April 25, 2017
| PENN STATE vs. LAFAYETTE | |
| Wednesday, Apr. 26 - 6:30 p.m. | |
Medlar Field at Lubrano Park | University Park, Pa.
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| Game Notes: Penn State | Lafayette |
| Statistics: Penn State | Lafayette |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Happy Valley will take on the Lehigh Valley as Penn State concludes a five-game baseball homestand Wednesday hosting regional foe Lafayette on Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed on BTN Plus.
Purchase Penn State baseball tickets by visiting GoPSUsports.com or calling the Medlar Field at Lubrano Park ticket office at 814-272-1711. For more information on Penn State baseball tickets please call 814-272-1711 or email Stephen Christ schrist@statecollegespikes.com.
Promotions
- Champions Night
- Be there as we honor all our Nittany Lion teams and individuals for their great achievements and honors throughout the season. Individual athletes, coaches, and trophies will be on hand so come out and spend some time with our student-athletes!
- Wing Wednesday! Fans can enjoy wings at the ball park at the following great prices:
- 3 wings for $3
- 6 wings for $5.50
- 12 wings for $10
- Faculty/Staff Night
- Penn State Faculty/Staff members can purchase up to 4 tickets at a discounted rate of just $2. During the game, we'll involve staff members in some of our on-field contests where they can win great prizes!
Essentials
Live Video: N/A
Live Audio: GoPSUSports.com
Live Stats: GoPSUSports.com
TV: N/A
Radio: State College's ESPN 1450 AM
Lafayette Series History: 24-23-2
Last Game: 2016, Away, Penn State, 20-12
Streak: W1
Wednesday Probables
PSU TBA
NU TBA
Walk-Off X2
After earning a 2-1 win in the bottom of the ninth against Northwestern (4/23), Penn State now has two walk-off wins on the season.
Freshman right fielder Braxton Giavedoni drove in the winning run over Northwestern with a base-hit to left field with the bases loaded.
The Nittany Lions previously walked-off Bucknell on Mar. 21, as an error allowed the winning run to score in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Malinsky Leads Diamond Lions at Nittanys
Senior catcher Alex Malinsky collected multiple honors at "The Nittanys."
Malinsky was a recipient of the "True Grit" award for bouncing back after suffering a serious injury during this past winter's training season.
He was also recognized for his academic achievement of owning the team's highest GPA.
High-Scoring Affair
The last time Penn State and Lafayette met, both teams combined for 32 runs and 30 hits on a windy day in Easton, Pennsylvania.
Nick Riotto and Ryan Sloniger both had four RBIs.
Alex Nickels, who hit a grand slam and three-run home run for Lafayette off the bench for seven RBIs, graduated.
Midweek Break Upcoming
Following the Lafayette game, Penn State will play six-straight Big Ten games, as there is no non-conference midweek game scheduled for next week due to exams.
Penn State will return to midweek action May 9 & 10, playing at West Virginia on Tuesday and then against West Virginia again Wednesday in PNC Park.
Cat Fight
The Nittany Lions have hosted the Panthers (Pitt), Wildcats (Northwestern) and now the Leopards (Lafayette) during the current homestand.
Penn State is 5-7 so far this season against its fellow big cat schools. The Nittany Lions have played the Pacific Tigers (2-1), Columbia Lions (2-2), Pitt Panthers (0-2) and Northwestern Wildcats (1-2).
Penn State also has a home game against the Villanova Wildcats upcoming (May 16).
All-Time vs. Lafayette
After 25 years, Penn State and Lafayette finally met again last season with the Nittany Lions earning a 20-12 victory. That marked the first time Penn State won at Lafayette since 1976. Penn State leads the overall series, which goes back to 1899, 24-23-2 with two ties.
Scouting Lafayette
The Leopards are battling through a challenging season with a 3-41 record and a heartbreaking 15 one-run losses. Three of their losses have been in extra innings and The Leopards won their season opener over Notre Dame Steven Cohen leads the team with a .331 batting average, while Lukle Robinson has provided the power with five home runs and 24 RBIs.
Freshman Playing B1G, Especially on Sunday
Rookie outfielder Braxton Giavedoni has adapted well to Big Ten play so far, ranking second on the team with a .302 average through the first 12 conference games.
