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Joe Jaconski

Baseball Travels To Stanford For Three-Game Series

STANFORD, Calif. – The Penn State baseball team heads to California for a three-game series at Stanford this weekend, February 23-25. On Friday and Saturday, first pitch is set for 5:05 p.m. ET. Sunday's game begins at 4:05 p.m. ET.
 
Penn State, led by head coach Mike Gambino, is off to a 3-1 start. The Nittany Lions collected 4-3 and 12-4 wins over Army and a 6-5 victory over Monmouth on opening weekend.
 
Stanford, coached by David Esquer, is 1-3 this season. The Cardinal took one of three games against Cal State Fullerton last weekend and fell 10-8 against UNLV on Monday.
 
For updates on the Penn State baseball team, please check @pennstatebase on X and Instagram.
 
The 2024 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
LEADING OFF

  • Penn State travels to Stanford for its first true road series of the 2024 campaign.
  • The Nittany Lions have played one previous game against the Cardinal, in 1996.
  • The Blue and White went 3-1 on opening weekend, including two wins over Army and a win over Monmouth.
  • Matt Maloney was named Big Ten Player of the Week after batting .625 (5-of-8) with a homer, 11 RBI and three runs.
  • After the first weekend of the season, Maloney is tied fourth in the nation and leads the Big Ten with 11 RBI.
  • During opening weekend, Joe Jaconski posted a .600 average and Tayven Kelley blasted two homers and drove in five runs.
  • On the mound, Frankie Sanchez had a strong Penn State debut in Saturday's win over Army, tossing six innings, allowing one run, and matching a career high with nine strikeouts.
  • Mason Butash threw three scoreless innings and struck out five in his first collegiate start on Sunday against Army.

 
SCOUTING STANFORD

  • Stanford is lead by head coach David Esquer, in his seventh season.
  • The Cardinal is 227-95 under Esquer.
  • Stanford has played in three-straight College World Series.
  • The Cardinal is 1-3 this season after going 1-2 in its opening series against Cal State Fullerton and a 10-8 setback against UNLV on Monday.
  • Stanford has a .270 team average and is averaging 4.5 runs per game.
  • Cort McDonald leads Stanford with a .429 average to go with a homer and two RBI.
  • Jimmy Nati owns a .412 average and a team-high five RBI, while Malcolm Moore has a homer and four RBI.
  • The Cardinal pitching staff has a 7.25 ERA and is allowing a .287 opponent batting average.
  • Nick Dugan is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA after allowing one run in 5.1 innings against Fullerton.
  • Matt Scott recorded nine strikeouts in 5.1 innings in a start against the Titans.
     

AGAINST THE CARDINAL

  • Penn State and Stanford met in one previous matchup.
  • On March 4, 1996, the Nittany Lions fell 8-0 at Stanford.
  • Penn State is 2-17 all-time against current members of the Pac-12 with wins over Cal and Washington.

 
MALONEY EARNS BIG TEN WEEKLY HONOR

  • Junior catcher Matt Maloney was named Big Ten Player of the Week after helping the Nittany Lions to three wins on opening weekend.
  • He batted .625 (5-of-8) with one homer, 11 RBI and three runs, while posting a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage.
  • In Friday's win over Monmouth, Maloney went 2-for-3 with a run and four RBI, including a pair of two-run singles and scored a game-tying run in the 10th.
  • On Saturday against Army, Maloney tallied two hits and three RBI to lead PSU to a 4-3 win. He recorded a two-run single in the fourth and an RBI single in the sixth.
  • In Sunday's win over Army, Maloney launched a homer to go with four RBI and two runs. He crushed a two-run blast in the third.
  • Following the first weekend of the season, Maloney leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth in the country with 11 RBI. He also ranks second in the conference and 25th in the nation with a .625 average.

