UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team is set to open the 2023 season with a three-game series at Miami. The Hurricanes are ranked 22nd in the preseason D1Baseball Poll and No. 8 in the Baseball America Poll. The teams are set for a 7 p.m. first pitch on Friday and Saturday and a 1 p.m. start on Sunday. All games will be broadcast on ACCNX.
The Nittany Lions, led by Rob Cooper, return 28 players from the 2022 squad that won 26 games, including 11 in Big Ten play. Penn State won three Big Ten series and defeated No. 3 seed Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament. Penn State adds 11 newcomers, including four transfers.
Season and single game tickets for the 2023 Penn State baseball season are available here. Season tickets are $75 for adults and free for youth (ages 12 and under).
The 2023 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
FOLLOW ALONG
PROBABLE STARTERS* (2022 Stats)
Friday (7 p.m.) – PSU: RHP Travis Luensmann (2-3, 4.52 ERA) vs. Miami: RHP Gage Ziehl (2-2, 4.04 ERA)
Saturday (7 p.m.) – PSU: TBA vs. Miami: TBA
Sunday (noon) – PSU: TBA vs. Miami: TBA
*subject to change
LEADING OFF
- Penn State opens the 2023 campaign on the road against Miami.
- The Nittany Lions are 0-4 all-time against the Hurricanes with the last meeting coming in 2010.
- Penn State head coach Rob Cooper is a Miami alum, graduating in 1994.
- Cooper spent the 1994 and 1995 seasons on the Miami coaching staff, as a student/graduate assistant, helping the Hurricanes to back-to-back College World Series appearances.
- The Nittany Lions' newcomers include transfers Thomas Bramley (Mount St. Mary's), Bobby Marsh (Florida Atlantic), Grant Norris (Duke) and Daniel Ouderkirk (West Virginia).
- At the plate, Jay Harry (.333, 5 HR, 26 RBI) and Josh Spiegel (.300, 17 2B, 10 HR, 43 RBI) lead the returners.
- On the mound, Penn State set a program record with 503 strikeouts as six pitchers recorded at least 40 strikeouts, led by Travis Luensmann's 78.
- The Nittany Lions tallied 10+ strikeouts in 21 games last season.
SCOUTING MIAMI
- Miami is coached by Gino DiMare.
- In four seasons at Miami, DiMare owns a 126-65 mark and has led the Hurricanes to three NCAA Regional appearances.
- Miami finished the 2022 campaign with a 40-20 record and hosted the Coral Gables Regional.
- The Hurricanes averaged 7.6 runs per game and batted .288 as a team last season.
- Third baseman Yohandy Morales was tabbed Preseason All-America by Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game after leading the Hurricanes in doubles (17), homers (18), RBI (59), slugging percentage (.650) and OPS (1.061) in 2022.
- First baseman CJ Kayfus was a second-team All-ACC selection after pacing the Hurricanes with a .366 average and 16 steals.
- On the mound, Miami finished sixth in the nation averaging 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings and 15th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.86).
- Closer Andrew Walters also picked up Preseason All-America honors after leading the ACC with 14 saves, good for fifth in the country.
- Walters was a finalist for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year last season after collecting 62 strikeouts and a 1.65 ERA in 32.2 innings.
AGAINST THE HURRICANES
- Penn State meets Miami for the fifth time in program history.
- The Nittany Lions are 0-4 in previous meetings.
- In the last meeting, on March 11, 2008, Penn State was held to four hits in a 10-0 setback.
- Penn State is 128-101-3 all-time against current members of the ACC with 136 of those games against Pitt. The Nittany Lions hold a 39-55-2 record against non-Pitt members of the ACC.
NITTANY LIONS RETURN EXPERIENCED PITCHING STAFF
- The Nittany Lions welcome back an experienced pitching staff.
- Penn State set a program record with 503 strikeouts in 2022 as six members of the staff recorded at least 40 strikeouts.
- The Nittany Lions return 406 of their 503 strikeouts (81 percent) from last year.
- Penn State is one of nine Power Five programs, and the only Big Ten school, returning 400+ strikeouts from last season.
- Among Power Five schools returning 400+ strikeouts, only Wake Forest (92%) returns a higher percentage of strikeouts returning.
- In 49 of 55 games last season, Penn State's starting pitcher was a Pennsylvania native.
- Penn State's pitching staff takes a versatile approach with eight different pitchers recording both a start and a save in 2022.
- Travis Luensmann led the Nittany Lions with 78 strikeouts and 67.2 innings in 2022 and sat fifth in the Big Ten with a 3.25 ERA against conference opponents and 10th in the conference with 10.37 strikeouts per nine innings.
- Luensmann tallied six or more strikeouts in nine of his 15 appearances last season.
- He was ranked as the No. 110 starting pitcher by D1Baseball in the preseason.
