May 9, 2018
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State baseball opens its final homestand Thursday, playing four games in five days on Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The Nittany Lions will first host defending Big East champions Xavier for the three games Thursday (6:30 p.m.), Friday (6:30 p.m.) and Saturday (1 p.m.), and then host St. Bonaventure Monday at 6:30 p.m.
Live Video: GoPSUsports.com
Live Audio: GoPSUsports.com
Live Stats: GoPSUsports.com
TV: N/A
Radio: State College's ESPN Radio 1450
Series History: Tied, 2-2
Last Series: Tied, 2-2 (2017)
Streak: W1
Thursday Probables
PSU RHP Bailey Dees (1-2, 5.79 ERA)
XU RHP Damien Richard (2-4, 3.83 ERA)
Friday Probables
PSU RHP Justin Hagenman (3-5, 3.67 ERA)
XU LHP Nick Zwack (1-5, 7.66 ERA)
Saturday Probables
PSU LHP Dante Biasi (2-5, 5.58 ERA)
XU RHP Allbry Major (2-4, 4.66 ERA)
Promotions
Thursday
- 2 for Thursday (BOGO)
Friday
- Dollar Dog Night
Saturday
- Senior Day (ceremony following game)
- Pre-game Photos with the Fiesta Bowl Trophy
- Wing Saturday
Non-conference Stretch
Penn State enters the Xavier series one game into a stretch of six consecutive non-conference games. The stretch opened with a 3-2 loss at Pittsburgh on Tuesday evening.
With an odd number of teams in the Big Ten all teams have their conference schedule broken up with one non-conference weekend series.
The St. Bonaventure game Monday is a make-up game from one postponed due to weather earlier in the season.
Penn State concludes the season in a return to Big Ten play at Iowa.
Staying in the Keystone State
Penn State is staying close to home until the last weekend of the regular season, as it is eight games into a stretch of 13-straight within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Penn State is visiting three different regions of the state. The Nittany Lions took on Lafayette in Allentown (Apr. 25) and played Pittsburgh (May 8). The will play visit the Philadelphia area at Villanova (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) on Tuesday, May 15.
Penn State is also four games into a stretch of 12 games in 15 days to finish the regular season.
Congrats Seniors
Penn State will honor five seniors following its Saturday game against Xavier: RHP Nick Distasio, LHP Taylor Lehman, LHP Colin Macon, C Matt McCutcheon an RHP Jake Pilewicz.
Distasio unfortunately saw his final season in Blue and White abbreviated after seven appearances due to injury, but his career included nine wins, four saves and nine in 57 appearances and nine starts. He totaled 127 2/3 innings pitched struck out 113 batters and graduated with degrees in communications arts & sciences and labor employment relations.
Lehman, the first recruit to commit to head coach Rob Cooper at Penn State, ranks on Penn State's all-time top-10 list for appearances and starts with 64 and 38, respectively, entering the weekend. He also enters with 153 strikeouts in 199 2/3 innings pitched and graduated with a degree in agricultural business management.
Macon, transfered to Penn State prior to his junior season, and has made a pair of appearances in both of his seasons on the team. A recent graduate with a degree in economics, Macon will become a second generation Penn State baseball alum, following his father, Mike.
McCutcheon has yet to take the field in a playing capacity due to an injury suffered during his wrestling season. However, the All-American wrestler has still found ways to contribute, coaching first base during games, catching bullpens and mentoring teammates with the Penn State wrestling team's National Championship culture. McCutcheon graduated with a degree in kinesiology.
Pilewicz, an Academic All-Big Ten selection throughout his career, has made 39 appearances over four seasons. He has stepped up into a leadership role as a senior and earned a win in a start as a junior. Pilewicz graduated with a degree in supply chain and information systems.
Heating Up Down the Stretch
Penn State is hitting and pitching well above its season averages over the last eight games.
The Lions were batting just .218 in their first 33 games, but are hitting at a .268 clip in their last eight games and batted .317 over the weekend against Michigan State.
Penn State's ERA after 33 games was nearly a season-high 6.23, but the Lions' ERA over the last seven is 2.92, and it was a minuscule 1.33 against Michigan State last weekend.
Four Nittany Lions are batting over .300 over the last eight, led by catcher Ryan Sloniger going 8-for-20 (.400) with two home runs, a double, eight runs scored and four RBIs in seven games. He also has five walks and was plunked once for a .538 on-base percentage. Sloniger's seven-game reached-base streak is tied for the longest active streak on the team with Conlin Hughes.
Hughes has reached in his last seven games, going 9-for-24 (.375) with three doubles and four RBIs. A .255 hitter as a sophomore, Hughes was batting just .136 until the streak started, raising his average 54 points.
Jordan Bowersox (.313, 6 R, 6 RBI) and Braxton Giavedoni (.313, 2b, 3B, 4 RBI) have also heated up at the plate.
RHP Justin Hagenman (15.0 IP) and LHP Dante Biasi (13.0 IP) have been dominant on the mound as starters in their last two starts. Hagenman has struck out 15 and allowed just two earned runs, while Biasi has struck out nine and allowed just two runs.
