Joe will be looking to end his career with a monster year at the plate and with another solid year of handling the outstanding Penn State pitching staff behind the plate as he hopes to build his draft stock while helping the Nittany Lions to another successful season. Joe will be one of the top hitters in the Big Ten this year after finishing in the top 10 in several offensive categories in the Big Ten last year and will be the team[apos]s primary catcher while also playing DH at times and he can also play first base. One of two fifth-year seniors on the team, Joe is known for working well with the pitching staff and his outstanding work with the team[apos]s outstanding pitchers is evidenced by the difference in ERA last year when he was the catcher.
Summer 2007: Hit .314, which was second on the team, and played in and started 37 out of 40 games for the Kutztown Rockies of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League....Was teammates with Brian Ernst and helped lead the team to the ACBL championship....Drove in a team-leading 21 runs with 37 hits, 19 runs scored, and was also 5-for-7 in stolen bases....Fielded at a .985 clip as he committed just four errors in 271 total chances.
2007 (Junior): Emerged as the team[apos]s top hitter and one of the top hitters in the Big Ten after spending much of 2006 recovering from Tommy John surgery that he underwent during the 2005 season....Seized the starting catcher job right around the beginning of conference play....Started 38 games at catcher, 15 as the DH, two in left field and one at first base....Led the team in multiple-hit games (24), three-hit games (7), four-hit games (2), and tied for fourth on the team in multiple-RBI games (6)....Also led the team in hitting (.347), doubles (15), triples (5), RBI (35), total bases (101), slugging percentage (.461) and on-base percentage (.400)....Also was second on the team in hits (76), at bats (219), runs (40), walks (22) and putouts (215)....Led the Big Ten in triples after not having any career triples entering the season and is second on the all-time Penn State list for triples in a season....Threw out 13 of 41 runners attempting to steal against him....Reached base safely in 50 of 57 games and hit in 41 of 57 games....Went back-to-back games without a hit only twice....Had streaks of 11 and 19 straight games in which he reached base safely....Hit .547 (29-for-53) during a 13-game span from April 8-27....Had four straight multi-hit games from April 21-April 27....Team had a 24-14 record when he started at catcher (7-12 when he did not) and the pitching staff had a 3.43 ERA when he started as catcher, as opposed to a 5.35 ERA when he did not....Garnered third team All-Big Ten honors....Also named Academic All-Big Ten.
Game-by-Game Highlights: Scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-5 in Penn State[apos]s first win of the year at Centenary (2-18)....Went 2-for-4 with an RBI, stolen base and a sacrifice fly in the first game of the North Carolina series (3-2)...Reached on an error in the top of the 10th inning that allowed the go-ahead run to score in Penn State[apos]s 3-2 upset win over No 1. North Carolina (3-3)....Went 1-for-4 in each of the games of the Wichita State series (3-9 - 3-11)....In the only game that he did not start during the season, went 1-for-2 with a triple, run and RBI at Kansas (3-13)...Went 3-for-5 with a run, RBI and stolen base and scored the tying run after singling in the top of the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings at Oral Roberts (3-16). The game would be the beginning of a six-game hitting streak and a string in which he would hit in 10 of 11 and 20 of 22 games...Went 2-for-5 with an RBI in the series finale at Oral Roberts (3-17)...Went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI vs. Central Connecticut (3-23) in the first game at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park....Went 1-for-3 with a double in the second game of the CCSU series (3-24)....Had an RBI double to drive in the first run of the game vs. Minnesota (3-30)....Collected multiple hits in three straight games by going 2-for-3 in the final game of the Minnesota series (3-31), 2-for-4 vs. Bucknell (4-3), and 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and walks vs. Kent State (4-4), a game in which he reached base in all five plate appearances....Knocked in the go-ahead run with an RBI triple in the seven-run eighth inning in a win over Temple (4-11), going 2-for-5 with a pair of runs....Had a double and scored run while going 3-for-5 in a series-opening win at Michigan State (4-14)....Drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the four-run seventh inning to help complete a comeback from a 5-2 deficit entering the final inning as Penn State went on to win the third game of the Michigan State series (4-15)....Scored three runs and went 3-for-5 with a double in the 10-4 win in the series finale vs. the Spartans (4-16), giving Penn State its first Big Ten series win since 2005....Went 4-for-5 with a triple, a double, two runs and two RBIs vs. Mount St. Mary[apos]s (4-18) and along with two other players, including teammate Matt Cavagnaro, became the first to have a four-hit game at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park....Hustled hard to barely beat out an infield single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to drive in the first of four runs that overcame a three-run deficit heading into Penn State[apos]s final at-bat in a 7-6 win over Northwestern (4-20) and also went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI in that game....Went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and a pair of RBI in another win over Northwestern (4-21), which was the beginning of four straight games with multiple hits....In the series finale vs. the Wildcats (4-22), went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run....Set a career high for hits in a game by going 4-for-4 with two RBI and two runs vs. Duquesne (4-24)....Led off the Indiana series by going 2-for-5 with an RBI double in the series opener (4-27)....Collected multiple-hit games in three of the four games of the Purdue series (5-5 - 5-6)....Started that series by tripling and scoring the first run of the game and going 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the opener (5-5)....Followed that up by going 3-for-3 with a triple, two runs, and four RBI in the second game (5-5), becoming the first player to record a four-RBI game at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park....Went 2-for-3 in the third game of the series (5-6)....Scored the go-ahead run in a four-run sixth inning to help the Nitttany Lions to a win in the final game of the Purdue series (5-6)....Scored two runs and went 2-for-4 in the third game of the Michigan series (5-13), a Penn State win....Also went 3-for-5 with two more runs and led off the seven-run seventh inning with a single in Penn State[apos]s series finale win over Michigan (5-13)....Picked up the game-winning RBI double in the bottom of the tenth inning to score Scott Gaffney from second to give Penn State a win in the series opener vs. Ohio State (5-18) and also went 2-for-5 in that game....Went 1-for-3 and scored a run in the second game of the OSU series (5-19)....Was intentionally walked and then scored on Cory Wine[apos]s two-run triple that gave Penn State the lead for good in the Big Ten Tournament vs. Michigan (5-25)....Drove in a run, scored two and went 2-for-4 in the Big Ten Tournament win over Illinois (5-25).
