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Johnny Piacentino

Penn State Meets Rutgers Friday In Big Ten Tournament

OMAHA, Neb. – The Penn State baseball team takes on Rutgers to continue Big Ten Tournament play on Friday. First pitch is set for approx. 2 p.m. ET at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha. All games of the tournament will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
 
The game will officially begin 40 minutes after the conclusion of the Iowa-Purdue game at 10 a.m. ET.
 
The Nittany Lions, led by Rob Cooper, are 26-27 overall record after Thursday's 5-2 win over Iowa. Matt Wood crushed a three-run homer, while Tyler Shingledecker and Travis Luensmann combined to hold Iowa to two hits and struck out 15 batters.
 
The 2022 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT

  • The Nittany Lions, the No. 6 seed, opened the tournament with a 5-2 win against Iowa, the No. 3 seed.
  • On Friday, Penn State will meet Rutgers, the No. 2 seed.
  • On Saturday, Penn State will play at either 10 a.m. ET or approx. 10 p.m. ET
  • The full tournament schedule and info can be found here.

 
LEADING OFF

  • Penn State takes on Rutgers on Friday in Big Ten Tournament play.
  • The teams will meet for the first time ever in the Big Ten Tournament.
  • The Nittany Lions, the No. 6 seed, earned a 5-2 win over No. 3 seed Iowa on Thursday.
  • Penn State recorded its first Big Ten Tournament win since 2008.
  • Matt Wood launched a three-run homer in the sixth inning to help the Nittany Lions gain separation. Anthony Steele got PSU on the board with a two-run single.
  • Tyler Shingledecker threw a career-high 5.2 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) and striking out eight. Travis Luensmann pitched a career-best 3.1 relief innings, allowing no runs, and striking out seven.
  • Penn State tied a season high with 15 strikeouts (also threw 15 vs. UMass on 3/12 and Bucknell on 4/6).
  • With the 15 strikeouts, PSU bumped its season total to 492, a new program record. The previous record was 491 strikeouts in 2019.
  • Wood is now batting .394 on the season with 12 homers, 53 RBI and 54 runs.

 
SCOUTING RUTGERS

  • Rutgers is led by Steve Owens in his third season as head coach.
  • The Scarlet Knights are 70-45 under Owens. Rutgers is 42-14 this season, going 17-7 in Big Ten play.
  • Before coaching at Rutgers, Owens spent nine years leading the Bryant baseball program, guiding the Bulldogs to three NCAA Tournaments and nine winning seasons.
  • The Scarlet Knights have a .320 batting average as a team, led by Nick Cimillo's .387 average.
  • Eight RU regular members of the lineup are batting .300 or better.
  • Chris Brito, Cimillo and Ryan Lasko each have 16 homers with Brito pacing the team with 70 RBI.
  • Rutgers has a 4.15 team ERA and 500 strikeouts as a staff.
  • Dale Stanavich, Ben Gorski and Garrett French are tied for the team lead with 21 appearances.

 
AGAINST THE SCARLET KNIGHTS

  • Penn State meets Rutgers for the 86th time in program history.
  • The Nittany Lions hold a 49-36 lead all-time. The teams have never met in the Big Ten Tournament.
  • Penn State won the middle game of the teams' series earlier this season.
  • In game two of the series, Jay Harry launched two homers, while Matt Wood had a double and triple. Jordan Morales, Steven Miller, Mason Mellott and Kellan Tulio held RU to one run over the final 5.2 innings.

 
ALL-BIG TEN HONORS

  • Four Nittany Lions were honored by the Big Ten on Tuesday.
  • Matt Wood was named First Team All-Big Ten after winning the conference's regular season batting average title (.395).
  • He is Penn State's first All-Big Ten first team selection since Jordan Steranka in 2012 and PSU's third catcher to earn first team honors, joining Chris Netwall (2001) and Ben Health (2010).
  • Josh Spiegel collected second team honors. He has 16 doubles, 10 homers and 42 RBI this season.
  • Anthony Steele was selected to the All-Big Ten Freshman team as a designated hitter.
  • Mason Mellott was tabbed Penn State's representative for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

 
WOOD WINS BIG TEN BATTING AVERAGE CROWN

  • Through 52 games played, junior Matt Wood is batting .394 with 14 doubles, three triples, 12 homers, 53 RBI and 54 runs. He has reached base in 35-straight games.
  • He won the Big Ten Batting Average title, concluding the regular season with a .395 average. He is the first Nittany Lion to win the Big Ten batting title since Michael Campo (2000).
  • Wood's .394 average is good for 19th in the country and third among Division I catchers.
  • Wood also sits second in OPS (1.187), third in on-base percentage (.496), fifth in slugging percentage (.691), eighth in triples (3), ninth in hits per game (1.42) and total hits (74).
  • Wood leads the Nittany Lions in batting average, hits, runs, homers, RBI, walks (36), slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
  • Among Division I catchers, Wood ranks third in batting average, fifth in OPS, sixth in on-base and slugging percentages and seventh in triples.
  • The lefty batter has been impressive facing righty (.390) and lefty (.404) pitchers.
  • Wood is batting .468 with runners in scoring position.
  • In Big Ten regular season play, Wood hit .413 with 38 hits in 24 games. He had seven doubles, two triples, seven homers, 29 RBI and 21 runs. He has an OPS of 1.229.
  • Wood paces PSU with 24 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI games this season and tallied a 26-game hit streak, which was snapped at Georgetown. The 26-game streak is the second-longest in program history behind only Michael Campo (41, 2000).
  • During the 26-game hit streak, Wood had 15 multi-hit performances. He batted .469 (45-of-96) with eight doubles, two triples and four homers. He also drew 16 walks and three hit-by-pitches.

