UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Penn State plays its next six games in Florida. starting with a three-game series against No. 21 Duke beginning Friday at 4 p.m. at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The series continues Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at noon.
Attending The Game
Admission to all three games is free. Parking is $10 per game or $30 for the weekend.
Essentials
Live Video: N/A
Live Audio: N/A
Live Stats: GoPSUsports.com
TV: N/A
Radio: N/A
Series History: Penn State, 8-4
Last Game: Penn State, 2-1 (2016)
Streak: W4
Friday Probables
PSU LHP Dante Biasi (0-0, 0.87 ERA)
Duke LHP Grame Stinson (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Saturday Probables
PSU RHP Bailey Dees (2-0, 0.75 ERA)
Duke RHP Bryce Jarvis (1-0, 6.75 ERA)
Sunday Probables
PSU RHP Eric Mock (2-0, 1.84 ERA)
Duke RHP Cooper Stinson (0-0, 5.14 ERA)
Pitching Prowess
Penn State ranks among the national leaders in pitching, ranking third with a 0.80 WHIP, fifth at 4.34 hits per nine innings allowed and ninth with a 1.93 ERA.
The groups strikeout to walk ratio of 3.22 ranks 32nd in the NCAA and second in the Big Ten.
All three of Penn State's starting pitchers have ERAs below 2.00 and have pitched at least 10 innings: Bailey Dees (0.75), Dante Biasi (0.87) and Eric Mock (1.84). The trio ranks fourth, sixth and seventh, respectively, in the Big Ten.
Mock ranks fifth in the Big Ten and 70th in the NCAA with a team-best 15 strikeouts. He also ranks fifth in the Big Ten and 31st in the NCAA with a 0.55 WHIP.
Penn State's bullpen has seen four different pitchers earn saves.
RHP Mason Mellott leads the bullpen with 1-0 record, a save and 10.1 innings pitched. His WHIP of 0.47 ranks 20th in the NCAA and second in the Big Ten.
Penn State held Monmouth scoreless for 21.1 innings to open the season. The eight hits allowed to Monmouth were Penn State's fewest in a three-game span since at least 2004.
Penn State earned its first Opening Day shutout since 1977 and first back-to-back season-opening shutouts in program history.
Homer Adapting to New Home
Junior transfer Gavin Homer leads Penn State offensively with a .400 batting average (7th, Big Ten) and .526 on-base percentage (2nd, Big Ten).
Homer slugged a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning in the season opener against Fairfield.
Homer, did not have any issues reaching base in his first NCAA Division I weekend, posting a .636 on-base percentage. Homer went 4-for-8 batting with three walks and a double.
Good Start
Penn State's 6-0 start is its best since starting the 1980 season 8-0.
Penn State's six-game winning streak is its longest since winning six-straight games in 2016.
The Team
Penn State is carrying the NCAA maximum 35 student-athletes on its roster, which includes 23 returners and 12 newcomers.
Returning starting position players include: C Ryan Sloniger, C/IF Shea Sbranti, IF Conlin Hughes, IF Parker Hendershot, IF Connor Klemann, OF Jordan Bowersox and OF Curtis Robison.
LHP Dante Biasi returns to the weekend rotation after starting last season as a redshirt freshman, while RHP Bailey Dees and RHP Eric Mock both made four starts each last season.
Newcomers include five transfers and seven freshmen.
Penn State is a sophomore heavy team with 15 student-athletes in their second year of eligibility.
All-Time vs. Duke
Penn State holds a 8-4 lead in the all-time series against the Blue Devils. This series would be the first three game series between the two programs. In 2016, Duke hosted Penn State in a pitchers' duel, but the Nittany Lions came out on top 2-1. Penn State has won four straight against Duke. The all-time series dates back to 1913.
Scouting Duke
Duke is off to a 7-1 start and is ranked by Baseball America (#22), Collegiate Baseball (#22) and the NCBWA (#25). The Blue Devils are led by their pitching staff, which leads the nation with 14.2 strikeouts per nine innings. Duke is batting .266 as a team and ranks sixth in the ACC with 62 runs scored in eight games.
Road Swing Underway
Penn State is playing its first 13 games of the season on the road.
Penn State is the home team for the first 10 though, hosting Monmouth and Fairfield at neutral sites for the first seven (USA Baseball National Training Center - Cary, N.C.) and Duke (Mar. 1-3) at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
The Duke series opens a six-game spring break trip in Florida. Penn State rounds out the trip with its first true road games, playing three games at UCF in Orlando.
The Nittany Lions return to the Keystone State Mar. 12 at Pittsburgh.
