April 8, 2015
By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - On a night in which offense was hard to come by, the Penn State baseball team got a boost from an unlikely source on Tuesday.
Taking on Bucknell on a cloudy evening at Medlar Field, the Nittany Lions managed just four hits against the Bison. The biggest one however, came courtesy of the team's youngest starter, catcher Nick Graham.
With Pen State having just tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Graham came to the plate with two outs and runners on the corners. Unfazed by the pressure, the freshman lined a 3-1 fastball into centerfield to produce the winning run in an eventual 4-2 win for the Lions.
"It feels really good, makes me feel good about myself to be helping the team," Graham said. "I'm young, my at-bats are limited so I'm trying to do as much as I can with those at-bats to show what I've got. I just let it happen and didn't try to do too much."
Graham, who made his 10th start of the season on Tuesday, finished the night 1-3 with a walk and tied his career high with two RBIs. He picked up his second RBI in the bottom of the eighth, scoring James Coates on a groundout that gave the Lions an insurance run.
Still, offense was only part of the story for the Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, native on Tuesday. He was also stellar behind the plate, making a nice catch on a popup behind the plate in the second and gunning Greg Wasikowski out on a steal attempt in the bottom of the sixth.
"He's come a long way," starting pitcher Jordan Donmoyer said. "I just feel like he's a regular catcher back there, I don't even notice he's a freshman. He feels a lot more comfortable back there too, that makes it great for games, helping pitchers out."
Overall, it was a clutch night for a player that's been thrust into an important role in his first season of college ball. While sophomore Alex Malinsky is the starter behind the plate, Graham has given the Nittany Lions a solid platoon at a position where a strong backup is a requirement.
It hasn't been a completely easy transition for the freshman, who entered Tuesday hitting just .161 on the season. At the same time, a catcher's No. 1 responsibility is defense, and Graham showed against Bucknell that he's making strides in all aspects of his game.
"Nick Graham just put a real nice, easy swing on that ball," head coach Rob Cooper said. "It's big when you have a guy hitting down in the order that is a tough out.
"I told him in front of the guys, it's fun watching him develop. It's hard enough to be a freshman. But it's harder to be a freshman catcher. A guy's trying to learn how to catch pitches, call a game, trying to learn different arms, then he's trying to learn how to become a better hitter and it's a lot and he's doing a heck of a job."
For his part, Graham admitted that making the transition from high school baseball to college and immediately getting playing time hasn't been easy. He credited Cooper for helping him adjust by throwing him right into the fire.
"Early on it was kind of stressful," Graham said. "I've talked to coaches a lot and they've had my back and just let me go out and play. I've played a lot of baseball growing up so just going out and playing is the best thing I can do. It allows me to be confident out there."
Donmoyer Gives Bounce Back Effort
While Tuesday was a standout night for Graham, it was also a chance for his starting pitcher to redeem himself.
Last Wednesday against Kent State, redshirt junior Jordan Donmoyer struggled in the third start of his career, giving up four runs in just 1 2/3 innings as the Lions fell 9-7.
Handed the ball again, Donmoyer was much stronger this time around, giving up just two hits and one run in four innings to kick-start an excellent performance from the Penn State pitching staff.
"Coached talked to me before and he just said, `go attack hitters,'" Donmoyer said. "I basically made a point to just go after them and just let my defense do the work behind me, instead of just going it alone."
While Donmoyer only struck out one batter, he also only gave just up a single walk and let his defense make plays behind him. Though he was taken out after four innings, the 6-foot-4 hurler put his team in a position to win on a day in which the Lions didn't have their strongest offensive performance.
"I thought he competed, because he wasn't very good today but he made up for it with his body language and competing," Cooper said. "And he did. I told him in there, he grinded his way into helping us win that game. That was good."
It's been a year of adjustment for the fourth-year pitcher, who missed nearly all of his first three seasons with injuries but has been in the mix for a rotation spot so far in 2015.
Despite having to shake off some rust after last appearing for the Lions in two games in 2013, Donmoyer said he's been anxious to contribute, and is excited to finally have the chance to do so.
"I was hurt so I've always been preparing along the way through my rehab," Donmoyer said. "It's just been me translating to the games from doing bullpens and stuff."