| PENN STATE at INDIANA | |
| Friday, May 12 - 6:05 p.m. | |
| Saturday, May 13 - 2:05 p.m. | |
| Sunday, May 14 - 12:05 p.m. (BTN) | |
Bart Kaufman Field | Bloomington, Ind.
| GAME DAY LINKS |
| Game 1: Live Stats | Live Audio | BTN Plus |
| Game 2: Live Stats | Live Audio | BTN Plus |
| Game 3: Live Stats | Live Audio | BTN Plus |
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| Gameday Central |
| Game Notes: Penn State | Indiana |
| Statistics: Penn State | Indiana |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State concludes its road slate at Indiana, beginning a three-game Big Ten baseball series Friday at 6:05 p.m. in Bart Kaufman Field. The series continues Saturday at 2:05 p.m. before concluding live on BTN Sunday starting at 12:05 p.m.
Essentials
Live Video: BTN2Go
Live Audio: GoPSUSports.com
Live Stats: iuhoosiers.com
TV: BTN (Sunday)
Radio: State College's ESPN 1450 AM
Indiana Series History: 40-37
Last Series: 2015, Home, 1-1
Streak: W1
Friday Probables
PSU RHP Sal Biasi (4-5, 3.58 ERA)
IU RHP John Stiever (3-2. 3.91 ERA)
Saturday Probables
PSU RHP Justin Hagenman (1-9, 5.88 ERA)
IU RHP Pauly Milto (4-3, 3.93 ERA)
Sunday Probables
PSU RHP Eric Mock (0-4, 6.38 ERA)
IU RHP Cal Krueger (2-1, 2.98 ERA)
Penn State Plays at PNC Park
Penn State played in PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, for the first time in program history Wednesday. West Virginia worked out of a bases loaded jam in the eighth to preserve a 4-2 victory over Penn State.
It was Penn State's first game in a Major League ballpark since May 5, 2012 when it played Minnesota at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins. The three-game series also included two games in the Twins' former home, the Metrodome.
Catcher Ryan Sloniger and third baseman Christian Helsel drove in the Nittany Lion runs, and Helsel joined centerfielder Mason Nadeau and catcher Willie Burger with two-hit games.
RHP Nick Distasio kept the Nittany Lions in the game, allowing just one hit and striking out four over 3 2/3 in relief.
Big Win
Mountain State native and Penn State freshman Logan Goodnight hit a three-run home run in the second inning and the Nittany Lions manufactured the game-winning run in the top of the ninth without getting a hit to defeat West Virginia, 6-5, Tuesday.
Penn State extended its winning streak over West Virginia, dating back to 2014, to four, and earned its biggest win of the season, as the Mountaineers entered the game ranking 13th in the NCAA in RPI.
The Nittany Lions did not trail again after Goodnight gave them a 3-1 lead in the second inning on his first career home run. West Virginia trailed by three after Penn State added two more runs in the fifth, but the Mountaineers battled back with two runs in the sixth and a solo home run by third baseman Cole Austin in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game at 5-5.
That set the stage for a dramatic ninth inning. With the bases loaded and one out, freshman Mason Nadeau hit a potential double-play ball, but used his speed to beat out the throw to first and allow Helsel to score the go-ahead run.
RHP Dakota Forsyth kept the Mountaineers at bay in the bottom half, striking out the first two batters and inducing a fly out to end the game after surrendering a two-out single. He pitched the final 2 1/3 innings and struck out, allowing just the home run on two hits and a walk.
Remaining Home Games to Be Streamed
Penn State's last four home games will be streamed live on GoPSUsports.com
All-Time vs. Indiana
Penn State leads Indiana 40-37 in the overall series. The teams are meeting for the first time since 2015, and Penn State is visiting Bloomington for the first time since 2013. The Nittany Lions and Hoosiers split the last series, which was shortened to two games due to weather. The first game went 12 innings, with No. 21 Indiana coming out on top, and the Hoosiers appeared to be well on their way to a sweep when they jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the second game, but the Lions answered with 13 unanswered runs for the win. Indiana has won 11 out of the last 13 meetings though, and has not lost to Penn State at home since 2009. The teams first met in 1992 when Penn State joined the Big Ten.
Scouting Indiana
Indiana is 27-18-2 overall and 10-7-1 in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers have taken two-of-three from Minnesota, Michigan and Maryland in their last three Big Ten series. The Hoosiers' 57 home runs rank 20th in the nation and lead the Big Ten. Craig Dedelow (12), Matt Lloyd (10) and Luke Miller (10) have all posted double-digit home runs and rank in the top six in the Big Ten.
