March 14, 2018
By Mandy Bell, GoPSUSports.com student staff writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Ryan Sloniger and Braxton Giavedoni.
The Penn State catcher and outfielder have become accustomed to seeing their names side-by-side.
Sloniger and Giavedoni grew up together in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. When they were six years old, the two began playing baseball on the same team in the Coach Pitch league. Since then, they have gone through Little League, high school and even college without ever playing on different teams.
"Oh yeah [I remember playing with Giavedoni when we were six], Sloniger said. "Our dads were our coaches. We started in Coach Pitch together. Like t-ball, coach pitch, all that stuff and our dads were our coaches all the way up through."
As if playing together for their entire baseball careers did not make them close enough, the two have hit back-to-back in the batting order on every team they have played on. From youth baseball through high school, it was common for Giavedoni to hit right in front of Sloniger and for Sloniger to drive in his childhood friend.
"[My favorite memory playing with Giavedoni was when] we had back-to-back homers in a Little League game to walk it off in the sixth inning," Sloniger said. "I was 11 and Braxton was 10. That was in the regular season of Little League. My dad was the head coach and Braxton's dad was the assistant coach."
Sloniger committed to play baseball at Penn State when he was a junior in high school. When he left for his freshman year in Happy Valley, Giavedoni was still a senior at Punxsutawney. The outfielder was getting recruited by multiple schools, but Penn State ended up becoming an obvious choice.
"I mean [Sloniger didn't] really [have an impact on me deciding to come to Penn State]," Giavedoni said. "This is where I wanted to come to begin with. He was obviously there along the way telling me this was a great place and that he wanted me to come here."
After a year of experience under his belt, Sloniger was ready for Giavedoni to make his arrival to Happy Valley to take him under his wing.
"We've been friends since we were born probably," Giavedoni said. "We grew up two minutes away from each other. When I got here as a freshman, he really helped me out so I always love that guy."
Whatever it was that Sloniger did to help make Giavedoni's transition to the collegiate level easier, it worked.
The freshman outfielder ended up leading his team in hitting (.287), runs (30), hits (54), doubles (10), total bases (77, tied), slugging percentage (.410) and on-base percentage (.355).
Through the first 12 games of the 2018 season, the two Nittany Lions leading the team in batting average are none other than the childhood friends. Sloniger has 13 RBIs already this season including two home runs with a .302 average. After a .215 season at the plate for the catcher last season, Penn State head coach Rob Cooper is pleased with the start Sloniger is having this year.
"We always felt like Ryan could be a really good player for us," Cooper said. "He's always caught well and he's had moments where he's shown he could swing the bat. But, what I think you're seeing is a guy that's just really confident, really confident in his own skin and not afraid to make a mistake. I think at times he's tried to play too perfect in the past. So, to see him get off to the start he has, it doesn't surprise anyone that knows him that he has that ability."
Not only have both of the Punxsutawney natives found success at the plate early this season, but they have also continued the tradition that's been in place since they were little kids: hitting back-to-back. Of the team's 12 games played this season, the two have hit consecutively in the batting order in seven different games. However, this year, instead of Sloniger hitting behind Giavedoni like they did in high school, the roles have reversed.
"[Cooper] definitely knows we have that chemistry together because we have been together for so long," Sloniger said. "We always talk about how Braxton always hit in front of me in high school and I hit right behind him. The amount of times I've driven him in and stuff and then now he's been hitting behind me and he's like, 'Now I get to return the favor a little bit for you.'"
"I know it brings them some pride to see them next to each other in the lineup or in the dugout or in the locker room because of where they came from," Cooper said. "They're two really, really quality kids that are blue collar players and we're lucky to have them."