April 26, 2018
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - With just four weekends remaining in the regular season Penn State baseball opens a six-game homestand Friday at 6:30 p.m. against Northwestern in Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Essentials
Live Video: BTN Plus
Live Audio: GoPSUsports.com
Live Stats: GoPSUsports.com
TV: N/A
Radio: State College's ESPN Radio 1450
Series History: Penn State, 42-37
Last Series: Northwestern, 2-1 (2017)
Streak: W1
Friday Probables
PSU RHP Justin Hagenman (2-5, 4.36 ERA)
NU LHP Quinn Lavelle (3-5, 4.34 ERA)
Saturday Probables
PSU LHP Dante Biasi (1-5, 7.05 ERA)
NU RHP Hank Christie (2-4, 4.89 ERA)
Sunday Probables
PSU LHP Taylor Lehman (2-6, 5.23 ERA)
NU LHP Jack Pagliarini (1-3, 3.77 ERA)
Promotions
Friday
- Dollar Dog
- Sitcom Night
- Student Giveaway - Penn State Baseball Tank Top
- Donate to Lion's Pantry
Saturday
- Bark in the Park Day
- Alumni Day
- Wing Saturday
- Bellefonte vs. State College High School Baseball
Sunday
- THON Sluggers
- vs Cancer
- Post-Game Kids Run the Bases
- Post-Game Players to shave their heads to stand with those who have cancer
- Youth 12 and under in their Little League Jersey will receive FREE admission!
Home Sweet Home
Penn State is staying close to home until the last weekend of the regular season, playing 10 of its next 11 at home and the next 12 straight in Pennsylvania.
Penn State will play three consecutive weekend series at home before closing out the regular season at Iowa.
Penn State is visiting three different regions of the state during a 13-game stretch of games within the Keystone State. The Nittany Lions took on Lafayette in Allentown (Apr. 25) to open the slate, and will play games at Pittsburgh (May 8) and at Villanova (Plymouth Meeting, Pa., May 15).
Bats Come Alive
Penn State has posted two of its highest hit totals of the season in the past five games, totaling 13 against Mount St. Mary's and a season-high 14 Saturday at Michigan. The figures were the highest since totaling 13 in a win over Rutgers on Mar. 25.
Junior Jordan Bowersox and freshman Parker Hendershot are both riding six-game hitting streaks. Hendershot is batting a scorching .500 (11-for-22) with two doubles, five RBIs and six walks for a .607 on-base percentage. Bowersox is 8-for-27 (.296) with a double, triple and three RBIs.
Three of Hendershot's last six games have been multi-hit games, including three-hit efforts against Ohio State and Michigan. He also tallied three RBIs in a game against Michigan. Both of Hendershot's hits against Mount St. Mary's came in the second inning and included a double, run and RBI.
Ryan Sloniger has four multi-hit games in his last nine outings. He leads the team batting .290.
All-Time vs. Northwestern
Penn State has won six out of the last nine meetings with Northwestern, which has stretched out a previously tight all-time series to 42-37. Penn State has done well with home field advantage at 25-15, but the Wildcats took two of three in last year's series on Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The teams first met in 1992.
Scouting Northwestern
Northwestern is 10-24 overall and 1-14 in the Big Ten this season, with its lone conference win came at Maryland, a 4-0 shutout. The Wildcats and Nittany Lions have played much different schedules though sharing only Michigan as a common opponent. Northwestern is one of the most aggressive base running teams in the country, ranking seventh with an average of 2.06 stolen bases per game. Jack Dunn, the team's batting leader at .307, ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 15 stolen bases and is followed by Alex Erro. On the mound, LHP Jack Pagliarini ranks second in the Big Ten with 10.32 strikeouts per nine innings.
Midweek Success
Predominantly due to weather, Penn State has been limited to just four midweek games this season, going 2-2 with two games at home and two at neutral sites.
Penn State does not have any midweek games scheduled next week due to exams.
Penn State has won its last two midweek games, defeating Mount St. Mary's and Lafayette.
Happy Valley to Lehigh Valley
Penn State defeated Lafayette, 8-1, on Apr. 25, in the first collegiate game played in Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pa., home of the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
Penn State Lehigh Valley cheered on the Nittany Lions. Additionally, Former Penn State pitcher Nate Bump `98, the Nittany Lions' career wins and strikeouts record holder, a member of the Florida Marlins' 2003 World Series team and a former member of the IronPigs, was in attendance and threw out the first pitch.
Strikeouts
Penn State posted its second 15 strikeout performance of the season against Lafayette (4/25), with seven pitchers combining.
Marko Boricich struck out a game-high four, and Eric Mock and Bailey Dees struck out three each, Conor Larkin and Kyle Virbitsky struck out two and Jake Pilewicz struck out one.
In the season opener at Elon (2/16) Justin Hagenman (7), Boricich (1), Nick Distasio (4) and Mock (3) combined to strike out 15
It was the most combined strikeouts for the Penn State pitching staff since striking out 16 against Canisius on Mar. 18, 2015.
First Win
Redshirt sophomore RHP Eric Mock earned his first collegiate win as the pitcher of record in the Lafayette game. It came in his 26th career appearance.
Mock allowed just one hit while striking out three in two innings of work on a designated staff day on the mound.
Mock went 0-6 in 2017 and has three saves this season without any losses.
Hagenman Leads Rotation
Junior RHP Justin Hagenman is looking to bounce back from a rough outing at Michigan in which he gave up nine runs (all earned) in 1 1/3 innings.
