Baseball Welcomes West Virginia On TuesdayBaseball Welcomes West Virginia On Tuesday
Steve Manuel

Tommy Molsky

Baseball Welcomes West Virginia On Tuesday

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team faces West Virginia in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. with a livestream on B1G+.
 
The Nittany Lions, led by head coach Rob Cooper, took one game in a tight three-game series at Northwestern. Penn State won 4-1 in Saturday's second game, thanks to a strong pitching performance, but fell 5-4 on Friday and 5-2 on Sunday, both on walk-off hits.
 
The 2022 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
 
PARKING
All Penn State Athletics non-football events will require a valid permit or payment of the applicable parking fee for campus lots. Complimentary parking will no longer be issued for season ticket holders.
 
Fans with valid Penn State University Park parking permits will be permitted to park at non-football athletics events for free, following Transportation Services parking policies and access.
 
Fans without a permit are encouraged to prepay for event parking at a discounted rate through ParkMobile - https://psu.parkmobile.io/. Prepayment is available through 11:59 p.m. the day prior to each event. Season packages will be available for general parking for most sports, and information on VIP parking options available for select events will be released later.
 
Please visit the 2022 Baseball Parking page for additional information.
 
Non-football event parking is managed by Penn State Transportation Services. For more information on parking for this event, please email parking@psu.edu or call 814-865-1436. 
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Tuesday (6 p.m.)  – PSU: RHP Tommy Molsky (0-4, 5.76 ERA) vs. West Virginia: RHP Tyler Strechay (0-0, 4.15 ERA)
 
*subject to change
 
LEADING OFF

  • Penn State welcomes West Virginia for a non-conference matchup on Tuesday.
  • The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series, 71-42, against the Mountaineers.
  • West Virginia is one of five teams that Penn State has played 100 or more times, joining Bucknell (131-30-1), Michigan (49-51), Ohio State (39-71) and Pitt (88-46-1).
  • The teams will meet for the first time since 2018, when WVU won 3-2 in 10 innings.
  • Penn State took one game in a tight three-game series at Northwestern.
  • The Nittany Lions fell 5-4 on Friday and 5-2 on Sunday, both on walk-off hits, but won 4-1 on Saturday behind strong pitching.
  • Kellan Tulio struck out a career-high seven in five innings while not allowing an earned run. Travis Luensmann threw four innings and struck out six to earn a save.
  • In game one vs. Northwestern, Johnny Piacentino, Josh Spiegel and Matt Wood each hit a solo homer.

 
SCOUTING WEST VIRGINIA

  • West Virginia is led by head coach Randy Mazey in his 10th season.
  • Under Mazey, the Mountaineers are 283-218.
  • The Mountaineers have won five straight games, including a sweep over Baylor this past weekend.
  • West Virginia ranks third in the country with 102 total steals and second in the nation, averaging 3.4 per game.
  • Victor Scott III leads WVU with 25 steals, while Austin Davis has 19.
  • Five members of the Mountaineers' lineup own a .300 or better average, led by McGwire Holbrook's .349 average.
  • J.J. Wetherholt paces WVU with 13 extra-base hits and 22 RBI.
  • The WVU pitching staff has a 4.31 team ERA and allow a .239 opposing batting average.
  • Trey Braithwaite is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in 13 appearances, covering 20 innings.

 
AGAINST THE MOUNTAINEERS

  • The Nittany Lions hold a 71-42 record all-time against West Virginia.
  • West Virginia is one of five opponents Penn State has played more than 100 times: Bucknell (131-30-1), Michigan (49-51), Ohio State (39-71) and Pitt (88-46-1).
  • The teams will meet for the first time since April 10, 2018 when the Mountaineers won 3-2 in 10 innings.
  • Jordan Bowersox had two hits, including a homer,

 
B1G ROAD WIN

  • Penn State earned a 6-4 win in 10 innings over Maryland on Saturday (4/2).
  • The Terrapins were ranked No. 23 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and 25th in the Baseball America Poll.
  • Penn State earned its first win in a true road game against a ranked opponent since a 15-5 win over No. 16 Michigan (5/13/07).
  • The Nittany Lions recorded their first win against a ranked opponent away from home since March 2, 2019 against No. 21 Duke (8-7).
  • Johnny Piacentino launched his first homer of the year, a two-run shot, in the sixth, while Matt Wood tied the game, 3-3, with an RBI single in the eighth.
  • Penn State broke the tie in the 10th with a two-run double by Tayven Kelley and an RBI double by Jay Harry.
  • Travis Luensmann earned the win on the mound, throwing three innings in relief and allowing just one run.