He has seen success in his last two Sunday Big Ten tilts, most recently hitting a walk-off base hit in the bottom of the ninth inning against Northwestern (4/23).
He homered twice in the Sunday finale at Maryland (4/16).
Giavedoni's .274 season batting average , .343 on-base percentage and .444 slugging percentage lead all healthy Nittany Lions.
His 13 extra base hits on the year lead the team.
Injury Bug Bites Offense
Five of Penn State's nine Opening Day starting position players have missed multiple games due to injury. The quintet has missed a combined 71 man-games.
Leading hitter and outfielder Jordan Bowersox has been out of the lineup since Apr. 15. Bowersox leads the team with a .333 batting average, .418 on-base percentage, .480 slugging percentage and nine stolen bases, and is tied for second on the team with three home runs and seven doubles, and is also second with 18 RBIs.
Freshman centerfielder Mason Nadeau was mostly out of action for over a month, but was a big part of Penn State's offense in the past week. Returning Apr. 18 against Pitt late off the bench, Nadeau posted a team-best .529 on-base percentage over the last four games, going 5-for-13 (.385) with an RBI, two runs and three walks. For the year, Nadeau is batting .356 with eight RBIs in 18 starts and 19 games.
Freshman shortstop Joe Weisenseel missed the Michigan series and has not played since the opening game of the Ohio State series (4/8). Weisenseel managed just four hits in his first 17 games, but was just starting to heat up with eight hits in his last six games, batting .500 (8-for-16).
Senior outfielder Nick Riotto played in just two games in the opening month of the season after running full speed into a wall in the season opener at TCU. He led Penn State with a .405 on base percentage in 2016 and batted .307.
Sophomore infielder Connor Klemann has been out since the end of February and will miss the remainder of the season. He batted .260 in 28 games in a freshman season that was also limited by injury.
Additionally, senior catcher Alex Malinsky missed the first month of the season recovering from an injury suffered in preseason training.
Biasi Leads Rotation
Biasi leads the Nittany Lions with a 3.96 ERA and a career-high 69 strikeouts.
His 69 strikeouts are the most by a Penn State pitcher since Johnny Walter (81) and Joe Kurrasch (78) in 2012.
Biasi's 69 strikeouts rank third in the Big Ten and 55th in the nation, while his 11.87 strikeouts per inning rank second in the league and rank 26th nationally.
Last season, Biasi led the Nittany Lions with 66 strikeouts.
Biasi is also among the leaders in WHIP (walks & hits per innings pitched), ranking third in the Big Ten at 1.09 (31 hits, 26 walks in 52.1 IP).
Helsel Heats Up
Senior infielder Christian Helsel has been one of Penn State's top offensive threats over the past month, batting .303 with a team-best 12 RBIs.
He is also leading the way over the past 10 days batting .343 with four RBIs.
Helsel has five multi-hit games in the past month, including three three-hit games with most recent coming against Northwestern (4/23).
His three home runs and 17 RBIs on the year are both career highs.
All-Around the Infield
Christian Helsel has drawn starts at three infield positions this season.
He has started the last nine games at second base after starting 31 at third base and eight at first base.
Helsel currently owns a career-best .958 fielding percentage.
Slugging Sloniger
Sophomore catcher Ryan Sloniger has broken out of an early-March slump to lead Penn State in batting over the last 21 games, batting .338 with six extra base hits.
Sloniger's home run against Maryland (4/14) almost stood as the game-winning run, but the Terps responded in the bottom of the ninth with two homers of their own to walk-off the Nittany Lions, 2-1.
Hagenman Striking Out the Opposition
Saturday starting RHP Justin Hagenman has seen a sophomore surge in strikeouts this season.
During his Freshman All-America campaign last season, Hagenman struck out 39 in 82 innings, but this season he has struck out 57 in 59 1/3 innings so far.
Power Bump
Penn State has already surpassed its 2016 season total for home runs with 20 for its most since the 2012 team hit 38.
However, 18 of the home runs hit this season have come on the road. Conlin Hughes hit the first Nittany Lion home run at home against Ohio State (4/9). Penn State's 10 home runs in the first 14 games of the season were its most since at least 2002.