Hagenman had only given up eight runs in his previous three outings (18.1 IP) and nine earned runs in his previous five outings (30.1 IP). He entered the weekend among the leaders in the Big Ten in ERA (2.92, t-8th), innings pitched (52.1, 10th) and strikeouts (49, t-7th).
Despite the setback, Hagenman leads the Nittany Lions with a 4.36 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings pitched.
Hagenman is particularly adept at striking out hitters looking, as he ranks second in the conference with 26 backwards K's.
Hagenman is 2-5 on the season in nine starts, leaving with the lead twice and in a tie game once in three no decisions. Two of his losses have come when Penn State scored one or fewer runs.
Hughes Resurgent
Infielder Conlin Hughes went a season-best 3-for-4 with an RBI-double and two runs scored in a win over Lafayette in Coca-Cola Park in Allentown.
Hughes had just three hits in his last 10 games and just one multi-hit game on the year, tallying two at UC Santa Barbara (3/5).
It was his first three-hit game since Mar. 25, 2017 against Columbia.
Double Trouble
Penn State has two multi-sport student athletes on its roster, senior wrestler Matt McCutcheon and freshman football player Mac Hippenhammer.
McCutcheon, a three-time NCAA Wrestling Championships qualifier, played baseball through his sophomore season at high school before devoting his full attention to wrestling.
McCutcheon has not played this season due to injury, but has recently served as the team's first base coach.
Hippenhammer, a wide receiver who redshirted as a true freshman in 2017, joined baseball at the start of the spring semester. Hippenhammer earned three letters playing shortstop at Snider High School, helping the team to a sectional championship in 2017 by batting .431 with 19 runs scored and 15 stolen bases for the year.
Hippenhammer has returned to the baseball team after devoting his full attention to football during spring practice, and appeared in his first game since Mar. 10 on Wednesday.
PSU is one of five NCAA Division I schools with two multi-sport athletes on its roster.
Tight Games
Approximately 41 percent of Penn State's games this season (14 of 34) have been decided by one run, with Penn State going 4-10 in those 14 games.
Penn State's 14 one-run games are its most since playing in 14 one-run games in 2012.
Penn State's 10 one-run losses are its most since dropping 12 games by a run in 2006.
Four of Penn State's eight wins have been by one run, and all (six) but one have been decided by two runs or less. RHPs Eric Mock and Mason Mellott have three saves each.
Seventeen of Penn State's 34 games played this season have been decided by two runs or less. Penn State is 6-11 in those games.
Ironmen
Penn State has two position players that have started and played in every game this season: Connor Klemann and Jordan Bowersox.
Braxton Giavedoni had a consecutive games played streak of 50 that ended when he did not appear in the Mount St. Mary's game.
Slugging Sloniger
Catcher Ryan Sloniger had a hit in 17 of the first 19 games this season and leads the team with a .290 batting average. He has started all but three games behind the plate this season, including the first 18-straight, and started the first 29 consecutive games of the season overall with 28 starts at catcher and one at designated hitter.
Sloniger's three home runs, nine doubles and 21 RBIs surpass his 2017 totals of one home run, four doubles and seven RBIs. He had two career home runs, 10 doubles and 24 RBIs in 78 games played over his first two seasons.
Sloniger opened the season on a nine-game hitting streak. It was the longest hitting streak to start a season since Jim Haley tallied at least one hit in the first 10 games of 2016 and it remains the longest hitting streak by a Nittany Lion this season.
Increasing Power
Redshirt sophomore infielder Connor Klemann and sophomore outfielder Braxton Giavedoni lead the team with four home runs each, and junior catcher Ryan Sloniger has three.
Sloniger had two home runs in his first two seasons and Klemann had not hit a home run prior to this season. Giavedoni's three home runs this season match his total for all of last season.
Penn State has 17 homers this season hit by eight different players.
Freshmen On the Mound
Freshman RHP Bailey Dees made his second career start against Mount St. Mary's and earned his first career win.
Dees is one of four freshmen to draw starts on the mound along with Dante Biasi (8), Conor Larkin (2) and Jeff Taylor (1).
Dees' start will marked the 12th game out of 30 started by a freshman for Penn State.
Record Watch
A trio of Nittany Lions are making their mark on the program's career records list.
Junior catcher Ryan Sloniger ranks ninth all-time at Penn State with 691 putouts. He is trailing Todd Stoner, who totaled 871, (1986-89) for eighth.
Junior pitcher Justin Hagenman is tied for sixth all-time at 38 career starts with Steven Hill (2010-12) . Next on the list are Craig Clark (2004-07) and Dan Goebler (1997-00), who are tied for fourth with 41 career starts.
Senior LHP Taylor Lehman is on track to become the only Nittany Lion pitcher to rank on both the Penn State career appearances and career starts top-10 lists.
With 62 career appearances, Lehman is one shy of tying Pete Yodis (1998-01) for 10th all-time at Penn State, while with 36 starts, he is one start short of tying both Mike Bellaman (1982-85) and Nick Hedge (2013-16) for 10th.
Yodis currently is Penn State's career starts record holder with 53 starts, but would be bumped from the Top 10 in appearances after three more Lehman appearances.
See Record Watch on Page 9
Check Your Calendar
Penn State has had to postpone seven midweek games from their original dates due to weather.
Most recently, Tuesday's game against Bucknell was canceled. It was the second game against Bucknell to fall due to weather.
A game against Binghamton, originally scheduled for Tuesday, March 27, was postponed due to inclement weather to Wednesday, April 11, but that game was postponed again due to a conflict for Binghamton.
A game against St. Bonaventure as been rescheduled for May 14.
Make-up dates to host Pitt, Bucknell, Binghamton and West Virginia are to be determined.