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Mark Selders

Josh Spiegel

Baseball Returns To Cary To Take On Maine, William & Mary

CARY, N.C. – The Penn State baseball team continues non-conference action this weekend at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, N.C. The Nittany Lions face Maine on Friday at 2 p.m. and Saturday at noon for a doubleheader. Penn State meets William & Mary on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
All three games will be played at Coleman Field. Gates open at noon on Friday, 10 a.m. on Saturday and 8:30 a.m. on Sunday.
 
The Nittany Lions, led by head coach Rob Cooper, went 1-3 on opening weekend with a 14-3 win over LIU. Matt Wood crushed three homers and drove in seven RBI.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday (2 p.m.) – PSU: Travis Luensmann (0-1, 4.15 ERA) vs. Maine: Brett Erwin (0-1, 1.80 ERA)
 
Saturday – Game 1 (noon): PSU: Kellan Tulio (1-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. Maine: Caleb Leys (0-0, 2.45 ERA)
Saturday – Game 2: PSU: Mason Mellott (0-0, 9.00 ERA) vs. Maine: Colin Fitzgerald (0-0, 24.55 ERA)
 
Sunday (10 a.m.) – PSU: Tommy Molsky (0-1, 0.00 ERA) vs. W&M: N/A
 
LEADING OFF

  • Penn State continues the early portion of the 2022 season with matchups against Maine and William & Mary.
  • The Nittany Lions meet Maine on Friday and Saturday with Saturday's contests being played as a doubleheader.
  • Penn State finishes the weekend against William & Mary on Sunday.
  • The Nittany Lions went 1-3 on opening weekend, with a win coming over LIU, 14-3.
  • Matt Wood had a standout first weekend, going 6-for-14 at the plate (.429) with two doubles, three homers, seven RBI and eight runs.
  • He tied for the second-most homers in the country last weekend.
  • Wood crushed two homers and a double in PSU's win over LIU. He followed with a solo homer on Sunday vs. Northeastern.
  • Jay Harry batted .412 on opening weekend with seven hits and three RBI.
  • Kellan Tulio picked up his first win at Penn State, going five innings and allowing one run vs. LIU.
  • Tommy Molsky had an impressive freshman debut, throwing six innings, giving up two unearned runs, and striking out four against Northeastern.

 
SCOUTING MAINE/WILLIAM & MARY

  • Maine is led by head coach Nick Derba, in his fifth year at the helm.
  • Derba holds an 86-131 overall record at Maine.
  • Maine is averaging 5.0 runs per game and batting .200 as a team.
  • Last weekend, Joe Bramanti had two doubles and a homer to drive in five runs, while Jake Marquez hit .400 with four hits.
  • Against LSU, Brett Erwin threw five innings in a start, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and striking out seven.
  • Mike McRae is in his first year as head coach at William & Mary.
  • McRae spent the previous four seasons at VCU as pitching coach.
  • William & Mary is averaging 11.5 runs per contest.
  • Through four games, Matt Thomas is batting .353 with two homers and seven RBI, while Jack Cone has a homer and eight RBI.
  • In two appearances, one start, Carter Lovasz has a 1.13 ERA with seven strikeouts in eight innings.

 
AGAINST THE BLACKBEARS/TRIBE

  • Penn State will meet Maine for the fifth time in program history.
  • Each team has two wins in the series, with Penn State claiming a 6-0 victory on March 14, 1993.
  • The Nittany Lions face William & Mary for the sixth all-time meeting.
  • Penn State leads the series, 3-2, including a 7-2 victory on March 21, 1999.

 
WOOD RETURNS TO LEAD CATCHERS

  • Junior Matt Wood returned to the squad after receiving Second Team All-Big Ten honors last season.
  • Wood began the 2022 campaign going 6-for-14 (.429) at the plate with two doubles and three homers. He drove in seven RBI and scored eight runs.
  • Wood went 3-for-4 with four RBI and four runs while crushing two homers and a double in game one against LIU. He added a homer against Northeastern.
  • In D1baseball's preseason rankings, Wood was tabbed as the top catcher in the Big Ten and the 16th-best catcher in the country.
  • In 2021, Wood batted .295 with 15 extra-base hits and 21 RBI while collecting 11 multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games. He also threw out six base stealers.
  • Fellow junior Josh Spiegel split time between catcher and designated hitter in 2021 and notched 15 extra-base hits and 22 RBI.
  • He collected five hits, including three doubles, in 15 at-bats on opening weekend.
  • Redshirt sophomore Tyson Cooper made three starts in 2021.

