Baseball Welcomes UMass Lowell For Home-Opening SeriesBaseball Welcomes UMass Lowell For Home-Opening Series

Bryce Molinaro

Baseball Welcomes UMass Lowell For Home-Opening Series

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team hosts UMass Lowell for a three-game series to begin its home schedule at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Thursday's first pitch is set for 5:30 p.m., while Saturday is set to begin at 2 p.m. Sunday's series finale is set for 1 p.m. All games are free admission for all ages.
 
Penn State, led by head coach Mike Gambino, is 9-5 after a series win over Harvard last weekend.
 
UMass Lowell is 5-10 this season and coming off two wins in its series at Oral Roberts.
 
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

 
PROMOTIONS

  • Saturday will feature postgame autographs and a trading card set giveaway
  • Sunday includes postgame kids run the bases.
  • Season posters will be available for pickup.

 
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:

 
LEADING OFF

  • Penn State welcomes UMass Lowell to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park for the first home series of the 2024 campaign.
  • The Nittany Lions are 3-0 all-time against UMass Lowell, sweeping the River Hawks in 2019.
  • Penn State is coming off a series win over Harvard last weekend.
  • The Nittany Lions swept a doubleheader last Friday against the Crimson.
  • In game one, Travis Luensmann went six strong innings, while Adam Cecere tallied two doubles, three RBI and two runs.
  • In game two, Grant Norris launched a two-run homer, while Tayven Kelley, J.T. Marr and Bryce Molinaro each had three hits.
  • Grad student J.T. Marr paces the Nittany Lions with a .439 average and 25 hits to go with 13 RBI. He ranks second in the Big Ten in average, hits and hits per game (1.8).
  • Kyle Hannon is second in the Big Ten with nine steals after swiping four bags in the Harvard series. His 43 career steals rank third all-time at Penn State.

 
SCOUTING UMASS LOWELL

  • Head Coach Nick Barese is in his first year leading the UMass Lowell program after serving two seasons on the coaching staff.
  • Prior to UMass Lowell, Barese was head coach for seven seasons at Merrimack College, holding a 153-129 record (.543).
  • In 2022, Barese helped the River Hawks to reach the America East championship game.
  • Last weekend, UMass Lowell won two of three games at Oral Roberts, a 2023 College World Series participant. UMass Lowell won 10-7 in Saturday's second game and 16-3 on Sunday.
  • The River Hawks are batting .245 as a team and averaging 5.2 runs per game.
  • Robby Hernandez leads the team with a .333 average to go with 18 hits and eight RBI, while Carlos Martinez is batting .300 with 18 hits, 10 doubles, three homers, 11 RBI and nine runs.
  • Sean O'Leary owns two homers and 10 RBI.
  • The UMass Lowell pitching staff has a 7.78 ERA.
  • Brendan Williams leads the team with 18.2 innings over four starts, while James Capellupo has a 2.30 ERA and 15 strikeouts in five outings.
     

AGAINST THE RIVER HAWKS

  • Penn State is 3-0 all-time against UMass Lowell.
  • The Nittany Lions swept a three-game series at home in March 2019.
  • Penn State's pitching staff combined for 39 strikeouts in that series, led by Dante Biasi's 13 over seven innings in game one.
  • Ryan Sloniger and Justin Williams both homered in the series.

