Baseball Visits Nebraska For Big Ten SeriesBaseball Visits Nebraska For Big Ten Series
Caleb Craig

Travis Luensmann

Baseball Visits Nebraska For Big Ten Series

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Penn State baseball team continues its road trip in the state of Nebraska with a three-game series against the Cornhuskers, including two nationally televised games. Friday is set for a 7:05 p.m. first pitch on B1G+. Saturday will feature a 7 p.m. start on Big Ten Network. Sunday's game is on ESPN2 beginning at noon.
 
Penn State, led by head coach Rob Cooper, is 24-19 overall and looks to bounce back after falling at Omaha on Wednesday.
 
Nebraska is 26-20-1 overall and 10-8 in Big Ten play. The Huskers earned a 7-4 win over Creighton on Tuesday and took one of three games in the series last weekend at Maryland.
 
For updates on the Penn State baseball team, please check @pennstatebase on Twitter and Instagram.
 
Single game tickets for the 2023 Penn State baseball season are available here.
 
The 2023 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
LEADING OFF

  • Penn State is set for a three-game series at Nebraska, beginning on Friday
  • The teams last met in 2021 and will play their first matchup in Lincoln since 2016.
  • The Nittany Lions look to bounce back after falling against Omaha on Wednesday.
  • Penn State is 9-3 in weekend openers this season.
  • Carson Ertter (Management Information Systems), Steven Miller (Architectural Engineering) and Blaise Sclafani (Communication Arts & Sciences) earned their degrees last weekend.
  • Penn State now has seven college graduates on the roster.
  • Tayven Kelley has five triples this season, one shy of the Penn State record held by Kevin Billotte (6).
  • As a team, Penn State has 15 triples, four shy of the team record set in 2022 (19).
  • Thomas Bramley owns 39 walks this season, tied for third in a season at Penn State and nine away from the program mark set by Eric Spadt (47) in 2000.
  • Kyle Hannon has collected 25 steals, sitting two behind the program season record held by Michael Campo (27, 2000).

 
SCOUTING NEBRASKA

  • Nebraska is led by head coach Will Bolt in his fourth season.
  • He has collected 90 wins as the leader of the Huskers.
  • Nebraska is 26-20-1 this season after earning a 7-4 win over Creighton on Tuesday and taking one of three games at Maryland.
  • The Huskers rank third in the Big Ten with a .300 average and scoring 7.7 runs per game.
  • Max Anderson sits second in the conference in average (.403) and first in hits (81), while Brice Matthews ranks fourth (.387) in average.
  • The duo are tied third in the Big Ten, and 16th in the country, with 19 homers. Gabe Swenson owns 14 homers.
  • Matthews holds 19th in the country with 63 RBI, while Anderson is 26th with 60 RBI.
  • On the mound, Nebraska ranks third in the Big Ten with a 4.96 ERA while pacing the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.30) and WHIP (1.39).
  • Emmett Olson paces the Huskers in innings (66.1) and strikeouts (66) while holding a 5-3 mark in 12 starts.
  • Shay Schanaman leads the staff with 20 appearances and five saves, while recording 56 strikeouts in 43.1 innings.
  • Corbin Hawkins has a 2.14 ERA and a 2-0 record in 17 appearances with 25 strikeouts in 33.2 innings.

 
AGAINST THE HUSKERS

  • Penn State and Nebraska are set for the 18th meeting in the series on Friday night.
  • The Nittany Lions have dropped eight-straight games against the Huskers.
  • The teams will meet in Lincoln for the first time since 2016.
  • In game one of the 2021 series, Bailey Dees fired six innings and allowed just one run.

 
EARNING THEIR DEGREES

  • Carson Ertter (management information systems), Steven Miller (architectural engineering) and Blaise Sclafani (communication arts & sciences) earned their bachelor's degrees on May 5-7 weekend.
  • Penn State now has seven college graduates on the roster.
  • Josh Spiegel graduated in December 2022 with a bachelor's degree in recreation, parks & tourism management.
  • Other graduates include Thomas Bramley (business, Mount St. Mary's), Grant Norris (sociology, Duke) and Daniel Ouderkirk (finance (bachelor's), West Virginia; business data analytics (master's), West Virginia).