Over the last eight, LHP Marko Boricich has been lights out in the bullpen, not allowing an earned run in 7 2/3 innings pitched and striking out nine. RHP Kyle Virbitsky (5.0 IP ) and RHP Jake Pilewicz (4.0 IP) have combined to allow just an earned run each.
Hagenman Leads Rotation
Junior RHP Justin Hagenman leads the Nittany Lions with a 3.67 ERA (15th in Big Ten) and 65 strikeouts (t-6th in Big Ten) in 68 2/3 innings pitched (10th in Big Ten).
Hagenman is particularly adept at striking out hitters looking, as he ranks second in the conference with 32 backwards K's.
Hagenman is 3-5 on the season in 12 starts, leaving with the lead three times and in a tie game once in four no decisions. Two of his losses have come when Penn State scored one or fewer runs.
Most recently against Michigan State, Hagenman threw seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts to earn his first win since Mar. 17 against NJIT.
The week prior against Northwestern, Hagenman worked eight innings, allowing four runs (two earned) and striking out eight. Despite leaving with a two-run lead, Penn State was unable to secure the win.
If not for an uncharacteristic outing at Michigan (4/20) in which he gave up nine runs in 1 1/3 innings, Hagenman would have a 2.54 ERA for the season. The nine earned runs allowed represent 32 percent (9-of-28) of the runs he's allowed in 12 starts this season. Hagenman has pitched at least five innings and allowed four or fewer runs in each start with the exception of the Michigan game.
Freshmen On the Mound
Freshmen have pitched 155 2/3 of the 350 2/3 innings pitched (43.7 percent) for Penn State this season and started 16 of 40 games (40 percent) games this season.
Two of Penn State's scheduled starters in the Xavier series are freshman, led by RHP Bailey Dees making his third career start Thursday and Dante Biasi making his 12th Saturday.
Dees and Biasi are two of four freshmen to draw starts on the mound along with Conor Larkin (2) and Jeff Taylor (1).
Biasi has been a regular in the weekend rotation and ranks second on the team with 50.0 innings pitched.
Tight Games
An NCAA-leading (courtesy Chris Rash, Elon) 41 percent of Penn State's games this season (17 of 41) have been decided by one run, with Penn State going 4-13 in those 17 games.
Penn State's 17 one-run games are its most since playing in 19 one-run games in 2006.
Penn State's 13 one-run losses are its most in program history, surpassing the record of 12 set in 2006.
Four of Penn State's 11 wins have been by one run, and six have been decided by two runs or less. RHPs Eric Mock and Mason Mellott have three saves each.
Twenty-one of Penn State's 41 games played this season have been decided by two runs or less. Penn State is 7-14 in those games.
Slugging Sloniger
Catcher Ryan Sloniger leads the team with a .308 batting average, and he's batting at a .385 (20-for-52) clip over his last 15 games played, raising his batting average 41 points over the stretch.
Sloniger's five home runs, 10 doubles and 25 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.
He has started all but five 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 had a hit in 17 of the first 19 games this season. He 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.
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.
Bats Break Scoring, Big Ten Slumps
Penn State's 13 runs in a series opening win against Michigan State were its most overall since scoring 20 in a win at Lafayette on April 6, 2016, most at home since scoring 16 in a win over Niagara on March 19, 2016 and most in a Big Ten game since scoring 15 in a win over Indiana on March 22, 2015.
Penn State's 15 hits were its most since May 16, 2017 against Villanova.
Penn State has scored five or more runs in nine of its last 12 games for an average of 6.3 runs per game. Penn State is averaging 4.45 runs per game for the year.
The Michigan State win snapped a 15-game Big Ten losing streak for Penn State, and its second win over Michigan State secured its first series win since sweeping Northwestern in April 2016.
Increasing Power
Junior catcher Ryan Sloniger leads the team with five home runs, including two in his last three games.
Following Sloniger are redshirt sophomore infielder Connor Klemann and sophomore outfielder Braxton Giavedoni with four each.
Sloniger had two home runs in his first two seasons and Klemann had not hit a home run prior to this season. Giavedoni's four home runs this season best his total for all of last season.
Penn State has 19 homers this season hit by eight different players.
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 728 putouts. He is trailing Todd Stoner, who totaled 871, (1986-89) for eighth.
Junior pitcher Justin Hagenman ranks sixth all-time at 40 career starts. 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 the only Nittany Lion pitcher to rank on both the Penn State career appearances and career starts top-10 lists. With 64, Lehman has moved into a three-way tie for eighth with Josh Palm (2002-05) and Mike Watson (1999-02) Penn State, while with 38 starts, he has tied Steven Hill (2010-12) for seventh.
Junior transfer Shea Sbranti ranks third in the Big Ten with 0.26 hit by pitches per game, as has been hit by pitches eight times this season. The figure ranks him in a seven-way tie for 10th all-time at Penn State this season.