Baseball Visits Ohio State For B1G Series

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Penn State baseball team travels to Columbus to take on Ohio State in a three-game series at Bill Davis Stadium this weekend, April 10-12. Friday’s series opener is set to start at 2 p.m. Saturday is scheduled for a 3 p.m. first pitch and Sunday is set for a 1 p.m. start. All games will be streamed on B1G+.

 

Please note, Friday’s game time has been moved from 6 p.m. to 2 p.m. to avoid potential rain in the evening.

 

Penn State, led by head coach Mike Gambino, is 9-21 this season (3-9 Big Ten) and is coming off an 11-5 win over FDU on Tuesday.

 

Ohio State, coached by Justin Haire, is 17-14 overall (7-5 Big Ten) after snapping a seven-game win streak with a 9-3 setback against Bowling Green on Tuesday.

 

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 Ohio State.
• The Nittany Lions trail 73-43 in the all-time series against the Buckeyes but swept the series in 2023. PSU makes its first visit to Columbus since 2022.
• Penn State is coming off an 11-5 win over FDU on Tuesday.
• Michael Anderson and Bryce Molinaro each had three hits, including a double and a triple. Spencer Barnett and Jayden Davis each drove in two runs, while Joey DeMucci stole three bases.
• Tuesday was also Dollar Dog Night with 2,014 fans consuming 4,765 hot dogs. Since 2023, PSU fans have eaten 85,616 hot dogs over 17 Dollar Dog Nights.
• Among Big Ten hitters, Anderson ranks first in OPS (1.319), slugging percentage (.819), home runs (13) and home runs per game (0.46), third in on-base percentage (.500), fourth in total bases (86), sixth in RBI per game (1.21), seventh in batting average (.381) and eighth in RBI (35). He’s also first in the conference in home runs (6) and OPS (1.452) in conference-only games.
• Anderson is one of seven D1 players with 13+ homers and an average of 404+ feet this season.
• Bryce Molinaro launched his eighth homer of the year at Nebraska and now sits in a tie for fourth all-time at PSU with 32 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 25-12 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.

 

NEBRASKA SERIES RECAP

• Penn State fell in all three games at No. 19 Nebraska last weekend.
• The Nittany Lions dropped tight contests in game one (8-7) and game three (8-6).
• Michael Anderson went 5-for-11 at the plate with two doubles, two homers, five RBI and three runs. Both homers came in Sunday’s series finale.
• Bryce Molinaro and Justin Turcovski each hit a two-run homer in the series opener.
• In game one, PSU built leads of 5-1 and 7-3 off of the homers by Molinaro and Turcovski and two doubles and two RBI by Anderson. However, the Huskers took the lead in the seventh.
• In game three, the Nittany Lions got three early runs off the homers by Anderson and then rallied for three runs in the ninth.
• On the mound, the Penn State bullpen fired 5.2 scoreless innings to close out game three with the combination of Mason Butash, Dimond Loosli, Ben DeMell and Mason Horwat limiting the Huskers to four hits.

 

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 (.381), slugging percentage (.819), on-base percentage (.500), hits (40), runs (26), home runs (13), RBI (35), total bases (86) and hit-by-pitches (12). In Big Ten play, Anderson is batting .444 with 20 hits, four doubles, six homers and 15 RBI.
• 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 is one of eight players in Division I with 13+ homers and an average home run distance of 404+ feet this season.
• Among Big Ten hitters, Anderson ranks first in OPS (1.319), slugging percentage (.819), home runs (13) and home runs per game (0.45), third in on-base percentage (.500), fourth in total bases (86), sixth in RBI per game (1.21), seventh in batting average (.381) and eighth in RBI (35). He’s also first in home runs in conference games (6) and OPS in conference games (1.452).
• Bryce Molinaro is batting .294 on the season and .302 in Big Ten play. He has launched eight homers and driven in 24 runs. He’s hit three homers and recorded 10 RBI against Big Ten opponents.
• With two more homers 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-fourth at PSU with 32 homers, sixth with 130 RBI and sits seventh with a .540 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 meets No. 17 West Virginia at Meritus Park in Hagerstown, Md. for. 6 p.m. first pitch.
• Meritus Park is the home of the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars.
• The Nittany Lions return to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park for a three-game series against Rutgers on April 17-19.