Baseball Hosts Minnesota For Big Ten Series

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team is set to host Minnesota for a three-game Big Ten series this weekend, May 1-3, at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The series begins on Friday at 5:30 p.m. followed by Saturday at 2 p.m. Sunday’s game is slated for 11:30 a.m. All games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park are free admission for all ages.

 

Please note, Sunday’s game has been moved up to 11:30 a.m. due to Minnesota’s travel curfew.

 

All three games will feature Dollar Dogs for the first 2,000 hot dogs sold. Dollar Dog Weekend is Presented By Venmo.

 

Friday is Military Appreciation Night, honoring all who have served our country.

 

Saturday is ALS Awareness Day and Alumni Day and includes postgame autographs.

 

Sunday is Bark In The Park and includes postgame kids run the bases (12 & under).

 

Penn State, led by head coach Mike Gambino, owns 12 wins this season (five in Big Ten play) and looks to bounce back after dropping a tough series at No. 19 Oregon last weekend.

 

Minnesota, coached by Ty McDevitt, is 27-17 overall (8-13 Big Ten) after sweeping Northwestern last weekend and adding a midweek win over St. Thomas.

 

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 hosts Minnesota for a Big Ten series this weekend at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
• The Nittany Lions trail 43-24 in the all-time series against Minnesota but swept the series last season in Minneapolis.
• PSU looks to bounce back after falling in three tight games at Oregon.
• Colin Fitzgerald (6IP, 3R, 12K) and Ben Hudson (6IP, 2R, 5K) gave the Nittany Lions strong starts against No. 19 Oregon last Friday and Saturday.
• With two homers against Bucknell last week, Michael Anderson brought his season total to 18, which sits one behind the PSU season record held by Ben Heath (19; 2010).
• Among Big Ten hitters, Anderson ranks first in OPS (1.276), slugging percentage (.795), home runs (18) and home runs per game (0.45), second in total bases (120), sixth in On Base Percentage (.481) and seventh in batting average (.364), RBI (47) and RBI per game (1.18). He’s also second in the conference in OPS (1.229) and third in home runs (9) in conference-only games.
• Anderson is 12th nationally in slugging and home runs and 23rd in total bases.
• Bryce Molinaro sits second in program history with 36 career homers. He also holds fifth with 140 RBI and seventh with a .537 slugging percentage.

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.
• PSU’s 15 Big Ten wins last season are its most since 2012.
• 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).
• PSU was 11-3 in series/weekend openers last season and is 26-14 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.
• Over the last three seasons, PSU has set team records for doubles (111; 2025) and stolen bases (108; 2025).
• Between 2024 and 2025, Penn State slugged 152 homers (81 in 2025) and stole 168 bags. PSU was one of 13 D1 teams (only Big Ten team) to accomplish those numbers over that span.
• Individually, Ryan Weingartner broke the PSU steals record in 2025 (30) and in 2026, Bryce Molinaro became the second player in program history to hit 10+ homers in three-straight seasons.

 

OREGON SERIES RECAP

• Penn State dropped all there of its games at No. 19 Oregon last weekend.
• The Nittany Lions competed in tight games on Friday and Saturday, falling 5-4 in both games, and dropped a 5-0 decision on Sunday.
• Jayden Davis led PSU with four hits on the weekend.
• Bryce Molinaro drove in three runs with a double and a homer, while Preston Yaucher had two doubles among three hits.
• Spencer Barnett added a two-run homer.
• On Friday, Colin Fitzgerald fired six strong innings. He allowed three runs while recording a career-high 12 strikeouts. It was his fourth career game with 10+ strikeouts and his second this season. He had two or more strikeouts in five different innings.
• Fitzgerald’s 12 strikeouts are the most by a Nittany Lion since Kyle Virbitsky’s 12 strikeouts against Minnesota on May 29, 2021.
• PSU took the lead in the seven on a two-run homer by Molinaro but the Ducks tied the game in the bottom of the seventh and took the lead in the eighth.
• On Saturday, Ben Hudson gave PSU a great start, giving up two runs in six innings.
• PSU jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first, including a two-run homer by Barnett, but Oregon again tied the game in the seventh and won it on a walk-off in the 10th.

 

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 (.364), slugging percentage (.795), on-base percentage (.481), hits (55), runs (37), home runs (18), RBI (47), total bases (120) and hit-by-pitches (15). In Big Ten play, Anderson is batting .372 with 30 hits, eight doubles, nine homers and 24 RBI.
• His 18 homers are second in a season at PSU, trailing only Ben Heath (19; 2010) and his .795 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.
• He hit two homers against Bucknell.
• Anderson is the only player in Division I with 18+ homers and an average home run distance of 414+ feet this season.
• Among Big Ten hitters, Anderson ranks first in OPS (1.276), slugging percentage (.795), home runs (18) and home runs per game (0.45), second in total bases (120), sixth in On Base Percentage (.481) and seventh in batting average (.364), RBI (47) and RBI per game (1.18). He’s also second in the conference in OPS (1.229) and third in home runs (9) in conference-only games.
• Anderson is 12th nationally in slugging and home runs and 23rd in total bases.
• Bryce Molinaro has launched 12 homers and driven in 34 runs. He’s hit seven homers and recorded 20 RBI against Big Ten opponents.
• With two homers against Rutgers, Molinaro joined Shawn Fagan (19997-00) as the only PSU players to have three 10+ homer seasons in their careers.
• He is one of 18 current D1 players with three 10+ home run seasons.
• In his PSU career, Molinaro is second at PSU with 36 homers and sits fifth with 140 RBI and seventh with a .537 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

• The Nittany Lions host Washington for a three-game Big Ten series on May 8-10.
• Friday’s game is set for a 5:30 p.m. first pitch.
• Saturday begins at 2 p.m.
• Sunday is Senior Day, presented by the Penn State Alumni Association, and begins at noon with a broadcast on Big Ten Network.
• All games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park are free admission for all ages.