Duo Stays Hot in Close Loss

April 28, 2018

By Jack Dougherty, GoPSUsports.com student staff writer

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State freshman Parker Hendershot and junior Conlin Hughes went through each of their own cold streaks at one point during the 2018 season, but both are seemingly finding a groove offensively as the Big Ten schedule winds down.

 

Still, Penn State head coach Rob Cooper stuck with the duo in the lineup despite their recent slumps and in return, they've rewarded him with blistering play at the dish.

 

Hendershot has been the hottest Nittany Lion in Penn State's lineup over the last two weeks. Since a nine-game slide, Hendershot burst immediately into an eight-game hitting streak that he extended Saturday afternoon against Northwestern.

 

Over the course of his hitting streak, Hendershot is hitting .533 (16-30) with 13 RBIs and four runs scored. He has three multi-hit games during the streak.

 

"He competes. He doesn't let one pitch faze him," Cooper said. "He's been tough to strike out lately and he uses the whole field."

 

Hendershot extended his hitting streak to eight games Saturday going 2-for-4 at the plate against Northwestern. He added two RBIs and worked a walk in the game as well.

 

In the third inning Hendershot cranked a double off the wall in left centerfield and then added an RBI single in the fifth inning to put Penn State up 4-0.

 

Hendershot has used his recent hot streak to vault his batting average to .353 on the season, a .142 increase from before his hit streak began. He now owns the highest batting average on the team.

 

Similarly to Hendershot, Hughes recently broke out of his nine-game skid with a season-high three hits against Lafayette this past week. He added an RBI and two runs scored in the game.

 

Hughes extended his own hitting streak to three games Saturday with another multi-hit game. He went 2-for-4 in the game with an RBI and a team-high three runs scored. Hughes had only one multi-hit game all season before this week, but has recorded two multi-hit games in the past three games.

 

Hughes could've had another hit and RBI in the seventh inning, Northwestern's first baseman made a diving snare to rob Hughes of an RBI single.

 

Hughes is 6-for-12 over his three-game hit streak, coming off a 2017 season in which he batted .255 and was second on the team with 50 hits.

 

Cooper said he sees Hughes getting back to that hitter he showed he could be last year.

 

"He's definitely been better and it's good to see because he's a guy who's done good things in his career here," Cooper said. "We could really use his veteran play and he's a good defender."

 

This season, Hughes hasn't seen his batting average hit the .200 mark yet, but his current .183 average is his highest of the season.

 

Penn State dropped a heartbreaker 8-7 Saturday, but Hendershot and Hughes continue to pressure opposing pitchers as the home stretch of the season approaches.