UPDATED 3/22
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Due to low forecasted RealFeel temperatures, Penn State baseball's Friday series-opener against Minnesota has been postponed. The first Big Ten baseball series of the year for both teams will now begin Saturday at 1 p.m. and conclude with a Sunday doubleheader starting at noon.
Fans with tickets for the Friday game or any other postponed game this season can redeem them at the State College Spikes box office for any other 2019 Penn State baseball game. Tickets for the 2019 Penn State baseball season, presented by Family Clothesline, are available online at GoPSUsports.com or by calling the Medlar Field at Lubrano Park ticket office at 814-272-1711.
Updated Promotions
Saturday, March 23
- Free Hot Chocolate for the First 100 Fans
- 2019 Poster Giveaway
Sunday, March 24
- Kids Day
- Cub Club Day
- Pregame Kids Zone
- Post-Game Kids Run the Bases
Essentials
Live Video: BTN Plus
Live Audio: GoPSUsports.com
Live Stats: GoPSUsports.com
TV: N/A
Radio: ESPN 1450
Series History: Minnesota, 47-27
Last Series: Minnesota, 3-0; Apr. 6-8, 2018
Streak: L12
Saturday Probables
PSU LHP Dante Biasi (2-1, 2.57 ERA)
MIN RHP Max Meyer (1-1, 1.17 ERA)
Sunday (Game 1) Probables
PSU RHP Bailey Dees (2-1, 4.50 ERA)
MIN RHP Patrick Fredrickson (1-2, 4.43 ERA)
Sunday (Game 2) Probables
PSU RHP Eric Mock (2-0, 1.31 ERA)
MIN RHP Joshua Culliver (1-1, 5.24 ERA)
Good Start
Penn State's 13-3 start is its best since starting the 1980 season with the same record.
Penn State's overall record currently leads the Big Ten.
Penn State is 6-0 in games decided by one run this season after going 5-13 in one-run games last season.
Penn State went undefeated in February for the first time in program history.
Penn State's 10 wins before playing a home game since winning 12 of 18 games before the 2011 home opener.
In terms of winning percentage, Penn State's .769 start prior to playing a home game ranks as the best in the current scheduling era. In 1983, Penn State first started playing games in late February/early March, and enjoyed its best road/neutral start in 2000 (13-5; .722).
Pitching Prowess
Penn State ranks among the national and Big Ten leaders in pitching with a WHIP of 1.16 (2nd Big Ten, 19th NCAA) and hits allowed per nine innings rate of 6.66 (2nd Big Ten, 12th NCAA).
Penn State's strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.65 ranks second in the Big Ten, and its 3.82 walks allowed per nine innings ranks third.
Penn State's 3.51 ERA ranks second in the Big Ten and 49th in the NCAA; and is a big improvement over last season's 5.71 ERA through the first 16 games.
Penn State's bullpen has seen four different pitchers earn seven saves, led by Mason Mellott (3) and Kyle Virbitsky (2).
Mellott Earning A Lot of Decisions
Sophomore Mason Mellott has emerged as Penn State's relief ace. He is 4-0 and has three saves, factoring in on seven of Penn State's 13 wins.
Mellott leads the team with a 1.05 ERA that ranks second in the Big Ten and 34th in the NCAA.
Mellott is tied for third on the team in innings pitched with 25.0 and leads with eight appearances.
Mellott's three saves this season are one shy of his season total from 2018.
Mellott's four wins rank second in the Big Ten and 11th in the NCAA. They are the most by a Penn State reliever since Nick Distasio and Dakota Forsyth both won four games each in 2017.
In part by virtue of Penn State entering the weekend just two wins shy of last season's total, Mellott's four wins are the most by a Penn State pitcher since Sal Biasi won five games in 2017.
Mellott's seven career saves rank tied for ninth all-time at Penn State with Dave Walking (2011-13) and Scott Russo (1998-2000). Next on the list are Kevin Damiano (2000-03) and Josh Palm (2002-05) tied for seventh with eight.
Mock Returns to Rotation
RHP Eric Mock is slated to start on the mound Sunday after missing the past two weeks as a precaution.
Mock ranks second in the NCAA, with a 0.53 WHIP and third with a 3.05 hits allowed per nine innings.
Mock's ERA of 1.31 ranks sixth in the Big Ten and 34th in the NCAA.
All-Time vs. Minnesota
Minnesota holds the all-time advantage over the Nittany Lions, 47-27, in a series that dates back to 1998. Penn State has dropped its last 12 match-ups to the Gophers, last earning a win on May 5, 2013.
Scouting Minnesota
Minnesota is 5-13 against the fifth-toughest schedule in the Big Ten so far. RHP/OF Max Meyer leads Minnesota at the plate and on the mound. The Friday-night starter, he is the reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week and boasts a 1.17 ERA that ranks fourth in the Big Ten and a hits allowed per nine innings rate of 3.91 that trails only Eric Mock in the Big Ten and ranks 11th in the country. At the plate, Meyer leads the Golden Gophers with a .333 batting average. Meyer and fellow sophomore pitcher Patrick Fredrickson received Preseason All-America recognition from four organizations to begin 2019. Big Ten coaches selected Minnesota to repeat in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll. Last season, Minnesota won both the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships, and advanced to a Super Regional.
Freshman Bats Spark 4-0 Week
Ryan Ford and Justin Williams combined to go 9-for-21 with two doubles, a triple and home run in games against Pitt and UMass Lowell last week. The pair were making their first career starts.
Williams went 3-for-5 with a two-run double and four total RBIs at Pitt. He hit his first career home run with one on against UMass Lowell (3/16), helping Penn State to a one-run win.
Ford drove in two of Penn State's three runs, including the game-winner in the bottom of the 10th Sunday.
The Train is Chugging
LHP Dante Biasi ranks second in the Big Ten with 39 strikeouts and third with 12.54 strikeouts per nine innings.
Biasi's 13 strikeouts against UMass Lowell (3/15) were the most strikeouts by a Penn State pitcher since Alan Stidfole stuck out 13 against Northwestern on April 10, 2005.
Biasi has held opponents to one earned run or less in four out of five starts this season.
Biasi did not receive any run support while pitching in first three starts this season.
The Smallest Swinging the Biggest Bats
Gavin Homer is Penn State's shortest player at 5-9 and Kris Kremer is the lightest at 166 pounds, but both lead the team with three home runs each and rank Nos. 1 and 2 on the team in slugging and extra-base hits.
Kremer is slugging a team-best (.550) and is second on the team with seven extra-base hits (2 double, 2 triples, 3 home runs).
Homer is slugging .491 with a team-high eight extra base hits (team-high 5 doubles and 3 home runs). He is the only player on the team with more extra-base hits (8) than singles (6).
Bowersox Leading at the Dish
Jordan Bowersox leads Penn State in batting (.316), runs (13), hit by pitches (5) and on-base percentage (.409).
Bowersox, Kris Kremer and Parker Hendershot are in a three-way tie for the most hits on the team with 18 entering the weekend.
Reaching Base
Junior college transfer Jacob Padilla owns the team's longest reached base streak, reaching in all 11 games he's played this season.
Parker Hendershot owns the team's second-longest reached base streak at nine games.
See Multiples & Streaks on Page 6