Sept. 28, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" Penn State baseball fans will have an early opportunity to catch the Nittany Lions in action, as the team is hosting a fall exhibition game Friday, Sept. 30 at 6:30 p.m. on Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Admission to the game is free.
It marks the second consecutive season the two schools have met in the fall.
Penn State and Lock Haven have a long history. The second-ever game of record for Penn State was the 1882 opener against Lock Haven, which Lock Haven won by an unknown score. The teams played twice more before the 20th century, splitting the two games, and then did not meet again until 1982. The two teams met regularly in the 1980's and last met in a regular season contest in 1991.
The Nittany Lions return an experienced pitching staff but will be very young offensively. The entire weekend starting rotation, including freshman All-American Justin Hagenman, Sal Biasi and Taylor Lehman, who had a solid summer in the Cape Cod League, returns, but Penn State career and season saves leader Jack Anderson has graduated and is now in the Mariners organization. At the plate, Penn State returns just five starters, which include just one senior, Nick Riotto, and four sophomores. The Lions top three hitters from last season all departed, as Tyler Kendall and Greg Guers graduated and Jim Haley signed with the Tampa Bay Rays and enjoyed an all-star season with the organization's New York-Penn League affiliate.
Helping to fill the void will be additional letterwinners and nine newcomers
Penn State is coming off its best season since 2012 after going 28-27 overall and 12-12 in Big Ten play.
Penn State students can now purchase season tickets for the 129th season of Nittany Lion baseball (Click Here), which will open at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in March 2017. students who purchase before Oct. 1 will be invited to a team event in fall 2016. Details are to be announced.
The complete 2017 baseball schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Penn State baseball team saw attendance surge among students and overall last season. Student season ticket sales increased 54 percent year-over-year, while an average of 1,001 fans per game walked through the Medlar turnstiles for a 12.5 percent year-over-year increase.
The support of the revitalized "Cooper's Town" student section last season helped Penn State get off to its best start ever in its 10-year history at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The Nittany Lions stumbled in their home opener but won their next 10 to set a ballpark record.