EVANSTON, Ill. – The Penn State baseball team visits Northwestern for a three-game Big Ten series, beginning on Friday at 4 p.m. The series is set to continue on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Miller Park. All games will be broadcast on B1G+.
Penn State, led by head coach Mike Gambino, is 12-3 this season after splitting a two-game set at Georgetown on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Northwestern, coached by Ben Greenspan, is 7-8 overall after dropping a 5-2 decision against Illinois-Chicago on Wednesday.
For updates on the Penn State baseball team, please check @pennstatebase on X and Instagram.
The 2025 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
FOLLOW ALONG
LEADING OFF
- Penn State travels to Evanston for a three-game Big Ten series at Northwestern.
- The Nittany Lions split a two-game series at Georgetown on Tuesday and Wednesday.
- On Wednesday, PSU earned an 11-6 win. Paxton Kling had five hits, including two doubles, three RBI and two runs. Jesse Jaconski and Nate Voss homered, while Skip Shenosky fired four no-hit innings.
- With a 12-3 record, Penn State is off to its best 15-game start since going 13-2 to begin the 1979 season.
- Penn State has tallied 10+ runs in 10 games this season. PSU has 10 games of 10+ runs within the first 15 games of a season for the first time since 1957, when PSU finished as NCAA Runner-Up.
- Last weekend, PSU won its Big Ten-opening series against Indiana.
- PSU earned its first series win over Indiana since 2008 and its first series win in a Big Ten opening series since 2014 against Northwestern.
- PSU ranks 15th in the country with 29 homers and 12th averaging 1.93 homers per game, while Paxton Kling sits 24th in the nation with seven homers.
- Ryan Weingartner leads the Big Ten with 13 steals, good for 12th in the country, and as a team, PSU is 12th in the nation averaging 2.8 steals per game.
PSU’S STRONG START
- After splitting a two-game series at Georgetown, the Nittany Lions are off to a 12-3 start.
- With a 12-3 mark, Penn State is off to its best 15-game start since going 13-2 to begin the 1979 season.
- The Nittany Lions have tallied 10+ runs in 10 games this season. PSU has 10 games of 10+ runs within the first 15 games of a season for the first time since 1957, when PSU finished as NCAA Runner-Up.
- With its win in game one against Indiana on March 7, the Nittany Lions started a season 10-1 for the first time since 1978 and had a nine-game win streak for the first time since 2000.
NITTANY LIONS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN HOMERS, STEALS
- Through 15 games, Penn State has slugged 29 home runs.
- The Nittany Lions rank 12th in the country, and second in the Big Ten, averaging 1.93 homers per game.
- Penn State also ranks 15th in the nation in total home runs and 28th in slugging percentage (.536).
- Paxton Kling leads the Nittany Lions with seven homers, while sitting 24th in the country in total homers and 28th in home runs per game (0.47).
- Kling is among nine Nittany Lions with at least one home run this season and is one of eight with multiple homers.
- Jesse Jaconski, Nate Voss and Ryan Weingartner own four homers, while Bryce Molinaro has three and Joe Jaconski, Jack Porter and Cole Wagner have two.
- Penn State has launched four grand slams, including two by Kling, one by Molinaro and one by Voss.
- The Nittany Lions are also 12th in the country in stolen bases per game (2.80), pacing the Big Ten.
- Weingartner leads the Big Ten in total steals (13), sitting 12th in the country, and steals per game (0.87), holding 15th.
- Mercado and Wagner each have six steals.
PSU TAKES SERIES VS. INDIANA
- The Nittany Lions took two of three games against Indiana with a 15-9 win in game one and a 10-6 victory in game three.
- Penn State won its first series against Indiana since 2008.
- PSU earned its first series win in a Big Ten-opening series since 2014 against Northwestern.
- In Friday’s first game, PSU launched four homers, including grand slams by Bryce Molinaro and Paxton Kling, while Molinaro and Jack Porter added solo homers.
- Ryan DeSanto tallied a season-high nine strikeouts.
- On Sunday, PSU scored three runs in the seventh to take the lead and four runs in the eighth to pull away.
- Cohl Mercado had two hits and three runs, while Joe Jaconski drove in three runs. Kling and Molinaro each had two RBI.