 
HARRY NAMED TO BROOKS WALLACE AWARD WATCH LIST

  • Junior shortstop Jay Harry was named to the Brooks Wallace Award watch list on Tuesday, April 18.
  • The award honors the nation's top shortstop.
  • Harry has started all 43 games this season and is batting .299. He is tied for the team lead with 52 hits and 12 doubles, while collecting a triple, six homers, 33 RBI and 43 runs. He has also drawn 19 walks and stolen five bases.
  • The New Jersey native owns 16 multi-hit games this season, including five three-hit games, while recording 12 multi-run games and eight multi-RBI games.
  • He started the 2023 campaign with two hits, including a double, and three RBI in a win over No. 22 Miami. He also had three hits, including a double, at No. 14 North Carolina.
  • He launched two homers, including a walk-off two-run shot, against Brown on March 11 and added two hits and three RBI against Georgetown.
  • Harry tallied three hits, including a double, three runs and an RBI in a win over Pitt and launched a clutch solo homer against West Virginia before tallying three hits, three runs and a solo homer against Ohio State.
  • In his Penn State career, Harry has started 138 games, all as the primary shortstop.
  • He owns 161 career hits, including 32 doubles and 12 homers, 77 RBI and 105 runs.

 
HANNON EMERGES AS POWER, SPEED THREAT

  • Kyle Hannon leads the team in runs (47) and steals (25), while leading the team with seven homers. He recently snapped a 17-game hit streak.
  • Hannon is challenging to become Penn State's first player with 10+ homers and 10+ steals in a season since Sean Deegan (12 HR, 15 SB). His 25 steals are already second in a season at PSU. Hannon needs just two steals to tie the season record held by Michael Campo (27, 1999). Hannon has six games this season with multiple steals.
  • Hannon sits second in the Big Ten in steals per game (0.60), good for 24th in the nation, and total steals (25), sitting 27th in the country.
  • Hannon is one of 10 Division I players with 7+ homers and 25+ steals this season.

 
NITTANY LIONS CHASING RECORDS

  • In early May, several Nittany Lions are pursuing Penn State season records or a spot among a season Top 10.
  • As a team, Penn State is on pace to challenge the program's season triples record. Penn State has posted 15 triples, four away from the program record (19, 2022).
  • Kyle Hannon has 25 steals this season, good for second at PSU, and sits just two steals away from the PSU record held by Michael Campo (27, 2000). Hannon's 32 career steals are three shy of eighth all-time at Penn State.
  • Tayven Kelley has five triples this season, tied for second at PSU, just one shy of the PSU record set by Kevin Billotte (6, 1995). Kelley also has 11 career triples, tied fifth all-time at Penn State.
  • Thomas Bramley owns 39 walks this season, tied for third in a season at Penn State. He is seven walks shy of second place and eight walks away from the PSU season record.

