Baseball Travels To Purdue For Three-Game Series

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Penn State baseball team meets Purdue for a three-game Big Ten series this weekend, March 20-22, at Alexander Field. The series begins on Friday at 4 p.m. with a broadcast on Big Ten Network. Saturday’s game is slated for 2 p.m. and Sunday’s game is set for 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday will be streamed on B1G+.

 

Penn State, led by Mike Gambino, is 5-13 this season. The Nittany Lions took one of three games against Iowa last weekend.

 

Purdue, coached by Greg Goff, is 13-6 overall and 3-3 in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers won their series at Maryland last weekend and picked up an 11-3 win over Oakland City on Wednesday.

 

For updates on the Penn State baseball team, please check @pennstatebase on X and Instagram.

 

The 2026 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.

LEADING OFF

• Penn State continues Big Ten play with a three-game series at Purdue.
• The Nittany Lions trail 55-39 in the all-time series against the Boilermakers.
• In 2025, Penn State took two of three games in Happy Valley.
• Penn State is coming off a 1-2 weekend against Iowa.
• The Nittany Lions won Friday’s game, 11-6, but fell on Saturday and Sunday.
• Michael Anderson went 5-of-10 on the weekend, including a double and a homer, four RBI and four runs.
• Jesse Jaconski homered and drove in four runs, while Bryce Molinaro and Jack Porter each drove in three runs.
• Colin Fitzgerald fired seven strong innings on Friday and struck out seven batters.
• Anderson leads Penn State with a .345 average, .513 on-base percentage, 20 hits, eight homers, 22 RBI, 15 runs and 10 hit-by-pitches, while posting a .776 slugging percentage and 10 walks.
• Among Big Ten hitters, Anderson sits fourth in homers, slugging percentage and on-base percentage, ninth in RBI and first in hit-by-pitches.
• Spencer Barnett and Bryce Molinaro each own four homers this season with Barnett holding a team-high .889 slugging percentage.
• Jayden Davis is tied with Anderson for the team-high in hits (20).

YEAR THREE UNDER GAMBINO

• Penn State’s 33 wins in 2025 are the second-most in program history, behind only 45 in 2000.
• PSU reached the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals in back-to-back years for the first time since 2000-01.
• Penn State tallied 30 wins in a season for the first time since 2011, while earning seven series wins and nine winning weekends.
• PSU’s 15 Big Ten wins last season are its most since 2012.
• The Nittany Lions won three Big Ten road series (at Northwestern, at Minnesota, at Rutgers) in a season for the first time since 2012 (at Iowa, at Minnesota, at Michigan State).
• Penn State won at least five Big Ten series in a season (vs. Indiana, at Northwestern, at Minnesota, vs. Purdue, at Rutgers) for the first time since 2012.
• PSU had eight Big Ten road wins last season, its most since winning nine Big Ten road games in 2007.
• Penn State earned a .500 or better record in Big Ten games in back-to-back seasons for the sixth time in program history (1995-96; 2000-01; 2003-04; 2007-08; 2011-12; 2024-25).
• Penn State’s 27 wins in Big Ten play over the last two seasons are its most in a two-year span since 2011-12 (not counting the Big Ten-only schedule in 2021).
• PSU was 11-3 in series/weekend openers last season and is 24-10 in series/weekend openers over the last three years.
• The Nittany Lions had five players selected in the 2025 MLB Draft: outfielder Paxton Kling (7th round, Rangers), shortstop Ryan Weingartner (8th round, Cardinals), pitcher Ryan DeSanto (12th round, Guardians), pitcher Chase Renner (13th round, Marlins) and third baseman Bryce Molinaro (17th round, Nationals). Molinaro returned for the 2026 season.

 

IOWA RECAP

• Penn State went 1-2 against Iowa last weekend.
• The Nittany Lions took Friday’s game, 11-6, but dropped Saturday (13-4) and Sunday (12-4).
• Michael Anderson went 5-for-10 at the plate with a double, a homer, four RBI and four runs.
• Jesse Jaconski added a homer and four RBI, while Bryce Molinaro and Jack Porter each drove in three runs.
• On Friday, Colin Fitzgerald fired seven strong innings, pitching into the eighth, and tallied seven strikeouts. All three runs charged to Fitzgerald scored after he left the game.
• Anderson hit a two-run homer and added an RBI single.
• Jaconski drove in three runs, including a two-run homer, while Molinaro added an RBI single and scored twice.
• On Saturday, Spencer Barnett doubled and scored two runs.
• Anderson collected three hits, with a double, an RBI and two runs on Sunday. Jayden Davis added a double and two runs.