 
RECORDS WATCH

  • As the Nittany Lions enter the last week of the regular season, a couple team records are in reach as well as Top 10 individual performances in program history. The Nittany Lions have already set the program triples record with 19. Penn State hits its 18th on May 17 at Pitt.
  • Penn State's pitching staff has collected 492 strikeouts, including 15 vs. Iowa, topping the previous program record of 491 (2019).
  • Josh Spiegel is already tied for the ninth-most doubles in a season at PSU (16) with Ben Heath (2010) and Jordan Steranka (2010).
  • Cole Bartels is tied ninth in a season with nine hit-by-pitches with four former Nittany Lions, most recently Gavin Homer in 2019, while Tayven Kelley and Johnny Piacentino have four triples, one shy of tying for 10th-most in a season.
  • Matt Wood is in on pace to finish with the fifth-best slugging percentage (.691) in a season at PSU. He ranks sixth for total bases (130) and is tied fourth in runs (54), tied seventh in walks (36), tied eighth in RBI (53), tied ninth in home runs (12) and tied 10th in hits (74). Wood is in range to enter the season Top 10 doubles (14; needs 16).

 
PENNSYLVANIA INFLUENCE IN PITCHING STAFF

  • In 47 of 53 games this season, Penn State's starting pitcher has been a PA native.
  • Sophomore Travis Luensmann (Altoona) has made 12 starts, and 15 appearances, with 78 strikeouts in 67.2 innings. Luensmann struck out seven in 3.1 innings of relief against Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament.
  • In Big Ten games, Luensmann had a 3.25 ERA in eight appearances (six starts), sitting fifth in the conference.
  • Freshman Tommy Molsky has made 11 starts, and 15 appearances, tallying 45 strikeouts. Molsky tied a career high with six strikeouts against UMass (3/12).
  • Graduate student Mason Mellott has made four starts and 20 appearances.
  • Mellott, graduating in August 2021 with a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology, is tied third all-time at Penn State with 15 saves and second with 87 appearances.
  • Junior Kellan Tulio has made nine starts and 14 appearances with 41 strikeouts in 33.2 innings. He threw five innings, allowing no earned runs, and struck out a career-high seven at Northwestern (4/9).
  • Jaden Henline has struck out 55 batters and sits fifth in the Big Ten in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.67). He threw a complete game to earn the win against Michigan State (5/8), allowing three runs (two earned) and striking out six. It was PSU's first complete game since Greg Welsh vs. Michigan State on May 17, 2013.
  • Senior Pittsburgh native Steven Miller made his first career start at Northwestern (4/9), throwing three shutout innings and striking out three.  He has 31 strikeouts.
  • Senior Tyler Shingledecker has made 21 appearances and four starts with a team-high seven wins. The lefty has held opponents without an earned run in 12 of his 21 outings.  He has 60 strikeouts and only 18 walks. He threw 5.2 innings, allowing one earned run, and striking out eight against Iowa.
  • Junior Souderton native Jordan Morales leads PSU with 25 appearances (one start) and has 55 strikeouts and only 11 walks. He is 3-0 on the season.
  • Carson Kohls has been another effective member out of the bullpen in 16 appearances (one start), including three scoreless outings where he went three or more innings.
  • Entering the season, Penn State was 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.

 
NITTANY LIONS FIND POWER IN BIG TEN PLAY

  • In 24 Big Ten regular season games, Penn State collected 83 extra-base hits, including 43 doubles, 11 triples and 29 homers.
  • Matt Wood led the Nittany Lions with 16 extra-base hits, including seven doubles, two triples and seven homers, to go with 29 RBI.
  • Josh Spiegel has 14 extra-base hits (seven doubles, one triple six homers), while Billy Gerlott has 13 extra-base hits (six doubles, one triple, six homers). Jay Harry has 12 extra base hits (six doubles, two triples, four homers). Spiegel has 22 RBI.
  • On the season, Wood leads PSU with 12 homers to go with 14 doubles, while Spiegel paces PSU with 16 doubles. Spiegel has 10 homers and 42 RBI this season, while Billy Gerlott has six homers and Jay Harry has five. Gerlott also has 12 doubles and two triples.
  • Led by Tayven Kelley and Johnny Piacentino's four triples and Wood's three triples, six Nittany Lions have multiple triples this season.