Ryan Boonie came out of the woodwork in 2008. After just three at-bats coming into his junior season and only five before the Nittany Lions[apos] first homestand of the year, the State College, Pa. native produced a hitting surge at an opportune time, garnering two hits and two RBIs against Lehigh. Since then, Boonie emerged as one of the Nittany Lions[apos] top swingers and started 34 games throughout the season, batting .295 in the process. In 2009, Boonie looks to capitalize on his success in the box and outfield and keep up his high on-base and slugging percentages.
2008
Has emerged as a starter this year in left field after playing in just four games and getting three at-bats in his first two seasons....Has played in 42 games and started in 34 of them this year....Third on the team and tied for ninth in the Big Ten with seven sacrifice hits....Just short of having enough at-bats to qualify for the team lead but otherwise would be fourth on the team in hitting (.295), fifth in slugging percentage (.369)....Tied for sixth on the team in RBI and has recorded an RBI in 15 games this year....Perfect in the field during the regular season in 57 total chances and has one of nine outfield assists for the Nittany Lions this year as he cut down a runner at the plate against Indiana (4-19)....Since entering the game as pinch hitter and going 2-for-3 against Lehigh (3-21), he has either recorded a hit, an RBI or a sacrifice hit in 27 out of 34 games....Has hits in 24 of 42 games this year (24 of 36 since he began starting) and has reached base safely in 29 of 39 games (29 of 34 since he began starting)....Fifth on the team in multi-RBI games with six, including two three-RBI games, and is eighth in multi-hit games with 10....Reached base safely in 13 straight games from April 2-April 22 and in 24 of 27 games from April 2-May 17....Ended the regular season with four-straight multi-hit games.
Game-by-Game Highlights
_vs. Lehigh (3/21-23): After getting just five at-bats on the season, entered the game as a pinch hitter in the middle innings and ended up going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored in the series opener. Received his first career start and went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a sacrifice in the second game.
_vs. Ohio State (3/29): Picked up two sacrifices in the first game of a doubleheader and then followed that up by driving in a career-high three runs while going 1-for-2 with another sacrifice in the second game of the twinbill.
_vs. Michigan (4/6): Knocked in two runs and drew a pair of walks in the win over the Wolverines.
_vs. Pittsburgh (4/9): Hit his first career home run, a pinch-hit round-tripper, to help the Nittany Lions beat the Panthers.
_vs. Purdue (4/13): Went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in the series finale win over the Boilermakers.
_vs. Indiana (4/18-20): Started all four games of the Hoosier series and went 4-for-10 in the series with three RBI and four runs scored, including a 2-for-2 performance with two runs in the third game.
_vs. Iowa (5/11): Equaled his career high with three RBI and went 2-for-5 with a run in the series finale win over Iowa.
_vs. Minnesota (5/15-17): Batted 7-for-13 against the Golden Gophers in three games. Doubled and went 2-for-4 with a run vs. Minnesota (5-16). Set a career high with his first three-hit game in a 3-for-4 performance in the regular season finale.
Summer 2007
Played for the Lemont Ducks of the Centre County Baseball League and was teammates with several former Nittany Lion baseball players.
2007
Appeared in just one game as a sophomore....Went into the game as a defensive replacement and got one at-bat in Penn State[apos]s win over Central Connecticut (3-24), which was the second game at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park....Became the first State College native to appear in a Penn State game at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Summer 2006
Played for Johnston Realty of the Altoona All-American Amateur Baseball Association (AAABA) and was teammates with Paul Hawkins and Seth Whitehill.
2006
Played in three games in his first season of collegiate baseball....Made the travel squad for the first time and appeared in his first game when he entered as a pinch runner at Arizona State (3-25), scoring a run and later in the game getting his first at-bat....Also entered the game as a pinch runner and later saw his first action in the field in a win over Duquesne (4-12). Recorded two putouts vs the Dukes.
2005
Red-shirted in his first year at Penn State.
State College HS
Central Pennsylvania League first team outfield (`03, `04); District 6 Champions (`02, `03); Earned three varsity letters; Hit .480 as a junior and .415 as a senior; Honor Roll; Also played football.
Background
Ryan Michael Boonie was born November 11, 1985, in State College, Pa; Parents are Mike and Rhonda Boonie; Ryan is majoring in history.