- Jaden Henline struck out 56 batters in 17 appearances (seven starts) last year, while Tommy Molsky made 12 starts and struck out 47.
- Henline finishes sixth in the Big Ten with a 3.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2022.
- On May 8, 2022, Henline threw a complete game against Michigan State.
- Jordan Morales returns after leading Penn State with 26 appearances in 2022. Morales recorded a 3.64 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 42 innings.
- Morales did not allow an earned run in 15 appearances last season.
- Carson Kohls (18 appearances), Steven Miller (22), Ryan Partridge (20), Chase Renner (13) and Kellan Tulio (14) also saw significant time on the mound last season.
- Grad transfer Daniel Ouderkirk joins the pitching staff after throwing in 23 games over the last two seasons at West Virginia. Ouderkirk collected 38 strikeouts in 25 innings. He did not allow an earned run in six of nine appearances in 2022.
- Since 2016, eight Penn State pitchers have been selected in the MLB Draft, including Conor Larkin (9th round, Toronto Blue Jays), Kyle Virbitsky (17th round, Oakland A's) and Bailey Dees (18th round, New York Yankees) in 2021.
SPIEGEL LEADS CATCHERS
- The Penn State roster features three experienced catchers and a talented freshman
- Redshirt senior Josh Spiegel led Penn State with 17 doubles in 2022 to go with a .300 average, 62 hits, two triples, 10 homers and 43 RBI.
- Spiegel was a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2022 while seeing time at catcher, first base and designated hitter.
- Seven doubles, six homers and 22 RBI came against Big Ten opponents last season.
- Spiegel tallied 22 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games.
- Entering the 2023 campaign, Spiegel holds the seventh-best slugging percentage (.504) in program history.
- Tyson Cooper had appeared in 30 games as a Nittany Lion and made 10 starts last season.
- Grad transfer Thomas Bramley joins the Penn State roster after starting in 112 games at Mount St. Mary's, splitting time between catcher and third base.
- Bramley was tabbed as the 19th-best catcher in the nation by D1Baseball in their preseason player rankings.
- In his Mount St. Mary's career, Bramley notched 109 hits, including 16 doubles, two triples and 20 homers, to go with 76 RBI and 77 runs.
- As a senior in 2022, Bramley blasted 11 homers and drove in 38 runs.
- Bramley was All-Star Game MVP in the NECBL this summer.
- Penn State welcomes freshman Jimmy Nugent, who was named Ohio's Johnny Bench Award winner.
- The Nittany Lions will look to replace the production of Matt Wood, who won the Big Ten Batting Average title in the regular season and became the highest position player drafted in program history when he was selected in the fourth round (132nd overall) by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2022 MLB Draft.
HARRY HIGHLIGHTS DEEP INFIELD
- Junior Jay Harry has started 95 games at shortstop as a Nittany Lion and was ranked among D1Baseball's Top 50 SS in the preseason.
- The New Jersey native owns a .307 career average, 109 hits, 62 runs and 44 RBI. Harry's 109 career hits include 20 doubles, two triples and six homers.
- In 2022, Harry batted .333 with 71 hits, 20 multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games.
- Kyle Hannon started 24 games between second base and third base last season, tallying 28 hits, seven doubles, four homers, 19 RBI and 20 runs. He went seven-for-eight in last year's series at Virginia, including six-for-six against left-handed pitchers.
- Derek Cease (21 hits, 17 runs) and Anthony Steele (23 hits, 10 RBI) both made significant contributions as freshmen in 2022 with Steele earning All-Big Ten Freshman team honors.
- C.J. Pittaro (22 starts) and Ben Kailher (20 starts) provide significant experience.
- Grad transfer Grant Norris played in 32 games, including 10 starts, at Duke. He batted .300 with a homer, three runs and two RBI in 2022.
THREE STARTERS RETURN IN OUTFIELD
- Penn State returns experience and pop in its outfield with Billy Gerlott, Tayven Kelley and Johnny Piacentino.
- Piacentino owns 93 career starts, mostly in center field. In 2022, he tied for the team-lead and third in the Big Ten with four triples to go with seven doubles and two homers. In 2021, Piacentino led Penn State with 15 doubles and eight homers.
- Gerlott collected 45 hits last season, including 12 doubles, two triples and six homers.
- Kelley tallied 33 hits, with six doubles and team high-tying four triples, in 2022.
- Freshman and Bellefonte native Bobby Marsh joins the Nittany Lions as a transfer from Florida Atlantic.
UP NEXT
- Penn State returns to Cary, N.C. next weekend to play three opponents at the USA Baseball Complex.
- The Nittany Lions take on Maine on Friday, February 24 at 1 p.m., Northern Illinois for a noon doubleheader on Saturday and Monmouth on Sunday at 10 a.m.