 
TRANSFERS PROVIDE SPARK

  • The Nittany Lions welcomed four transfers to the program ahead of the 2023 season and all four have had strong starts to the year.
  • Joining Daniel Ouderkirk, a West Virginia transfer, are grad students Thomas Bramley (Mount St. Mary's) and Grant Norris (Duke) and freshman Bobby Marsh (Florida Atlantic).
  • Ouderkirk has tallied 57 strikeouts in 39.2 innings and has multiple strikeouts in 18 different innings this season.
  • Ouderkirk recorded at least 10 strikeouts in three straight starts: 11 vs. Northern Illinois, 11 vs. Dartmouth and 10 vs. Brown. He became the first Nittany Lion with three straight starts of 10+ strikeouts since at least 2004.
  • Fellow grad student Thomas Bramley has started all 43 games, splitting time between catcher, outfield and designated hitter. Bramley is batting .335 with 52 hits, including nine doubles, a triple and four homers, including a grand slam at Purdue, and has drawn a team-high 39 walks. In the third game against Purdue, snapped a 36-game reached base streak.
  • Bramley has 17 multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games.
  • He ranks fifth in the Big Ten in walks (39) and eighth in on-base percentage (.472).
  • Norris has started 34 games at third base after transferring from Duke and is batting .277 with five homers and leads the team with 38 RBI.
  • Freshman Bobby Marsh, a Bellefonte native and transfer from Florida Atlantic, has played in 37 games (31 starts). He owns 11 doubles, five homers and 28 RBI.
  • Marsh launched a solo homer in game two at Purdue and drove in the go-ahead run with a two-run double against Youngstown State. He hit a solo homer at West Virginia.
  • In four games against YSU and Ohio State, recorded 11 RBI.
  • On the season, Marsh is batting .305 overall and .288 in Big Ten play.
  • Travis Luensmann, a 2022 transfer, is tied third in the Big Ten with seven wins and sits fifth in the league with a 3.77 ERA.

 
BALANCED BATS

  • The Nittany Lions currently rank 23rd in triples per game (0.35) and 35th in total triples (15).
  • Johnny Piacentino leads the Nittany Lions with a .336 average to go with 42 hits, 22 RBI and 26 runs. He is riding a 16-game hit streak.
  • Thomas Bramley is batting .335 with 52 hits, 39 walks, good for fifth in the Big Ten in walks, and a .472 on-base percentage, sitting eighth in the conference, while Jay Harry is tied for the team lead with 52 hits to go with 43 runs and a .299 average. Grant Norris holds the team RBI lead (38) and owns 16 extra-base hits.
  • Bobby Marsh (.305) is also hitting above .300. Marsh has 16 extra-base hits and 28 RBI.
  • Tayven Kelley leads PSU with five triples this season and has 11 for his career, tied for fifth all-time at Penn State.
  • Kelley's five triples rank 15th in the country and second in the Big Ten.
  • Against Binghamton, Anthony Steele went two-for-four with a homer, four RBI and a stolen base before taking the mound and striking out two. He also had three strikeouts and an RBI single against Delaware State.

 
OPENING WIN OVER MIAMI

  • Penn State opened the 2023 season with a 9-5 win over Miami on February 17.
  • The Hurricanes were ranked 22nd in the D1Baseball Poll and No. 8 in the Baseball America rankings.
  • The Nittany Lions earned the program's first win over Miami and collected the program's first win over a ranked non-conference opponent since an 8-7 win over No. 21 Duke in 2019.
  • Travis Luensmann threw five innings in the win, allowing just one run on two hits and striking out four.
  • Penn State tallied 16 hits, including six Nittany Lions with multiple hits.
  • Billy Gerlott and Johnny Piacentino each had three hits, while Kyle Hannon and Tayven Kelley launched solo homers.

 
NITTANY LIONS RETURN EXPERIENCED PITCHING STAFF

  • The Nittany Lions welcome back an experienced pitching staff.
  • Penn State pitchers had a strong start to the 2023 season at No. 22 Miami.
  • The Nittany Lions' starting pitchers, Travis Luensmann, Daniel Ouderkirk and Tommy Molsky, combined to throw 13.1 innings, allowing eight hits and four earned runs, while striking out 13 batters.
  • The three starters recorded a 2.70 ERA and held Miami hitters to a .170 batting average.
  • 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.
  • 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.

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State meets Pitt on Tuesday, May 16 at PNC Park. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tickets can be found here.
  • The Nittany Lions host Maryland for their final regular season series. The three-game set begins on Thursday, May 18 at 6 p.m. The series continues on Friday, May 19, at 6 p.m. and concludes with Senior Day on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.
  • For the Maryland series, Friday features Bark in the Park Night, postgame fireworks and our 4 for $24 deal (four tickets, four hot dogs, four drinks for $24). In addition to senior day, Saturday features postgame autographs and a trading card giveaway.