Baseball Hosts Rutgers For Big Ten Series

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team returns to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park to welcome Rutgers for a three-game Big Ten series this weekend, April 17-19. Friday’s game is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. Saturday is scheduled for 2 p.m. and Sunday is set for 1 p.m. All games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park are free admission for all ages and all three games will be streamed on B1G+.

 

Friday is 800 Strong Night, encouraging support from fellow student-athletes and includes a first pitch by the Penn State Women’s Hockey team following its run to the Frozen Four.

 

Saturday is Ice Cream Day when fans can try the Penn State Berkey Creamery’s Double Play Peanut Butter Cup, Presented By Penn State Baseball. Saturday also includes postgame autographs.

 

Sunday is the Nittany Lion mascot’s Birthday Party, including free cupcakes for the first 500 fans. Sunday will also feature postgame kids run the bases (12 & under).

 

Penn State, led by head coach Mike Gambino, owns 10 wins this season (four in Big Ten play) after battling hard but falling 3-1 against No. 15 West Virginia on Wednesday.

 

Rutgers, coached by Steve Owens, is 18-19 overall (5-10 Big Ten) after splitting its midweek games against Marist (L, 10-3) and St. Joe’s (W, 11-1).

 

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 welcomes Rutgers to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park for a three-game Big Ten series.
• Penn State holds a 53-42 advantage in the all-time series and won series in 2024 and 2025 over the Scarlet Knights.
• The Nittany Lions battled well, but fell 3-1 against No. 15 West Virginia on Wednesday. PSU pitchers held the Mountaineers to no runs and two hits over the final 5.1 innings.
• Jack Porter launched a solo homer among three hits against WVU.
• Among Big Ten hitters, Anderson ranks first in OPS (1.336), slugging percentage (.836), home runs (15), home runs per game (0.47) and total bases (102), second in On Base percentage (.500), fourth in batting average (.385), fifth in RBI per game (1.21) and sixth in RBI (40). He’s also first in the conference in home runs (8) and OPS (1.420) in conference-only games.
• Anderson is fourth nationally in slugging, 12th in home runs and 26th in total bases.
• Anderson is one of four D1 players with 15+ homers and an average of 410+ feet this season.
• Bryce Molinaro launched his ninth homer of the year at Ohio State and now sits in a tie for third all-time at PSU with 33 career homers.

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 26-12 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.

 

OHIO STATE SERIES RECAP

• Penn State went 1-2 in its series at Ohio State last weekend.
• The Nittany Lions earned a 10-6 win on Friday.
• PSU fell 3-2 in a tight game on Saturday and had a late rally come up short on Sunday, dropping a 15-10 decision.
• Kevin Karstetter went 6-of-12 at the plate with a double, a homer and five RBI. Jayden Davis added five hits, three doubles, one RBI and three runs.
• Michael Anderson contributed six hits, including three doubles and two homers, five RBI and three runs. Bryce Molinaro had a two-run homer.
• On Friday, Penn State erased an early 5-0 deficit to earn a 10-6 victory.
• Anderson tallied three hits, including two doubles and a homer, three RBI and two runs. Molinaro added a two-run homer and Karstetter had a three-run homer.
• The PSU pitching staff allowed just one run and five hits over the final 7.2 innings.
• On Saturday, PSU pitching held OSU scoreless for five innings and limited the Buckeyes to one run and two hits over the last 5.2 frames.
• On Sunday, Anderson secured three hits, including a solo homer and an RBI double, while Davis added three hits, two doubles, and two runs.

 

ANDERSON, MOLINARO HEATING UP

• 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 leads Penn State in average (.385), slugging percentage (.836), on-base percentage (.500), hits (47), runs (29), home runs (15), RBI (40), total bases (102) and hit-by-pitches (13). In Big Ten play, Anderson is batting .426 with 26 hits, seven doubles, eight homers and 20 RBI.
• His 15 homers are tied for fifth-most in a season at PSU with Shawn Fagan (15; 2000) and his .836 slugging percentage is on pace to be the second-best in a season at PSU.
• 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.
• Anderson collected five hits, including a homer, and four RBI against Iowa. He crushed two homers and drove in four runs at Purdue and went 7-of-11 (.636) at the plate in the Illinois series with a homer, two RBI and three runs.
• He tallied five hits in the Nebraska series and hit two homers in the series finale.
• Anderson collected six hits, three doubles, two homers, five RBI and six runs in the series at Ohio State.
• Anderson is one of four players in Division I with 15+ homers and an average home run distance of 410+ feet this season.
• Among Big Ten hitters, Anderson ranks first in OPS (1.336), slugging percentage (.836), home runs (15), home runs per game (0.45) and total bases (101), second in On Base percentage (.500), fourth in batting average (.385), fifth in RBI per game (1.21) and sixth in RBI (40). He’s also first in the conference in home runs (8) and OPS (1.420) in conference-only games.
• Anderson is fourth nationally in slugging, 13th in home runs and 26th in total bases.
• Bryce Molinaro is batting .276 on the season and .281 in Big Ten play. He has launched nine homers and driven in 26 runs. He’s hit four homers and recorded 12 RBI against Big Ten opponents.
• With one more homer this season, Molinaro will join Shawn Fagan (19997-00) as the only PSU players to have three 10+ homer seasons in their career.
• In his PSU career, Molinaro is tied-third at PSU with 33 homers and sits sixth with 132 RBI and seventh with a .533 slugging percentage.

 

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).

 

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 Bucknell on Tuesday, April 21 for Dollar Dog Night. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m. with a stream on B1G+.
• All games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park are free for all ages.