 
NEWCOMERS LEADING BALANCED LINEUP

  • The Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten in sac flies (10), while sitting third in on-base percentage (.405) and walks (78). Penn State is also fifth in OPS (.842).
  • Penn State has four players with a .318 or better average, six with a .400+ on-base percentage and seven with a .400+ slugging percentage.
  • Graduate student J.T. Marr paces the squad with a .439 average and 25 hits. He own three doubles, a homer, 13 RBI and 10 runs.
  • Marr has a hit in 13 of 14 games this season, including seven multi-hit performances.
  • The South Carolina native ranks second in the Big Ten in batting average (.439; 39th nationally), hits per game (1.8; 27th), and total hits (25; 33rd).
  • Junior Matt Maloney is batting .353 with a team-high 14 RBI along with two doubles and a homer.
  • Bobby Marsh is hitting .325 with 13 hits, including a double, six RBI and seven runs.
  • Graduate student Adam Cecere is hitting .286 with 12 hits, including four doubles and a team-high three homers, 11 RBI and 16 runs. He has a team-high 15 walks and six hit-by-pitches.
  • Cecere paces the team with a .595 slugging percentage and a .516 on-base percentage.
  • He ranks seventh in Big Ten with a 1.111 OPS and fourth in on-base percentage (.516). He's also third in the conference in total walks (15) and second in walks per game (1.1).
  • Cecere is one of 20 current Division I players with 35+ homers and 127+ RBI in their career.
  • Among active DI players, Cecere is 22nd in homers (35).
  • Joe Jaconski is fourth in the Big Ten in walks (14) and owns 13 hits and 10 runs, while Grant Norris has 13 hits, including four doubles and three homers, and 12 RBI.
  • Bryce Molinaro owns two homers, among 15 hits, and 12 RBI, while Kyle Hannon has 12 hits and 13 runs.

 
NITTANY LIONS CLAIM SERIES WIN OVER HARVARD

  • Penn State swept its doubleheader last Friday against Harvard.
  • The Nittany Lions won 5-3 in the first game and 8-7 in 10 innings in the second contest.
  • With the win in game two, head coach Mike Gambino secured his 300th career win.
  • In game one, Adam Cecere tallied two doubles, three RBI and two runs, while Joe Jaconski scored twice.
  • On the mound, Travis Luensmann worked six strong innings, allowing two runs and striking out six. Anthony Steele and David Lee combined for three innings, giving up one run, and striking out six.
  • In game two, Grant Norris launched a two-run homer. Tayven Kelley, J.T. Marr and Bryce Molinaro each had three hits, while Kelley drove in two runs.

 
HANNON, KELLEY, NORRIS CLIMB RECORDS LISTS

  • Senior Kyle Hannon already has nine steals in 2024, including four in the series vs. Harvard.
  • With nine steals this year, Hannon has moved up to fourth all-time at Penn State with 43 career steals. He is currently seven steals behind Doug Keener (50, 1984-87) for third place.
  • Hannon ranks second in the Big Ten in total steals (9), good for 28th overall, and fourth in steals per game (0.64), sitting 32nd nationally.
  • Senior+ Tayven Kelley owns 12 career triples, tied third all-time at Penn State. He is tied with Michael Campo (1997-00) and Jordan Steranka (2009-12).
  • Graduate student Grant Norris' .539 career slugging percentage sits seventh all-time at Penn State.

 
FRESHMEN MAKING CONTRIBUTIONS ON MOUND

  • Last week, Will Perkowski made three appearances on the mound, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings.
  • On the season, he now has four outings and has not allowed a run in 3.2 frames, while striking out three.
  • Fellow freshman Mason Horwat has made five appearances, including one start, with a 2-0 mark and a save. He has 10 strikeouts in 13 innings.
  • Mason Butash has also made five appearances, including three starts. He has a save and 10 strikeouts in nine innings.
  • Matt Morash has made five appearances out of the bullpen with six strikeouts in 9.2 innings.
  • Among the veterans, Anthony Steele is now 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA in six appearances. He has recorded 11 strikeouts in 11.1 innings, while holding opponents to a .154 average. David Lee has also been solid out of the bullpen with a 3.48 ERA and two saves in a team-high seven appearances.
  • Senior Jaden Henline is 2-0 in three starts, while Travis Luensmann has a win to go with a team-high 17.2 innings in four starts.

 
NITTANY LIONS CONTINUE 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.

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State continues its homestand with a pair of midweek games.
  • On Tuesday, March 19, Penn State hosts St. Bonaventure (5 p.m.) for the first Dollar Dog Night of the season.
  • On Wednesday, March 20, the Nittany Lions take on Bucknell at 5 p.m.