 

BAHAMAS SERIES RECAP

• Penn State met Indiana State in the first NCAA Division I baseball games in The Bahamas.
• The Atlantis Collegiate Baseball Series, run by bdG Sports, was played at Andre Rodgers National Baseball Stadium.
• Penn State fell in tight battles on Friday, 8-5, and Saturday, 2-1, but bounced back to win 9-8 in 11 innings on Sunday.
• In Sunday’s win, Michael Anderson, Jayden Davis and Bryce Molinaro all launched homers.
• After a Preston Yaucher single tied the game in the ninth, Jesse Jaconski scored the winning run in the 11th on a fielder’s choice by Cohl Mercado.

 

GAMBINO COACHING CONNECTIONS

• Penn State head coach Mike Gambino has coached two current MLB managers.
• Gambino coached Washington Nationals manager Blake Butera at Boston College (2012-15) before Butera was selected in the 35th round by the Tampa Bay Rays. Butera is the youngest manager in the MLB at 33 years old.
• Gambino also mentored Colorado Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer at Virginia Tech in 2007. Schaeffer was selected in the 38th round of the 2007 draft.
• At the Desert Invitational, Gambino went up against Kansas State’s Pete Hughes. Gambino played for Hughes at Boston College from 1999-00 and then served on Hughes’ coaching staffs at Boston College (2003-05) and Virginia Tech (2007-10).

 

NITTANY LIONS DISPLAY POWER, SPEED

• Penn State is one of 13 Division I teams (only Big Ten team) with 152 homers and 168 stolen bases in the last two seasons (2024-25). PSU was one of 14 D1 teams with 81+ homers and 108+ steals last season.
• The Nittany Lions paced the Big Ten in total steals (108; 46th nationally) and steals per game (1.93; 46th).
• In 2026, Penn State owns 23 homers and 14 steals.
• Michael Anderson paces the team with eight homers, while Spencer Barnett and Bryce Molinaro each have four. Jayden Davis and Jesse Jaconski have two.
• Barnett also leads the team with three steals, while Joey DeMucci, Maddox McDonald, Cohl Mercado and Justin Turcovski each have two.

 

ANDERSON OFF TO HOT START

• After transferring from Rhode Island (2023-24) and Arkansas (2025), senior Michael Anderson is off to a strong start for the Nittany Lions in 2026.
• The Pennsylvania native owns a .345 average this season, going 20-of-58 at the plate. He also owns a .776 slugging percentage and a .513 on-base percentage.
• Anderson leads Penn State in hits (20), home runs (8), RBI (22) and runs (15), while adding 10 walks and 10 hit-by-pitches.
• He hit one homer in the series at Richmond and two against Indiana State.
• In his debut at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, Anderson launched two homers (437 and 399 feet) among three hits and drove in seven runs. The seven RBI were one shy of the PSU game record.
• He followed with four hits, including a two-run homer, and six RBI at Texas Tech. He drove in two runs in all three games. He added a solo homer at Georgetown.
• Anderson collected five hits, including a homer, and four RBI against Iowa.
• Among Big Ten hitters, Anderson ranks fourth in homers (7), on-base percentage (.513) and slugging percentage (.776), ninth in RBI (22) and first in hit-by-pitches (10).

 

PENN STATE SIGNS SATO

• On December 22, the Nittany Lions signed Japanese phenom pitcher Genei Sato.
• The 21-year-old right-handed pitcher is expected to enroll in Penn State classes in Summer 2026 and will join the Nittany Lions in Fall 2026 to compete in the 2027 season. Sato will be eligible for the 2027 MLB Draft.
• He spent three years at Sendai University in Shibata, Japan.
• Sato is considered to be a potential first-round pick in the 2027 MLB Draft.
• Before deciding to pursue a college path, Sato was considered a top prospect in the 2026 Nippon Professional Baseball Draft.
• While at Sendai University, Sato threw 170.1 innings, while posting a 2.22 ERA and 10.7 strikeouts per nine, while allowing six hits per nine and 3.3 walks per nine.
• His fastball has been clocked between 94-97 mph while topping out at 99. He also features a splitter (88-91), slider (82-85) and curveball (71-74).
• Sato competed for Japan in the US-Japan Collegiate All-Star Series last July, serving as the closer for the Japanese Collegiate National Team, recording 4.1 innings, allowing one run and striking out six.
• He is the 12th member of Penn State’s 2026 signing class, which includes the top prospect and three of the top nine prospects in PA, according to Prep Baseball Report. It also includes two of the top seven prospects in New Jersey.

 

UP NEXT

• Penn State hosts a pair of midweek games. The Nittany Lions take on St. Bonaventure on Tuesday, March 24 at 5:30 p.m. on Dollar Dog Night and Bucknell on Wednesday, March 25 at 5:30 p.m.
• The Nittany Lions welcome Illinois for a three-game Big Ten series next weekend.
• All games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park are free admission for all ages.