 
NEWCOMERS HAVE STRONG WEEKEND AT PLATE

  • Through the first weekend of the season, Penn State leads the Big Ten with a .301 average.
  • Junior Matt Maloney paces the team with a .625 average and 11 RBI, while junior Joe Jaconski is batting .600 (6-of-10).
  • Graduate student J.T. Marr went 8-for-18 (.444) at the plate with a double, an RBI and three runs.
  • Graduate student Adam Cecere hit .364 with four hits, including a double and a homer, two RBI and five runs. He also had five walks and twice was hit by a pitch.
  • Sophomore Bryce Molinaro drove in three runs.
  • Fellow sophomore Bobby Marsh also had a strong weekend, with four hits, including a double, two runs and two steals.

 
NITTANY LIONS ENTER FIRST SEASON UNDER GAMBINO, NEW STAFF

  • Mike Gambino was hired on July 3, 2023 as the 15th head coach in Penn State baseball program history.
  • In 13 seasons at the helm of his alma mater Boston College, Gambino tallied 291 wins.
  • He guided the Eagles to a pair of NCAA Regionals in 2016 and 2023 and an NCAA Super Regional in 2016.
  • He recorded five seasons of 25 or more wins and eight seasons with 10 or more ACC wins.
  • Gambino coached 34 MLB Draft selections, including three first round picks and eight picks among the top five rounds. Five of his former BC players have reached the MLB.
  • He coached five All-American selections and five freshman All-American honorees as well as 16 All-ACC selections.
  • Associate head coach Scott Loiseau joins the program after serving as head coach at Southern New Hampshire from 2016-23 and 2008-14. He posted a 480-209-2 record in 16 years as a head coach, while leading the Penmen to five Division II College World Series appearances and 11-straight NCAA Tournament Appearances. He coached 12 MLB Draft selections.
  • Assistant Coach Nick Puccio arrives in Happy Valley after serving as hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at Northeastern from 2019-23, helping the Huskies to three-straight seasons of 30+ wins and CAA titles and NCAA Regional appearances in 2021 and 2023.
  • Assistant Coach Will Jauss steps into the pitching coach role after serving as director of pitching technology at Boston College in 2022 and 2023.
  • Penn State alum Mason Mellott remains on staff as director of pitching technology after helping to coach the Penn State pitching staff to post 411 strikeouts in 2023.
  • Former Nittany Lion standout Ryan Wheeler returned to Happy Valley to serve as director of program development/alumni relations after spending the last nine seasons on the Saint Joseph's staff, including the last five years as associate head coach. He ranks second in PSU history with 109 career walks and sits second with 184 consecutive starts.
  • Director of Operations/Player Development Jake Stone enters his fifth season on the Penn State staff.

 
HANNON, KELLEY, NORRIS CLIMB RECORDS LISTS

  • Senior Kyle Hannon already has three steals in 2024, all coming against Monmouth.
  • With three steals this year, Hannon has moved up to a tie for sixth all-time at Penn State with 37 career steals. He is currently tied with Dave Hall (1990-94).
  • Hannon ranked second in the Big Ten in steals per game (0.55) and total steals (27) last season.
  • The Harrisburg native is one of 14 Division I players, and the only Big Ten player, returning for the 2024 season who posted 7+ homers and 27+ steals last season.
  • Senior+ Tayven Kelley owns 11 career triples, tied fifth all-time at Penn State. He is one triple away from tying third place.
  • Graduate student Grant Norris' .503 career slugging percentage sits seventh all-time at Penn State.

 
SANCHEZ, BUTASH POST IMPRESSIVE STARTS ON OPENING WEEKEND

  • Seven pitchers made their Penn State debuts last weekend in Cary, including strong starts by Frankie Sanchez and Mason Butash.
  • In Saturday's 4-3 win over Army, Sanchez earned the victory, going six innings and allowing one run one three hits. He matched a career high with nine strikeouts.
  • Butash tossed three scoreless innings in his start on Sunday against Army, a 12-4 win for the Nittany Lions. Butash faced the minimum while allowing just one hit and striking out five.
  • Travis Luensmann had a solid start in Friday's season-opening win over Monmouth, throwing six innings and giving up two earned runs.
  • Anthony Steele recorded two scoreless outings, picking up one win. He threw 4.2 innings and struck out seven.
  • David Lee also earned a win among two appearances and did not allow an earned run.

 
UP NEXT

  • The Nittany Lions return to North Carolina to begin Spring Break with a four-game series at Davidson on March 1-3.