Baseball Finishes Regular Season At Maryland

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Penn State baseball team takes on Maryland in its final series of the 2026 regular season this weekend, May 14-16. The series begins on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium. Friday is set for a 6 p.m. first pitch and Saturday will begin at 1 p.m. All three games will be streamed on B1G+.

 

Penn State, led by head coach Mike Gambino, owns 15 wins this season (eight in Big Ten play) after taking the series against Washington and falling 11-7 at Pitt on Tuesday.

 

Maryland, coached by Matt Swope, is 25-28 overall (7-20 Big Ten) after a 21-6 win over Georgetown on Tuesday and going 1-2 in its series at Rutgers last weekend.

 

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 meets Maryland for its final series of the 2026 regular season.
• The Nittany Lions are 23-25 all-time against the Terrapins after taking one game in the series last year in Happy Valley.
• Penn State is coming off a series win over Washington and an 11-7 setback at Pitt.
• In the series finale, Isaiah Shayter, Dimond Loosli, Ben DeMell and Mason Horwat combined for PSU’s second shutout of the season and its first against a Big Ten opponent since 2021 against Purdue.
• PSU hit five homers against Pitt, including two by Spencer Barnett.
• With a homer against Minnesota, Anderson tied the PSU season home run record held by Ben Heath (19; 2010). He also sits fourth in a season with a .733 slugging percentage and tied-seventh with 132 total bases.
• Among Big Ten hitters, Anderson ranks first in OPS (1.197), second in home runs (19) and slugging percentage (.733), third in home runs per game (0.41), fourth in total bases (132) and 10th in batting average (.360). He’s also fifth in the conference in OPS (1.146) and sixth in home runs (10) in conference-only games.
• Anderson is 19th nationally in home runs and 24th in slugging percentage.
• Bryce Molinaro sits second in program history with 39 career homers.
• He also holds fifth with 148 RBI and seventh with a .541 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 26-16 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.
• The Nittany Lions have slugged 216 home runs since 2024 (71 in 2024, 81 in 2025 and 64 in 2026) and have eight players with 10+ homers in a 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.

 

WASHINGTON SERIES RECAP

• Penn State earned a series win over Washington with wins in game two and three.
• Jesse Jaconski collected six hits, including a double and two homers. Bryce Molinaro added a homer and four RBI.
• Avery Smith added a triple and a homer, while Preston Yaucher launched his first career homer and drove in three runs.
• PSU fell 5-4 in game one as Molinaro and Yaucher had two-run homers and Colin Fitzgerald went 5.1 strong innings.
• PSU picked up a 6-4 win in game two as Jayden Davis tallied three hits and drove in a run, while Jaconski homered.
• In game three, Isaiah Shayter, Dimond Loosli, Ben DeMell and Mason Horwat combined for a shutout in a 4-0 win.
• PSU earned its second shutout this season and its first in a Big Ten game since April 10, 2021 against Purdue (11-0).
• Smith had a career-best three hits, including a two-run homer, and Jaconski had a solo homer and three runs.

 

ANDERSON, MOLINARO’S BIG SEASONS

• 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 (.356), slugging percentage (.733), on-base percentage (.463), hits (64), runs (40), home runs (19), RBI (48), total bases (132) and hit-by-pitches (15). In Big Ten play, Anderson is batting .364 with 40 hits, eight doubles, 10 homers and 25 RBI.
• His 19 homers are tied with Ben Heath (19; 2010) for the PSU program season record and his .733 slugging percentage is on pace to be the fourth-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.
• Between Molinaro and Anderson, Penn State is one of nine D1 teams with two players owning 39+ homers and 132+ RBI in their careers (since 2023).
• Anderson is the only player in Division I with 19+ homers and an average home run distance of 414+ feet this season, while Molinaro is the only player with 15+ homers and an average distance of 415+ feet.
• Among Big Ten hitters, Anderson ranks first in OPS (1.197), while ranking second in home runs (19) and slugging percentage (.733), third in home runs per game (0.40), fourth in total bases (132) and 10th in batting average (.360). He’s also fifth in the conference in OPS (1.146) and sixth in home runs (10) in conference-only games.
• Anderson is 19th nationally in home runs, 24th in slugging percentage and 43rd in total bases.
• Bryce Molinaro has launched 15 homers and driven in 42 runs. He’s hit nine homers and recorded 27 RBI against Big Ten opponents.
• He is eighth in the Big Ten in home runs (15) and ninth in home runs per game (0.31).
• His 15 homers are tied for sixth-most in a season at PSU with Shawn Fagan (15; 2000).
• With two homers against Rutgers, Molinaro joined Fagan (1997-00) as the only PSU players to have three 10+ homer seasons in their careers.
• In his PSU career, Molinaro is second at PSU with 39 homers and sits fifth with 148 RBI and tied for sixth with a .541 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.