UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Due to forecasted rainy weather, Penn State has altered its weekend schedule for its upcoming three-game Big Ten baseball series against Nebraska at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Friday's series opener will now start at 1 p.m. and Sunday's game has been moved to a Saturday doubleheader starting at 3 p.m.
Fans with tickets for the Sunday 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.
The weekend promotional schedule has also been altered. Friday will still be Dollar Dog Night, but the postgame fireworks and student giveaway have been postponed to a to be determined date. Saturday's dinner special of one jumbo dog or burger, chips and a 16-ounce drink for $7 will be in effect for the second game of the day. Sunday's THON game has been postponed to a later date.
Fans attending Saturday's games are reminded to arrive on campus earlier than normal in order to assist traffic flow and parking with the Blue-White Game, also starting at 3 p.m. Fans are encouraged to access the Jordan East parking lot by heading Northbound on Porter Road and turning into lots south of Beaver Stadium prior to 4:30 p.m. because many roads, including Porter Road, will be turned into a one-way exit for football traffic at 5 p.m. Gates at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park will open at 2 p.m.
The 2019 Penn State baseball season is presented by the Family Clothesline. Tickets are on sale online by clicking here or by calling the Medlar Field at Lubrano Park ticket office at 814-272-1711.
Follow Penn State baseball on Twitter and Instagram at @PennStateBASE and Facebook at /pennstatebaseball for all of the latest news and updates and behind the scenes action.
Essentials
Live Video: BTN Plus/LionVision
Live Audio: GoPSUsports.com
Live Stats: GoPSUsports.com
TV: N/A
Radio: State College's ESPN Radio 1450/1390 WRSC
Series History: Nebraska, 8-2
Last Series: Nebraska, 2-1, 2017
Streak: L2
Friday Probables
NEB RHP Matt Waldron (4-0, 1.64 ERA)
PSU LHP Dante Biasi (3-3, 1.75 ERA)
Saturday Game 1 Probables
NEB LHP Nate Fisher (4-1, 2.35 ERA)
PSU RHP Eric Mock (2-1, 2.83 ERA)
Saturday Game 2 Probables
NEB RHP Reece Eddins (2-2, 5.14 ERA)
PSU RHP Bailey Dees (2-1, 4.38 ERA)
Biasi Named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week
Dante Biasi was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week Monday after a leading the Nittany Lions to shutout win over Indiana this past Friday.
Biasi struck out nine and allowed just two hits and a walk in 6.1 innings against the Hoosiers, the nation's top home run hitting team, earning his second combined shutout of the season. It was his seventh effort in eight starts on the year in which he allowed one or less earned run, and his fourth in which he struck out nine or more batters.
The shutout win was Penn State's first in a Big Ten game since defeating Maryland, 2-0, on April 30, 2016, and first shutout win over Indiana since April 30, 2006.
Biasi leads the Big Ten and ranks 17th in the nation with 66 strikeouts for the season, and also leads the conference and ranks 25th in the nation with a minuscule 5.24 hits allowed per nine innings. He boasts a 1.75 ERA for the season that ranks sixth in the conference, and he's been even better in conference play with a 0.49 ERA and 27 strikeouts in three starts and 18.1 innings pitched.
Biasi is Penn State's first Big Ten Pitcher of the Week since Steven Hill earned the honor on April 23, 2012 following a no-hitter against Iowa.
B1G Pitching Match Up
Friday afternoon will feature two of the top pitchers in the Big Ten.
Dante Biasi ranks sixth in the conference in ERA at 1.75, and will be facing Nebraska's Matt Waldron, who is tied for the Big Ten lead with a 1.64 ERA.
Strikeouts are Biasi's specialty, as he leads the Big Ten and ranks 17th in the nation with 66.
Waldron has 48 strikeouts on the season, but leads the Big Ten and ranks third in the country with a 16.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He's yielded just three walks in 44.0 innings pitched.
Sit Down
Penn State is averaging 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings to lead the Big Ten and rank sixth in the nation.
Penn State has struck out nine or more batters in 23 out of 29 games this season.
Dante Biasi leads the Big Ten with 66 strikeouts and 12.82 strikeouts per nine innings, which ranks 17th and 22nd, respectively, in the categories nationally.
Biasi and Conor Larkin combined for 17 strikeouts against Minnesota (3/23), marking the most strikeouts in a game for Penn State since at least 2004.
Pitching Prowess
Penn State ranks among the Big Ten leaders in pitching with a WHIP of 1.33 (5th) and hits allowed per nine innings rate of 7.84 (4th Big Ten, 37th NCAA).
Penn State's strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.53 ranks second in the Big Ten, and its 4.14 walks allowed per nine innings ranks fourth.
PSU's 4.07 ERA ranks fourth in the Big Ten, tied with Nebraska, and 49th in the NCAA. It is an improvement over last season's 5.53 ERA for the year.
Penn State's three shutouts this season are its most since earning three shutouts in 2016.
Penn State is 16-5 when scoring three or more runs this season.
All-Time vs. Nebraska
Penn State and Nebraska have met only 10 times, with Nebraska holding a 8-2 lead all-time. The first meeting came in 2012 in the Big Ten tournament, and the Nittany Lions visited Lincoln in 2014 and 2016, before hosting them during the 2017 season. This will be Nebraska's second baseball trip to Happy Valley.
