Baseball Meets Illinois For Big Ten Road SeriesBaseball Meets Illinois For Big Ten Road Series

Frankie Sanchez

Baseball Meets Illinois For Big Ten Road Series

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Penn State baseball team travels to Champaign this weekend to take on Illinois in a three-game Big Ten series. The series begins on Friday at 7 p.m. and continues Saturday at 4 p.m. Both of those games will be on BTN Plus. Sunday's contest, at 3 p.m., will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
 
Penn State, led by head coach Mike Gambino, is 13-9 after earning a 10-1 win over Pitt on Tuesday. The Nittany Lion pitching staff allowed just one hit, while the bats exploded for seven runs in the sixth.
 
Illinois, coached by Dan Hartleb, is 11-12 this season. On Tuesday, the Illini picked up an 11-3 win over Missouri.
 
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 Champaign to take on Illinois in a three-game Big Ten series.
  • The Nittany Lions are 31-41 all-time against Illinois.
  • Penn State dropped three games against the Illini in 2022, the last time the teams met.
  • The Nittany Lions earned a 10-1 win over Pitt on Tuesday.
  • The PSU pitching staff combined to allow one hit and one unearned run, while striking out nine.
  • At the plate, Grant Norris led the way with three hits and two RBI, while J.T. Marr had his 11th multi-hit game of the year with two hits, including a double, and two RBI. Adam Cecere set a PSU game record with five walks.
  • J.T. Marr brings a .433 average into Friday's contest.
  • Marr ranks second in the Big Ten in average and hits per game (1.77) and third in total hits (39).
  • Penn State's balanced lineup features five players with at least 20 hits and nine players with at least 11 RBI this season.

 
SCOUTING ILLINOIS

  • Head Coach Dan Hartleb is in his 19th season leading the Illinois program.
  • Illinois is 543-410-1 under Hartleb, including an 11-12 mark this season.
  • Last weekend, the Illini won two of three games against Indiana.
  • Illinois picked up an 11-3 win over Missouri on Tuesday.
  • The Illini rank 12th in the Big Ten in batting average (.252) but leads the Big Ten in both total homers (31) and home runs per game (1.35).
  • Ryan Moerman and Drake Westcott are tied for third in the Big Ten with seven homers.
  • Camden Janik leads the Illini with a .341 average and 30 hits to go with 17 RBI and 16 runs.
  • Coltin Quagliano paces the squad with 20 RBI.
  • On the mound, Illinois has a 6.35 ERA, sitting 10th in the conference.
  • Cooper Omans is fourth in the league with a 2.28 ERA, while Jake Swartz owns a 3.46 ERA.
  • Joe Glassey and Will Lavin lead the staff with nine appearances.
     

AGAINST THE ILLINI

  • Penn State is 31-41 all-time against Illinois.
  • The teams last played in 2022, with the Nittany Lions dropping three games.
  • Penn State's last win in the series came on May 23, 2021, a 13-4 victory.

 
THE MARR-CHINE KEEPS HITTING

  • Grad student J.T. Marr is off to an incredible start to begin the 2024 campaign.
  • Marr's season average sits at .433 with a team-best 39 hits.
  • Marr ranks second in the Big Ten with his .433 average, while ranking 21st in the country.
  • He also ranks 10th in the nation, and second in the Big Ten, averaging 1.77 hits per game.
  • Marr holds 23rd in the country, and third in the conference, with 39 total hits.
  • Marr tallied two hits against Pitt, his 11th multi-hit game of the season.
  • He also owns five multi-RBI games.
  • On the year, Marr has two games with four hits and four games with three hits.
  • Among his 39 knocks, he has four doubles and a homer to go with 21 RBI and 20 runs.