Summer 2006: Played for the Havasu Heat of the Pacific Southwest Baseball League....Team went 35-6 and finished in first place in the league.
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Joe is one our team captains this year and has provided strong leadership both on and off the field. He brings energy, enthusiasm and competitiveness; stuff you can[apos]t teach. He had a good season last year and I think that his confidence in what this team is capable of has helped create a positive atmosphere. He has continued to work with our pitchers and was a huge reason for our staff[apos]s success last year. Joe calls a very good game and is solid behind the plate in addition to providing some power in the top half of our lineup. His experience and leadership will certainly be an important part of this team[apos]s success.'
From the Coaches[apos] Suite
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2006 (Sophomore): Played in 25 games while receiving 17 starts....Started 10 of the first 17 games but only had seven starts in the remaining 39 games as he continued to recover from Tommy John surgery on his elbow....Received seven starts at catcher, eight at DH, and two at first base.....Hit .444 (8-for-18) with runners in scoring position....Did not make an error in his last 33 chances over his last 15 games after making all four of his errors in his first 10 games....Named Academic All-Big Ten for the second straight year and also made the Dean[apos]s List in the fall of 2006. Game-by-Game Highlights: Had a hit and an RBI in the first game of the year at nationally-ranked Tulane (2-17)....Stole his only base of the year vs. Tulane (2-19)....Hit in four straight games that he appeared in from February 26-March 11....Had RBIs in three straight games twice (March 5-March 11 and March 25-March 31)....Went 1-for-3 with an RBI vs. Sacred Heart (3-5), Lehigh (3-7) and Toledo (3-11) during Penn State[apos]s spring break trip to Florida....Went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored at Furman (3-18)....Went 2-for-7 with two RBI and a double in Penn State[apos]s three-game series at nationally-ranked Arizona State (3-24 -- 3/26)....Got his first career start at first base at Arizona State (3-26), and was flawless in 11 chances in the field, which included a career-high 10 putouts....Entered the game as a pinch hitter and later as a defensive replacement at first base vs. Minnesota (3-31) in the Big Ten opener and went 1-for-2 with a key two-run single in the ninth inning, which helped extend a lead as Penn State won 7-3 by scoring five runs in the ninth inning....Went 1-for-3 and drew three walks in a start at DH vs. Pittsburgh (4-5)....Was 1-for-3 with a double and a run vs. Iowa (4-8) and was once again flawless in the field in his second start at first base....Had his best game of the year with a 3-for-5 performance and two doubles and two runs in Penn State[apos]s win over Bucknell (4-25).
2005 (Redshirt/Sophomore): Played in only 10 games before an elbow injury ended his season; Was awarded a medical redshirt for the year; Went 1-for-4 with a home run in win over UNC-Wilmington (2/25); batted 4-for-5 with a stolen base, 1 RBI, 2 runs, and a double against George Mason (2/26); Hit 2-for-4 with a run, an RBI and a double against James Madison (2/27); Hit a home run, batting 3-for-5 in win over Monmouth (3/7); Hit his 3rd home run on the season, earning a run and 2 RBI, batting 1-for-4 against Gonzaga (3/8); Batted 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI double in win over Southern Utah (3/10); Named to the Academic All-Big Ten team.
2004 (Freshman): Singled and drove in two runs for first career hit and RBIs versus Norfolk State (3/28); Singled and scored a run versus Southern Illinois (3/9); Singled and drove in a run versus Texas State (3/12).
Wilson HS: Starting catcher for three years at Wilson High School.; Second team All-Berks junior year; First-team All-Berks, team captain senior year; Summer ([apos]03) East-West All Star Team; All County first team; Won league batting title with .537 average; Earned three varsity letters; Also participated in wrestling; Four-year Carpenter Cup Selection; National Honor Society; Graduated with a 3.8 grade point average.
Background: Joseph McIntyre Blackburn was born September 4, 1985, in Pittsburgh, Pa.; Son of Joe and Kathy Blackburn; Sisters Kylie (20) and Samantha (10); Joe is majoring in secondary education and history.