April 29, 2015
| PENN STATE vs. PITTSBURGH | |
| Wednesday, Apr. 29 - 6:30 p.m. ET | |
| Medlar Field at Lubrano Park | University Park, Pa. | |
| GAME DAY LINKS |
| Game 1: | Live Audio | BTN2Go |
| Baseball Blog | Baseball Videos |
| Follow Us: @PennStateBASE | Facebook | Instagram |
| Gameday Central |
| Game Notes: Penn State | Pitt |
| Statistics: Penn State | Pitt |
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (13-26, 2-12 B1G)
vs. PITTSBURGH PANTHERS (16-25, 6-15 ACC)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State concludes a home-and-home series with Pittsburgh Wednesday night starting at 6:30 p.m. in Medlar Field at Lubrano Park live on BTN Plus.
COVERAGE
TV
None
Radio
WQWK-AM/ESPN Radio 1450
Location: State College, Pa.
Dates: All
Talent: Brian Tripp
Internet
Video: BTN Plus
Audio: GoPSUsports.com
Twitter: @PennStateBASE
Facebook: PennState Baseball
Instagram: @PennStateBASE
On the Mound:
WED., APRIL 29 - 6:30 p.m. ET
(PITT) RHP Sam Mersing (3-2, 5.31 ERA) vs. (PSU) RHP Tom Mullin (3-0, 4.32)
Last `Stand: The Nittany Lions are concluding their final streatch of seven-straight home contests before finishing the season on the road with weekend series at Michigan State and at Purdue. Following the Pitt game, PSU will host Rutgers Fri.-Sun., May 1-3.
Dominate the State: Penn State is 4-0 against in-state foes this season. PA-native Greg Guers was the hero in the first two, as he drove in the go-ahead runs in the eighth against Villanova, and the deciding runs at Pitt, tying it in the third with an RBI-double, and then singling with runners on the corners in the 12th. The Lions swept Bucknell in a two-games series, with RHP Tom Mullin earning the win in both, once in relief and once with the start.
Ain't Going In (Until the Car is Parked): Fans attending weekend Penn State baseball games at Medlar Field Friday-Saturday 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.
All-Time Series vs. Pitt: Penn State holds a commanding 84-42-1 all-time advantage over Pitt, and has won seven out of the last 10 meetings. The Nittany Lions claimed the first meeting this season at Pittsburgh, 6-1, with five runs in the 12th inning after the previous eight had been scoreless. 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 earned run, as starter LHP 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. Both teams missed opportunities to score again before the 12th. The Lions left the bases loaded with one out in the sixth inning after hitting into a double play, stranded two in scoring position in the seventh and left the bases loaded in the ninth. The Panthers had two runners in scoring position in the bottom half of the seventh, but ran into a double play on a failed squeeze bunt attempt, and then had the bases loaded in the 11th. With one out in the 12th, Penn State finally broke the tie. Catcher Nick Graham struck out but reached on a wild pitch, advanced to second on a passed ball and advanced to third on an infield single by Skerpon. Guers followed with a single to right to drive in the go-ahead run, and then Aaron Novak, J.J. White (2) and Ryan Richter each added RBIs as the Lions batted around. White and Richter led the Lions with three hits each, accounting for nearly half of the team's 13 hits in the game. Six different Pitt batters had a hit each. The Panthers used five pitchers, and RHP Hobie Harris (1-1) suffered the loss with all of the 12th-innnig runs charged to him. 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.
Pitt at a Glance: In taking two-of-three from Fairfield over the weekend, Pitt has now won two its last three series and is 5-6 in its last 11 games. The Panthers have defeated No. 1 Virginia (3/7) and won two-of-three against No. 11 North Carolina (3/13-15), and sit 16-25 overall and 6-14 in the ACC.
Midweek Success: Penn State is 7-3 in midweek games this season, winning its last four.
Last Time Out: Penn State suffered a three-game sweep against No. 8 Illinois. Penn State's best chance to take a victory was Saturday, the Lions battled the Illini for 15 innings.
Bonus Baseball: The Lions are giving fans their money's worth this season, with two 12-inning games and a 15-inning game. Last season, PSU played just one extra inning in 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 just 3 hours, 12 minutes. Through 35 games in 2015, the Lions have played 16 games that have gone beyond the three-hour mark, and four that have gone beyond the four-hour mark.
Super Novak: Aaron Novak has been Penn State's top hitter for the season, ranking 14th in the conference in batting (.336). 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: Greg Guers now owns the team's longest hitting streak of the season at 12 games. He is batting .327 with a double, triple, two home runs, nine RBIs and five stolen bases. Aaron Novak had previously 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.
Kendall Heating Up: Tyler Kendall has made the most of his chance to start the past five games, tallying hits in each game and leading the team with a .400 (8-for-20) average over the last five contests.