 
NEWCOMERS LEADING BALANCED LINEUP

  • The Nittany Lions sit among the Top 5 in the Big Ten in runs per game (7.6; 4th), sac flies (18; 2nd) and walks (123; 5th).
  • Penn State has five players with a .300 or better average, six with a .400+ on-base percentage and six with a .400+ slugging percentage.
  • Six Nittany Lions have at least 20 hits and nine Nittany Lions have at least 10 RBI.
  • Penn State joins Maryland and Rutgers as the only Big Ten teams with at least nine players owning at least 11 RBI.
  • Graduate student J.T. Marr paces the squad with a .433 average and 39 hits. He owns four doubles, a homer, 21 RBI and 21 runs.
  • After going 4-of-10 at the plate vs. Michigan, Bobby Marsh is hitting .310 with 22 hits, including four doubles, 13 RBI and 12 runs.
  • Junior Matt Maloney is batting .310 with a team-high 24 RBI along with five doubles and a homer.
  • Maloney ranks second in the Big Ten in RBI per game (1.41).
  • Redshirt junior Billy Gerlott is hitting .308 with five doubles, a homer, three RBI and 14 runs.
  • Graduate student Adam Cecere is hitting .300 with 21 hits, including five doubles and a team-high five homers, 15 RBI and 25 runs. He has a team-high 25 walks and seven hit-by-pitches.
  • He hit two homers on March 15 against UMass Lowell, his sixth career multi-homer game.
  • Cecere paces the team with a .586 slugging percentage and a .515 on-base percentage.
  • He ranks seventh in Big Ten with a 1.101 OPS, 11th in slugging percentage (.586) and second in on-base percentage (.515). He's also tied-second in the conference in total walks (25) and leads in walks per game (1.14).
  • Cecere is one of 23 current Division I players with 37+ homers and 131+ RBI in their career.
  • Among active DI players, Cecere is 26th in homers (37).
  • Joe Jaconski is fifth in the Big Ten in walks (20) and owns 22 hits and 18 runs, while Grant Norris has 22 hits, including five doubles and four homers, and 18 RBI.
  • Bryce Molinaro owns two homers, among 24 hits, and 17 RBI, while Kyle Hannon has 16 hits, one homer and 18 runs.

 
PITT GAME RECAP

  • Penn State picked up a 10-1 win over Pitt on Tuesday with strong performances at the plate and on the mound.
  • Mason Butash got the start, going four innings without allowing a hit or run and striking out four.
  • Matt Morash and Connor Throneberry combined for two innings, one hit and one unearned run before Ben DeMell earned the save with three perfect innings and three strikeouts.
  • The Nittany Lions tallied 10 hits and 10 walks. Grant Norris led the way with three hits and two RBI.
  • J.T. Marr contributed two hits, including a double, and two RBI, while Kyle Hannon added a two-run single. Bryce Molinaro drove in two runs, while Joe Jaconski had two hits and a run.
  • Adam Cecere set a PSU game record with five walks and scored twice. His five walks are tied for the most in a Division I game this season.

 
HANNON, KELLEY, NORRIS CLIMB RECORDS LISTS

  • Senior Kyle Hannon already has 10 steals in 2024, including four in the series vs. Harvard.
  • With 10 steals this year, Hannon has moved up to fourth all-time at Penn State with 44 career steals. He is currently six steals behind Doug Keener (50, 1984-87) for third place.
  • Hannon ranks sixth in the Big Ten in total steals (10) and fifth in steals per game (0.50).
  • 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' .518 career slugging percentage sits seventh all-time at Penn State.

 
LUENSMANN POSTS CONSECUTIVE SOLID STARTS

  • Senior Travis Luensmann made his third-straight solid start against Michigan on Friday.
  • He gave up no hits or runs in four innings of work, while striking out six. He struck out multiple batters in the first and third innings.
  • The Altoona native picked up his second win of the season on March 14 against UMass Lowell.
  • Luensmann fired six innings, giving up one run on two hits, while striking out five. He did not allow a run until a solo homer in the sixth.
  • Luensmann has thrown six innings in back-to-back starts, including a six-inning, two-run outing against Harvard on March 8.
  • He has 22 strikeouts in six starts and is allowing a .157 opponent average.
  • He ranks second in the Big Ten and 16th in the country allowing 4.55 hits per nine innings.
  • Frankie Sanchez made a start on Sunday against Michigan and has a 1.46 ERA over four appearances (three starts) with 14 strikeouts in 12.1 innings.

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State welcomes Bucknell on Tuesday, April 2 for its third Dollar Dog Night of the season. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
  • The Nittany Lions host Northwestern for a three-game Big Ten series beginning on Friday, April 5.