 
WOOD OFF TO STRONG START

  • Through 28 games played, junior Matt Wood is batting .396 with six doubles, two triples, five homers, 24 RBI and 23 runs.
  • Wood leads the Nittany Lions in batting average, hits, runs, triples, homers, RBI, walks (14), slugging percentage (.644) and on-base percentage (.467).
  • He sits third in the Big Ten in batting average and seventh in slugging percentage.
  • Wood is one of two Big Ten players with 10+ extra-base hits (13) and less than 10 strikeouts (9).
  • The lefty batter has been impressive facing righty (.415) and lefty (.361) pitchers.
  • Wood is batting .450 with runners in scoring position.
  • Wood paces PSU with 14 multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games this season and is riding a current 11-game hit streak.
  • The Gibsonia, Pa. native is batting .475 over the last 10 games with two doubles, a triple, a homer and nine RBI, including a solo homer in game one vs. Northwestern (4/9).
  • He batted .500 in the Maryland series (4/1-3) with six hits and two RBI. He had three hits in each game, including the game-tying RBI single in Penn State's win on Saturday.
  • Earlier this season, on opening weekend, Wood went 3-for-4 with four RBI and four runs while crushing two homers and a double in game one against LIU.
  • In D1baseball's preseason rankings, Wood was tabbed as the top catcher in the Big Ten.

 
PENNSYLVANIA INFLUENCE IN STARTING ROTATION

  • In 28 of 29 games this season, Penn State's starting pitcher has been a Pennsylvania native.
  • Sophomore Travis Luensmann (Altoona) has made six starts, and eight appearances, with 45 strikeouts in 34.2 innings. Luensmann struck out eight in six innings against Maine (2/25).
  • Luensmann earned his first save as a NIttany Lion, going four innings and striking out six vs. Northwestern (4/9).
  • Freshman Tommy Molsky has made seven starts, and nine appearances, tallying 31 strikeouts. Molsky tied a career high with six strikeouts against UMass (3/12).
  • Graduate student Mason Mellott has made four starts and 11 appearances.
  • Mellott, graduating in August 2021 with a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology, ranks fourth all-time at Penn State with 13 saves and tied third with 78 appearances. Mellott is on the NCWBA Stopper of the Year Watch List.
  • Junior Kellan Tulio has made seven starts and eight appearances. with 24 strikeouts and a .179 opponent batting average. He threw five innings, allowing no earned runs, and struck out a career-high seven at Northwestern (4/9).
  • Jaden Henline made the start in game one at Maryland, going five innings, and the game-one start at Northwestern (4/9), striking out six.
  • Henline has struck out 35 batters in 29 innings and sits third in the Big Ten with three saves. In 10 appearances (two starts), Henline has thrown two or more innings in seven outings.
  • Senior Steven Miller made his first career start at Northwestern (4/9), throwing three shutout innings and striking out three. Miller has a 2.53 ERA in eight appearances.
  • Penn State is 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.

 
MORALES, SHINGLEDECKER LEAD BULLPEN

  • Senior Tyler Shingledecker has made 12 appearances with a team-high three wins. The lefty has held opponents without an earned run in eight of his 12 outings.
  • The versatile Shingledecker has gone more than an inning in eight appearances and has 28 strikeouts with only four walks. He recorded all four outs via strikeout in his appearance at Maryland and struck out six in 3.2 innings vs. Northwestern (4/9).
  • Junior Jordan Morales has also established himself as a key member of the bullpen
  • Morales is 2-0 with 28 strikeouts in 19.2 innings over 14 appearances.

 
NITTANY LIONS FINDING POWER

  • Over the last 10 games, Penn State has tallied 23 extra-base hits, including 12 doubles, four triples and seven homers.
  • Jay Harry leads the team with five extra base hits over that span, with three doubles and two homers.
  • Johnny Piacentino (two triples, two homers), Josh Spiegel (two doubles, one triple, one homer) and Matt Wood (two doubles, one triple, one homer) each have four extra-base hits in the last 10 games.
  • Cole Bartels hit a solo homer at Maryland (4/3).
  • On the season, Matt Wood leads PSU with 13 extra-base hits, pacing PSU with two triples (tied with Piacentino) and five homers to go with six doubles.
  • Josh Spiegel leads PSU with seven doubles, while Billy Gerlott and Wood have six and Kyle Hannon has five.
  • Harry and Spiegel have three homers this season, while Piacentino has two.

 
UP NEXT

  • The Nittany Lions welcome Purdue for a three-game Big Ten series, beginning on Thursday. First pitch on Thursday and Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m., while Saturday's contest is set for 1 p.m.