ORLANDO - Penn State concludes its Florida trip with a three-game series at UCF, starting Friday at 6 p.m. in John Euliano Park. The series continues Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Essentials
Live Video: UCFKnights.TV
Live Audio: N/A
Live Stats: GoPSUsports.com
TV: N/A
Radio: N/A
Series History: First Meeting
Last Game: N/A
Streak: N/A
Friday Probables
PSU LHP Dante Biasi (0-1, 3.60 ERA)
UCF RHP Chris Williams (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Saturday Probables
PSU RHP Bailey Dees (2-0, 3.86 ERA)
UCF LHP Grant Schuermann (0-2, 1.59 ERA)
Sunday Probables
PSU RHP Eric Mock (2-0, 1.31 ERA)
UCF RHP Trevor Holloway (1-0, 1.29 ERA)
Good Start
Penn State's 7-2 start is its best since starting the 1980 season 8-1. It started the season 6-0, which was also its best start since 1980.
Penn State's overall record currently ranks second in the Big Ten.
Penn State snapped a four-game losing streak against nationally-ranked teams against No. 21 Duke Saturday, earning its first top-25 win Saturday since defeating No. 22 Nebraska, 8-7, May 18, 2017.
Penn State earned its first win over a nationally-ranked opponent away from home since defeating No. 19 Purdue, 16-6, April 1, 2012.
Penn State is 4-0 in games decided by one run this season after going 5-13 in one-run games last season.
First Road Game on the Road
The UCF series marks Penn State's first true road game of the season.
Penn State was the home team for the first nine, hosting Monmouth and Fairfield at the USA Baseball National Training Center in Cary, North Carolina, and Duke (Mar. 1-3) at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
The Nittany Lions return to the Keystone State Mar. 12 at Pittsburgh.
Coaching Reunion
Penn State head coach Rob Cooper and UCF head coach Greg Lovelady are facing off as opposing head coaches for the first time since working together at Wright State.
The pair were on staff together for nine seasons (2005-13) with Cooper as the head coach and Lovelady as the assistant (2 years) and associate head (7 years) coach.
The pair guided Wright State to three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Lovelady was Cooper's successor following the 2013 season when Cooper took the Penn State job.
Pitching Prowess
Penn State ranks among the national and Big Ten leaders in pitching with a WHIP of 1.12 (19th NCAA, 2nd Big Ten), hits allowed per nine innings rate of 6.29 (15th NCAA, 2nd Big Ten).
Penn State's strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.57 ranks second in the Big Ten, and its 3.80 walks allowed per nine innings ranks third.
Penn State's 4.12 ERA ranks fifth in the Big Ten.
Sunday starter RHP Eric Mock leads the Big Ten with 3.05 hits allowed per nine innings, which also ranks 17th in the NCAA, and is second with a 0.53 WHIP, which ranks 10th in the NCAA.
Mock is second on the team and seventh in the Big Ten with a 1.31 earned run average. RHP Mason Mellott leads the team and ranks sixth in the Big Ten with a 1.17 ERA. Mellott also ranks second in the Big Ten and 16th in the nation with 13 strikeouts to just one walk.
The groups strikeout to walk ratio of 3.22 ranks 32nd in the NCAA and second in the Big Ten.
Penn State's bullpen has seen four different pitchers earn saves.
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.
All-Time vs. UCF
This is the first ever meeting between the Nittany Lions and the Knights.
Scouting UCF
UCF is 9-3 this season with wins over No. 3 Florida and No. 15 Auburn highlighting its start. Friday night starter RHP Chris Williams is the reigning The American Pitcher of the Week striking out eight in six shutout innings against Jacksonville in his season debut. The Knights are proficient defensively, ranking eighth nationally and tops in The American with 13 double plays turned, and leading the conference with a 3.38 ERA. Infielder Matthew Mika outfielder Ray Alejo rank first and second in The American with seven and four bases stolen, respectively, to help UCF lead The American and rank 28th nationally with 28 stolen bases. Alejo, Chandler Robertson and Tyler Osik lead the team offensively, all batting north of .300.
Kremer Has A Day
OF Kris Kremer was named as one of Collegiate Baseball's National Players of the Week and was a nominee for USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award Performance of the Week after hitting the first three home runs of his career, tying the team record, to lead the Nittany Lions past No. 21 Duke, 8-7, Saturday, Mar. 2.
Kremer also set career bests going 4-for-4 with six RBIs.
Kremer was one of 19 honorees by Collegiate Baseball and one of four nominees for the USA Baseball Award. In fan balloting, Kremer finished second for the USA Baseball honor.
Kremer is the third Nittany Lion to ever hit three home runs in a game, joining Adam Beers (1998) and John Schreiner (1990).
Kremer's six RBIs were the most by a Nittany Lion in a game since Aaron Novak drove in eight runs at Charleston Southern on March 8, 2015.
Kremer has a tendency for extra base hits—as a freshman, he had five doubles and one triple to go along with five singles, and now this season, five of his seven hits have been for extra bases with three homers, a double, a triple and two singles.
Kremer leads the team in home runs (3), RBIs (7), walks (8) and on-base percentage (.421).
Kremer enters the UCF series carrying an eight-game reached base streak.
Homer Hitting Homers
Junior transfer Gavin Homer has two home runs to join Kris Kremer as the only other Nittany Lion with multiple home runs this season.
Homer's first homer was a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning in the series opener against Fairfield (2/24).
Homer hit a first-inning lead-off home run in Penn State's series finale against No. 21 Duke. It was the first since Nick Riotto hit one against Maryland on April 30, 2016.
Starting With a Bang
Penn State has hit first-inning home runs in three out of its last four games.
The stretch started with a three-run home run slugged by Jordan Bowersox in the series finale against Fairfield.
Kris Kremer and Gavin Homer continued it with first-inning homers in back-to-back games against No. 21 Duke (3/2-3).