Scouting Nebraska
Nebraska is 17-10 on the season and 7-2 in Big Ten play, winning 11 of its last 14 games. Four of the team's 10 losses were against defending College World Series Champion Oregon State. In Big Ten play, the Huskers have swept Michigan State and Purdue at home in Lincoln, but only took two of three at Minnesota. Aaron Palensky leads the team offensively, ranking fourth in the Big Ten with a .355 batting average and second with 11 doubles. RHP Matt Waldron is tied for the Big Ten lead with a 1.64 ERA and ranks third in the nation with a 16.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio as he has 48 strikeouts and just three walks.
Bowersox Streaking
Senior Jordan Bowersox is on a career-best 10-game hitting streak.
Bowersox is batting .359 (14-for-39) with two doubles, a triple and six RBIs. He also has seven walks for a .447 on-base percentage.
The streak started Mar. 26 against Binghamton.
He has three multi-hit games during the streak, talling two hits against Bucknell (4/2) and Indiana (4/5), and three against Youngstown State (4/9).
Kremer Streaking
Sophomore Kris Kremer is on a career-best 18-game reached base streak.
Kremer started the streak with a 4-for-6 effort at UCF (3/10).
Kremer has hits in all but four of the games, and has totaled 18 hits and 12 walks during the span for a .361 on-base percentage.
Kremer is batting .257 during the streak.
Low ERAs
Both Mason Mellott and Dante Biasi currently boast season ERAs that rank among the top 10 all-time at Penn State for a minimum of 25 innings pitched.
Mellott's 1.99 ERA ranks ninth, while Biasi's 1.75 ranks seventh.
In the Big Ten, the figures rank seventh and sixth, respectively.
Mellott Leads the 'Pen
Sophomore Mason Mellott has emerged as Penn State's relief ace. He is 4-1 and has four saves, factoring in on eight of Penn State's 17 wins.
Mellott leads the bullpen with a 1.99 ERA that ranks seventh in the Big Ten.
Mellott is second on the team in innings pitched with 40.2 and leads the team with 13 appearances.
Mellott's four saves this season match his season total from 2018.
Mellott's four wins rank fifth in the Big Ten. They are the most by a PSU reliever since Nick Distasio and Dakota Forsyth both won four games each in 2017.
In part by virtue of Penn State matching last season's win total, Mellott's four wins are the most by a Penn State pitcher since Sal Biasi won five games in 2017.
Mellott's save at Indiana was the eighth of his career, moving him up to a three-way tie for seventh in program history. Next on the list is Jeff Emerlich with 9 (1993-96).
The Train is Chugging
LHP Dante Biasi leads the Big Ten and is 17th in the NCAA with 66 strikeouts, and his 12.82 strikeouts per nine innings leads the Big Ten and ranks 22nd in the country.
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 followed that performance with 12 strikeouts against Minnesota, becoming the first Penn State pitcher to strikeout 10 or more batters in back-to-back appearances since at least 2004.
Biasi's 25 strikeouts in consecutive appearances are the most by a Penn State pitcher since at least 2004.
Biasi has held opponents to one earned run or less in seven out of eight starts this season.
Milestones
Head coach Rob Cooper earned his 400th career win against Youngstown State (4/9).
Senior Ryan Sloniger is one home run shy of 10 for his career.
Senior Jordan Bowersox tallied his team-best 150th career hit against Minnesota and played in his 150th game in the season finale at Indiana, while Sloniger is two games shy of reaching the same milestone. Fellow senior Conlin Hughes leads the team with 171 games played.
Sloniger hit his 25th career double at Indiana, while Bowersox did the same against Youngstown State.
Sophomore Dante Biasi surpassed 100 career strikeouts with his 12-strikeout effort against Minnesota and now has 117. Of those 117 career strikeouts in 108.2 career innings pitched and 21 starts, 25 of them came in back-to-back starts against UMass Lowell (3/15) and Minnesota (3/23) (13.0 IP).
Redshirt junior Eric Mock is Penn State's career leader for strikeouts with 122. He surpassed 100 with a six-strikeout effort against No. 21 Duke on Mar. 3.
Good Start
Penn State's 17-12 start is its best since starting the 2011 season 19-10.
Six of Penn State's seven conference losses have been by two runs or less, with half of those one-run losses.
Penn State is 7-3 in games decided by one run this season after going 5-13 in one-run games last season.
Penn State is 16-5 in non-conference play for its most non-conference wins since also winning 16 in all of 2016.
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 the two are the teams leading sluggers.
Homer and Kremer lead the team with four home runs each.
Homer most recently hit a home run at Indiana (4/6).
Kremer hit his fourth of the season against Pitt (4/10), taking a favorable bounce off the center field wall for an inside-the-park home run.
All four of Kremer's home runs have come against ACC teams, as he hit three in a game against No. 21 Duke (3/1).
Homer leads the team with 14 extra-base hits (9 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs), while Kremer is second with 11 extra-base hits (5 doubles, 2 triples, 4 home runs).
Williams Dominant Against Pitt
Freshman infielder Justin Williams was dominant against Pitt with a pair of three-hit games.
He went a combined 6-for-9 with five RBIs and two doubles over the two-game, home-and-home series with the Panthers.
Williams went 3-for-5 with a two-run double and four total RBIs at Pitt (3/12) in his first career start
In the second game (4/10), he went 3-for-4 with an RBI-double.