SJW_1749SJW_1749
Steven Walter

Johnny Piacentino

Baseball Hosts No. 20 Maryland For Regular Season Finale

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team returns to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park to host No. 20 Maryland for its final regular season series. Thursday and Friday games are set for a 5 p.m. first pitch. Saturday's season finale, and Senior Day, is set for noon. All three games will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
 
Penn State, led by head coach Rob Cooper, is 24-23 overall. The Nittany Lions fell 11-3 at Pitt on Tuesday. Thomas Bramley and Bobby Marsh each had two hits and an RBI.
 
On Senior Day, Penn State will honor 10 seniors: Thomas Bramley, Carson Ertter, Brenden Franks, Ben Kailher, Steven Miller, Jordan Morales, Ryan Partridge, Johnny Piacentino, Blaise Sclafani and Kellan Tulio.
 
No. 20 Maryland is 35-18 overall and 15-6 in Big Ten action after taking two of three games against Minnesota last weekend.
 
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

 
PARKING
Parking for Penn State Baseball games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park will be available at the following locations beginning two hours prior to the start of each game:


Please visit the 2023 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. 
 
PROMOTIONS

  • Friday includes Bark in the Park, postgame fireworks and 4 for $24 deal
    • Bark in the Park – dog bandana giveaway
      • Must have proof of dog's current vaccinations
    • 4 for $24 deal – 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 drinks for $24
  • Saturday includes Senior Day, postgame autographs and trading card giveaway
    • Senior Day will follow the game and honor 10 seniors
    • Postgame autographs and trading card giveaway after the senior day ceremony

 
LEADING OFF

  • Penn State hosts Maryland for its final series of the season.
  • The Nittany Lions took the middle game of the series against the Terrapins last season.
  • Penn State looks for a strong finish to the season after falling 11-3 against Pitt on Tuesday night at PNC Park.
  • Entering the series against Maryland, Penn State has played five games against opponents ranked in the D1Baseball Top 25, including a win at No. 22 Miami.
  • On Saturday, Penn State will honor 10 seniors: Thomas Bramley, Carson Ertter, Brenden Franks, Ben Kailher, Steven Miller, Jordan Morales, Ryan Partridge, Johnny Piacentino, Blaise Sclafani and Kellan Tulio.
  • Bramley and Partridge earned Academic All-District honors on Tuesday.
  • Tayven Kelley has five triples this season, one shy of the Penn State record held by Kevin Billotte (6).
  • Kyle Hannon has collected 26 steals, sitting one behind the program season record held by Michael Campo (27, 2000).

 
SCOUTING MARYLAND

  • Maryland is led by head coach Rob Vaughn in his sixth season. Vaughn has led the Terrapins to 176 wins and a .607 winning percentage.
  • The Terrapins are 35-18 overall and 15-6 in Big Ten play after taking two of three in a series against Minnesota.
  • Maryland is ranked 20th in the D1Baseball poll.
  • As a team, Maryland leads the country in walks (345), while ranking second in home runs (117), on-base percentage (.437) and total runs (515), third in runs per game (9.7) and slugging percentage (.577), seventh in hits (587) and doubles (123), and 15th in batting average (.313).
  • Luke Shliger leads the country in runs (83) and ranks second in walks (57) and 14th in on-base percentage (.518).
  • Nick Lorusso paces the nation in RBI (90) and ranks 12th in the nation in hits (83) and homers (21).
  • Matt Shaw ranks fifth in the country in homers (23), third in runs (72) and 25th in RBI (64).
  • On the mound, Maryland has a 6.06 ERA as a staff, ranking 12th in the Big Ten.
  • Jason Savacool leads the rotation with a 4.44 ERA in 13 starts and has 74 strikeouts in 77 innings.

 
AGAINST THE TERRAPINS

  • Penn State has met Maryland in 39 previous games.
  • The Terrapins lead the series, 21-18.
  • Last season in College Park, Penn State took the middle game of the series, 6-4 in 10 innings.
  • Tayven Kelley had a go-ahead pinch-hit, two-run double in the 10th.
  • Travis Luensmann got the win in relief, allowing one run in the final three innings.

 
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 47 games this season and is batting .289. He leads the team with 55 hits and 13 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 142 games, all as the primary shortstop.
  • He owns 164 career hits, including 33 doubles and 12 homers, 77 RBI and 105 runs.

 
HANNON EMERGES AS POWER, SPEED THREAT

  • Kyle Hannon leads the team in runs (48) and steals (26), while tying the team lead with seven homers.
  • 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 26 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 (0.57), good for 35th in the nation, and total steals (26), sitting 29th in the country.
  • Hannon is one of 14 Division I players with 7+ homers and 26+ steals this season.

 
NITTANY LIONS CHASING RECORDS

  • Entering the final series of the season, several Nittany Lions are pursuing Penn State season records or a spot among a season Top 10.
  • As a team, Penn State is challenging the program's season triples record. Penn State has posted 16 triples, three away from the program record (19, 2022).
  • Kyle Hannon has 26 steals this season, good for second at PSU, and sits just one steal away from the PSU record held by Michael Campo (27, 2000). Hannon's 33 career steals are two 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 47 games, splitting time between catcher, outfield and designated hitter. Bramley is batting .318 with 55 hits, including 10 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 18 multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games.
  • He ranks fifth in the Big Ten in walks (39) and leads PSU in on-base percentage (.447).
  • Norris has started 38 games at third base after transferring from Duke and is batting .288 with seven homers and leads the team with 40 RBI.
  • Freshman Bobby Marsh, a Bellefonte native and transfer from Florida Atlantic, has played in 41 games (35 starts). He owns 11 doubles, six homers and 31 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 Youngstown State and Ohio State, recorded 11 RBI.
  • On the season, Marsh is batting .303 overall and .274 in Big Ten play.
  • Travis Luensmann, a 2022 transfer, is tied fourth in the Big Ten with six wins and sits fourth in the league with a 3.94 ERA.

 
BALANCED BATS

  • The Nittany Lions currently rank 26th in triples per game (0.34) and 31st in total triples (16).
  • Johnny Piacentino leads the Nittany Lions with a .324 average to go with 46 hits, 22 RBI and 29 runs.
  • Piacentino is hitting .328 in conference play with six extra-base hits and 10 RBI.
  • Thomas Bramley is batting .318 with 55 hits, 39 walks, good for fifth in the Big Ten in walks, and a .447 on-base percentage, leading PSU, while Jay Harry is tied with Bramley for the team-lead with 55 hits to go with 43 runs and a .289 average. Grant Norris holds the team RBI lead (40) and owns 19 extra-base hits. Bobby Marsh (.303) is hitting above .300. Marsh has 17 extra-base hits and 31 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 22nd 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.