 
HARRY LOOKS TO BUILD ON FRESHMAN SUCCESS, LEAD INFIELD

  • Shortstop Jay Harry batted .412 (7-for-17) with three RBI on opening weekend.
  • Harry posted 10 doubles, a homer and 18 RBI as a freshman, registering seven multi-hit games.
  • Fellow sophomore Kyle Hannon started nine games in 2021.
  • Hannon collected four hits, including two doubles, and drove in four runs last weekend.
  • In game one against LIU, Hannon recorded two hits, including a double, and two RBI.
  • Sophomore C.J. Pittaro transferred in from Vanderbilt, where he batted .333 and drove in three runs in five appearances.
  • Pittaro drove in two runs in his collegiate debut vs. Western Kentucky (2/24/21).

 
PITCHING STAFF FEATURES BALANCED MIX OF VETERANS AND YOUTH

  • Penn State will be challenged with replacing a 2021 rotation that featured three MLB draft selections in Conor Larkin (9th round, Toronto Blue Jays), Kyle Virbitsky (17th round, Oakland A's) and Bailey Dees (18th round, New York Yankees).
  • The Nittany Lions were one of only four Division I schools to have all three members of their starting rotation selected.
  • Penn State has eight pitchers who have been drafted since 2016.
  • The Nittany Lions' opening weekend rotation featured three newcomers and graduate student Mason Mellott.
  • Mellott, graduating in August 2021 with a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology, ranks fourth all-time at Penn State with 13 saves and seventh with 68 appearances.
  • Sophomore Travis Luensmann is projected to pitch on Friday vs. Maine. Luensmann joined the Nittany Lions after transferring from South Carolina.
  • Luensmann struck out seven in his Penn State debut last week.
  • The Altoona native ranked as the No. 2 pitcher in Pennsylvania in the 2020 class by Perfect Game.
  • Junior Kellan Tulio is expected to start on Saturday vs. Maine. Tulio pitched the last two seasons at Louisville before transferring to Penn State.
  • Against LIU, in game one, Tulio went five innings, giving up one run on four hits and striking out four.
  • Tulio made eight career appearances for the Cardinals after being ranked as the top pitcher in Pennsylvania in the 2019 class.
  • Freshman Tommy Molsky made his Penn State debut on Sunday vs. Northeastern and threw six innings, allowing two unearned runs and striking out three.
  • Senior Tyler Shingledecker made 16 appearances for Penn State last season, striking out 38 batters in 27 innings, while senior Steven Miller recorded a 3.29 ERA in 12 appearances.
  • Sophomore Jaden Henline had a 3.72 ERA in nine appearances (three starts) in 2021, while fellow sophomore Carson Kohls did not allow an earned run in four of five outings.
  • Junior Jordan Morales joins the staff after transferring from LaSalle, where he made 21 appearances and seven starts.
  • Hutch Gagnon (11 appearances), Ryan Partridge (five) and Blaise Sclafani (two) return to the staff after being contributors out of the bullpen.

 
PIACENTINO POWERS OUTFIELD

  • Junior Johnny Piacentino put up impressive power numbers in 2021 with a team-high 15 doubles and eight homers. He drove in 32 RBI and scored 30 runs, both team bests.
  • Piacentino ranked third in the Big Ten in doubles and was a major factor in Penn State leading the conference in doubles as a team with 93. PSU held 11th in the nation averaging 2.21 doubles per game.
  • The New Jersey native tied a Penn State single-game record with three homers against Northwestern (3/7/21).
  • He also matched a Penn State record with five hits against Michigan State (5/1/21) to go with five RBI and four runs.
  • Piacentino is ranked among D1baseball's Top 150 outfielders in their preseason rankings.
  • Graduate student Cole Bartels looks to build off a strong summer, when he was named Futures League MVP after batting .389 with six homers.
  • Bartels earned his bachelor's degree in advertising/public relations in May 2021.
  • He made 26 starts between first base and the outfield last season, collecting 24 hits.
  • Junior Tayven Kelley made 27 starts in the outfield in 2021, tallying 11 extra-base hits.
  • Kelley had four hits and two RBI on opening weekend.
  • Sophomore Billy Gerlott also had a strong summer season, batting .325 with 10 homers in the Prospect League.
  • Gerlott collected three RBI last weekend.

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State travels to Charlottesville, Va. for a three-game series with No. 4 Virginia. The Cavaliers are 3-0 this season. Friday's matchup begins at 3 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday contests are at 1 p.m. All games will be broadcast on ACCN+.