration was made to accommodate a change in the departure time of Illinois' return flight home. Despite the time change, the game will air live on the Big Ten Network as originally planned.
Promotions: Friday - Mobile phone charger giveaway, All You Can Eat Buffet for Students for just $5 (student season ticket holders can upgrade to buffet ticket for $2). STUDENTS WILL NEED ID TO ELIGIBLE! Saturday - Military Appreciation Day: T-shirt giveaway, Four free tickets (additional at group rate) with valid military ID, pregame march on. Sunday - THON game, team shaving heads postgame. All giveaways are while supplies last.
All-Time Series vs. Illinois: In a series that dates back to 1992, the Illini hold a one game advantage, 30-29. Illinois has claimed the last six games with series sweeps in each of the past two seasons. The Lions swept the Illini in 2012 and took the final two games of the 2011 series.
Illinois at a Glance: At 33-6-1 overall, Illinois is off to the best start in program history, and at 10-1 in the Big Ten, sits atop the conference. The Illini own the nation's longest active winning streak at 14. A weekend sweep would give them their longest winning streak in program history. LHP Kevin Duchene leads the starting rotation with a 6-1 record, 0.82 ERA and 62 strikeouts. The offense has been paced by first baseman David Kerian, who leads seven starters batting above .300 at .346. He also has nine home runs and 27 RBIs.
Last Time Out: Penn State scored nine runs in the first inning and Taylor Skerpon went 4-for-5 as the Nittany Lions defeated Kent State, 15-5, Tuesday. PSU scored six runs before recording an out, sending 13 batters to the plate in the first. The Nittany Lions scored the 15 runs on 15 hits, seven walks and three errors.
Winning Big: Despite entering the Illinois series 10 games under .500, the Lions have yielded just three more runs than they have scored. PSU's average margin of victory so far this season is 6.5 runs, as it has outscored opponnents 121-36 in its 13 wins. Five of the wins have been by double-digit margins, with its largest being its very first of the season by 12 runs over Charleston Southern (3/8). In 23 losses, the Lions have been outscored 174-86.
Rare Start: Penn State's nine-run first inning was not typical of the team's performance this season. The Lions had only scored 17 runs in the first inning in the first 35 games of the season, and have scored just nine in the second inning all year. The opposition has outscored the Blue and White 116-71 through the first four innings (66-35 in the first two innings), but the Lions hold the upperhand in the fifth inning and beyond, 136-94.
Super Novak: Aaron Novak has been Penn State's top hitter for the season, ranking sixth in the conference in batting (.353). He is also the Lions' top hitter over the last five games, batting 7-for-20 (.350). Novak 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 nine-game hitting streak on which he is batting .297 with a double, two home runs, six RBIs and four stolen bases.
Warm Coates: James Coates got off to a slow start while battling injuries, going 2-for-27 from the season opener through 10 games to April 1 (.074). However, since the Ohio State series (4/4) Coates has hits in 11 of the 13 games, and is batting .306, second only to Novak's .308 clip, and has a team-best .359 on-base percentage, making him a natural for the leadoff position.