2016 (JUNIOR):
Awards: Big Ten Player of the Week (4/11) … College Sports Madness Player of the Week (4/12) … Daily Collegian Athlete of the Week (4/13) … PSU/Highmark Student Athlete of the Week (4/13). Season: Led the team with a .405 on-base percentage and ranked second with 24 walks … Struck out just 14 times in 197 at-bats … Started all 48 appearances he made, with 45 coming in right field, two in left and one at DH, and hit .307 to rank fourth on the team … Batted leadoff a team-high 25 times … Totaled four doubles, two triples and two home runs … Had a 10-game hitting streak (3/30-4/13) during which he batted .488 (21-for-43) with 12 runs, 11 RBIs, two doubles, a home run, three walks, two hit by pitches and just one strikeout. Also had two eight-game hitting streaks (3/11-3/23 & 5/7-5/19). Army (2/20): Reached base seven times in doubleheader … Went 2-for-3 with a hit by pitch, run and RBI in first game and earned three walks and was plunked again in the night cap. At No. 15 South Carolina: Went 2-for-3 with an RBI, double, run and walk in series finale. Princeton (3/12): Hit 2-for-4 with a triple and a stolen base. Vs. New York Tech, vs. Princeton and at Richmond (3/11-13): Started eight-game hitting streak by going 6-for-12 with a walk, two stolen bases and three runs scored in three-game tournament at Richmond. Rhode Island (3/23): Tripled and went 2-for-5 with an RBI and run. Binghamton (3/30): Started 10-game hitting streak by going 2-for-4 plus a hit by pitch with a run and three RBIs. Purdue (4/1-2): Hit 5-for-13 plus a walk in a three-game series with a run and two RBIs. for the week of Apr. 4-10, the league office announced Monday, as the junior batted over .500 over five games. Pittsburgh (4/5), at Lafayette (4/6) & Michigan State (4/8-10): Named Big Ten Player of the Week for the first time in career after going 12-for-22 (.545) with a .583 on-base percentage, home run, two doubles, eight runs scored and six RBIs over the five games … Had four-multi-hit games, including three three-hit games … Led the Nittany Lions at the plate in biggest win of the season based on RPI (No. 24 at time), going 3-for-4 with a double and two runs against Pitt … Led the Nittany Lions at Lafayette the very next day going 3-for-5 with a home run, double, four RBIs, three runs and a walk … Led Penn State in its first game against Michigan State Friday, registering two of the six hits PSU mustered in the game … Accounted for five of the seven runs Penn State scored in win over Michigan State in series finale by crossing home plate three times and driving in two more … Reached base four times going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a hit by pitch, with the latter coming in the decisive bottom of the ninth, and he later scored the game-tying run. Maryland (4/30): Hit 2-for-4 with a lead-off home run in the first inning that would prove to be the difference in a 2-0 victory. TCU (5/7-8): Went 6-for-13 in three games with three runs, recording two hits in each game … Started second eight-game hitting streak of the season. At Pittsburgh (5/11): Started comeback in seventh inning with lead-off single … Reached base twice with the single and a walk and scored both times. At Nebraska (5/13-15): Singled twice and scored twice in win in series opener … Had a hit in each of the final two games. Iowa (5/19-20): Singled in series opener to extend hitting streak to eight games … Walked and scored in season finale in the seventh inning to help Penn State tie Iowa before an eventual 12-inning win.
2015 CUBA TRIP
One of four Nittany Lions to start all four games in the Cuba Baseball Friendship Tournament … Led the team with three RBIs, five walks, a .500 on-base percentage and a .545 slugging percentage and was second in batting with a .273 average (3-for-11) … Hits included a single, double and the Lions’ only triple … Went 1-for-3 with a walk and the first run scored for Penn State of the tournament in the opener at Industriales … Drew a walk in second game against Ciego de Ávila, the defending champions of the Cuban National Series … Reached base twice in the same inning against Mayabeque, walking the first time up and clearing the bases with a triple the second time up … Finished game going 1-for-2 with a run scored, three RBIs and two walks as Penn State earned a historic 9-3 win over Mayabeque – the first win for a U.S. team against a Cuban National Series team … Doubled and walked in finale at Matanzas.
2015 (SOPHOMORE)
Season: Earned a .361 on-base percentage and batted .265 with a home run and 17 RBIs in 26 starts and 41 appearances … Primarily saw action at designated hitter early in the season before seeing more time in the outfield … Had a six-game hitting streak (4/26-5/3) where he batted .409 with two doubles and six RBIs. At Elon (2/13-14): Went 2-for-5 with a run and three RBIs in season opener and went 2-for-5 again in the series finale with one RBI. At No. 23 Texas A&M (2/22): Went 3-for-4 with a run … first career three-hit game. At Charleston Southern (3/7-8): Went 3-for-6 over the final two games of the series … Reached base four times in the finale going 2-for-3 with a walk, hit-by-pitch, RBI, run and stolen base. Bucknell (4/7): Doubled, drove in a run and scored in 1-for-3 evening. Michigan (4/11): Singled and scored in lone pinch-hit at-bat. Bucknell (4/15): Reached base four times after getting hit by pitches three times and hitting a single … Drove in a run, scored three times and stole a base. At Kent State (4/21): Entered as a pinch hitter and, with one on, hit first career home run. No. 8 Illinois (4/25-26): Started six-game hitting streak going 1-for-3 in second game of series … Went 2-for-4 with a double and run in finale. Pittsburgh (4/29): Singled and scored. Rutgers (5/1-3): Went 5-for-11 with six RBIs and three runs scored for the series to extend hitting streak to six games … Top performance came in second game, going 3-for-5 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored.
2014 (FRESHMAN)
Season: Made 15 starts in 25 appearances. At Gardner-Webb (2/16): Notched his first career hit in the second game of a doubleheader. At USF (2/21-22): Drove in a run and went 1-for-2 (2/21) ... Roped his first double in a 1-for-2 effort and scored a run against the Bulls (2/22). At Purdue (4/5-6): Drove in his first run as a Nittany Lion with a single in the first game of a doubleheader (4/5) ... Recorded a single in a pinch-hitting appearance in series finale. At Minnesota (4/26): Pinch hit in the first game of a doubleheader, securing a single.
HIGH SCHOOL
Lettered for four seasons at Trinity High School under the guidance of head coach Scott Henson ... Garnered All-Mid-Penn Conference honors all four years ... Received All-District honors during freshman, junior and senior seasons ... Posted a batting average of .410, with three home runs, 78 RBIs and 62 runs over his four-year career at Trinity ... Led Trinity High to two WPIAL playoff appearances ... Named team captain during his junior and senior years ... Played summer league as a member of the Steel City Wildcats ... Helped the Wildcats to two WPEBL championships ... Hit a walk-off home run in the final game of the WPEBL Championship game in 2013 ... Played fall ball for the Allegheny Pirates ... Four-time high honor student in the classroom ... Recipient of the Jefferson Community Service Award.
PERSONAL
Full name is Nicholas Richard Riotto ... Born on September 18, 1994 in Washington, Pa. ... Parents are Rich and Lynn Riotto ... Has a brother, Eric, and a sister, Riley ... Rich was the starting quarterback at William & Jefferson College ... Lynn was an All-American at Washington & Jefferson College in swimming ... Major is economics.