Season Coming to a Close
Penn State enters the Indiana series two games into a five-game road trip.
It is the Nittany Lions' longest stretch of games away from home since opening the season with 17 straight.
The Lions will conclude their season with a four-game homestand starting Tuesday, May 16 against Villanova and continuing Thursday-Saturday against Big Ten foe Nebraska.
Injury Bug Bites Offense
Seven of Penn State's nine Opening Day starting position players have missed multiple games due to injury. The seven have missed a combined 108 man-games.
Infielder Conlin Hughes and catcher Ryan Sloniger were the latest to get bitten by the injury bug, but both have returned.
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.
Freshman centerfielder Mason Nadeau was mostly out of action for over a month, but has been a big part of Penn State's offense since his return off the bench against Pitt (4/18). Nadeau was the team's best hitter and best at getting on-base during the first five games of his return, going 7-for-17 (.412) with a .545 on-base percentage. He also had his first career home run, three RBIs, four walks and a stolen base. For the year, Nadeau is batting .343 with 13 RBIs in 27 starts and 28 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. After struggling to bat .200 upon his return, Riotto has raised his batting average 66 points over the last 13 games.
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.
Youth Movement
The average Nittany Lion starter this season is a sophomore, as the average class year (Freshman = 1 ... Senior = 4) across all 10 positions through 48 games is 2.13. On the mound the Lions are averaging 2.15 years of experience as compared to 2.12 at the plate.
For the 2016 season, the Lions averaged 2.25 years in the starting lineup with a youthful 1.96 on the mound and a deceptive 2.49 at the dish as the Lions started two to five freshmen per game.
Penn State only has three upperclassman position players on the roster.
A total of 11 Nittany Lions have made their debuts this season.
Heating Up in Rio
Outfielder Nick Riotto has been Penn State's leading hitter over the last 10 games, batting .382 (13-for-34) with three doubles, seven RBIs and six walks for a .463 on-base percentage.
He has five hits, three runs, two doubled and two RBIs in his last three games.
Power Bump
Penn State has already surpassed its 2016 season total for home runs with 23 for its most since the 2012 team hit 38.
19 of the 23 home runs hit this season have come on the road.
Its 10 home runs in the first 14 games of the season were its most since at least 2002.
New Power Sources
Ten different Nittany Lions, two more than last year, have combined for 23 home runs, already surpassing last season's total.
Six hit their first career home runs, including three sophomores - Conlin Hughes, Jordan Bowersox and Keith Leavitt - and three freshmen - Logan Goodnight, Braxton Giavedoni and Mason Nadeau.
Christian Helsel hit a grand slam against Pacific (3/5) after going homer-less in 2016. He hit one home run in 2015 but has three this season.
Willie Burger hit just one home run as a freshman, but hit two in the third game of the season at No. 1 TCU (2/19) and has added two since.
Nick Riotto has two home runs after hitting two last season. He is the only Nittany Lion who returned with multiple home runs hit the season prior.
Burger is the team power leader with a career-high four home runs and 24 RBIs.
Freshman Playing B1G
Rookie outfielder Braxton Giavedoni has adapted well to Big Ten play so far, leading the team with a .308 average through 18 conference games.
Giavedoni's .280 season batting average, .360 on-base percentage and .420 slugging percentage lead all healthy Nittany Lions.
His eight doubles and 13 extra base hits on the year lead the team.
All-Around the Infield
Christian Helsel has drawn starts at three infield positions this season.
He returned to third base against West Virginia (5/10) after starting the last 16 games at second base. Helsel previously drew 21 starts at third base and eight at first base.
Helsel currently owns a career-best .964 fielding percentage.
Biasi Leads Rotation
RHP Sal Biasi leads the Nittany Lions with a 3.58 ERA and a career-high 76 strikeouts.
His 76 strikeouts are the most by a Penn State pitcher since Johnny Walter (81) and Joe Kurrasch (78) in 2012.
Biasi's 72 strikeouts rank third in the Big Ten and 82nd in the nation, while his 11.34 strikeouts per nine innings rank third in the league and 33rd nationally.
Hagenman Striking Out the Opposition
Saturday starting RHP Justin Hagenman has seen a sophomore surge in strikeouts.
During his Freshman All-America campaign last season, Hagenman struck out 39 in 82 innings, but this season he has struck out 61 in 64 1/3 innings.