UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State returns to the Keystone State, traveling to Pittsburgh for its first midweek baseball game of the year Tuesday at 3 p.m. on Cost Field.
Essentials
Live Video: ACC Network Extra
Live Audio: GoPSUsports.com
Live Stats: GoPSUsports.com
TV: N/A
Radio: State College's ESPN 1450
Series History: Penn State, 87-45-1
Last Game: Pitt, 3-2, May 8, 2018
Streak: L3
Tuesday Probables
PSU RHP Cole Bartles (0-0, 18.00 ERA)
Pitt TBD
Good Start
Penn State's 9-3 start is its best since starting the 1980 season 10-2.
Penn State's overall record currently ranks second in the Big Ten behind Illinois (10-3).
Penn State went undefeated in February for the first time in program history.
Penn State's nine wins are its most before playing a home game since winning 12 of 18 games before the 2011 home opener.
In terms of winning percentage, Penn State's .750 start prior to playing a home game presently ranks as the best in the current scheduling era. In 1983, Penn State first started playing games in late February/early March, and enjoyed its best road/neutral start in 2000 (13-5; .722).
Penn State is 4-0 in games decided by one run this season after going 5-13 in one-run games last season.
Spring Break Success
The Nittany Lions most recently took two of three at UCF. The Knights entered the series with two wins over ranked opponents and were one of the first four team's left out of last season's NCAA Tournament.
Penn State snapped a four-game losing streak against nationally-ranked teams against No. 21 Duke earning its first top-25 win since defeating No. 22 Nebraska, 8-7, May 18, 2017.
Penn State earned its first win over a nationally-ranked opponent away from home since defeating No. 19 Purdue, 16-6, April 1, 2012.
Bartles Making First Start since 2017
Redshirt sophomore pitcher Cole Bartles is making his first start since his freshman campaign in 2017.
Bartles missed the 2018 season due to an injury suffered in April of 2017.
Bartles has made two relief appearances this season, earning one save.
Pitching Prowess
Penn State ranks among the national and Big Ten leaders in pitching with a WHIP of 1.28 (2nd Big Ten, 58th NCAA) and hits allowed per nine innings rate of 6.44 (13th NCAA, 2nd Big Ten).
Penn State's strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.68 ranks second in the Big Ten, and its 3.63 walks allowed per nine innings ranks third.
Penn State's 3.96 ERA ranks sixth in the Big Ten and is a big improvement over last season's 6.24 ERA through the first 12 games.
Penn State's bullpen has seen four different pitchers earn saves.
Penn State held Monmouth scoreless for 21.1 innings to open the season. The eight hits allowed to Monmouth were Penn State's fewest in a three-game span since at least 2004.
Penn State earned its first Opening Day shutout since 1977 and first back-to-back season-opening shutouts in program history.
Second Pitt Game for Hippenhammer?
OF Mac Hippenhammer could be facing Pitt for a second time this academic year, as he had an 11-yard touchdown reception for Penn State's football team on Sept. 8, 2018, helping the Nittany Lions to a 51-3 win.
Hippenhammer has started the last four baseball games.
All-Time vs. Pitt
Penn State leads the all-time series against Pitt, 87-45-1. The last 10 match-ups have been split five a piece, with Pitt winning the last three games played over the 2017 and 2018 seasons to halt a four-game Penn State winning streak. Pitt is Penn State's second-most frequent opponent with 133 all-time meetings since 1912.
Scouting Pitt
Pittsburgh is 6-7 this season and 0-3 in ACC play after getting swept at then-No. 20 NC State in Raleigh this past weekend. The Panthers have 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings to ranks second in the country. Connor Perry leads the team in batting with a .364 average, while Ron Washington, Jr. is batting .333 with nine doubles to lead the ACC and rank third in the NCAA.
Mellott Earning A Lot of Decisions
Sophomore Mason Mellott has emerged as Penn State's relief ace. He is 3-0 and has two saves, factoring in on five of Penn State's nine wins.
Mellott is tied for second on the team in innings pitched with 21.0, trailing Bailey Dees (21.1) by one out.
Mellott leads the team with a 1.29 ERA that ranks fourth in the Big Ten tied for 86th in the NCAA.
Bowersox Raking
Jordan Bowersox leads Penn State in batting (.378), runs (11), hits (17), hit by pitches (4) and on-base percentage. He also has the team's longest active hitting streak at five games.
Over the last five games, Bowersox went 10-for-22 (.455) with a double, home run, RBI and six runs scored. He was also plunked twice and walked once for a .420 on-base percentage.
The Smallest Swinging the Biggest Bats
Gavin Homer is Penn State's shortest player at 5-9 and Kris Kremer is the lightest at 166 pounds, but both lead the team with three home runs each and rank Nos. 1 and 2 on the team in slugging and extra-base hits.
Homer is slugging a team-best .615 with a team-high seven extra base hits (team-high 4 doubles and 3 home runs). He is the only player on the team with more extra-base hits (7) than singles (4).
Kremer is second to Homer on the team in slugging (.568) and extra-base hits (1 double, 1 triple, 3 home runs).
Homer Hitting Homers
Gavin Homer is tied for the team lead in home runs with three, and all three have had a flair for the dramatic.
Homer's first homer was a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning in the series opener against Fairfield (2/24).
Homer hit a first-inning lead-off home run in Penn State's series finale against No. 21 Duke. It was the first since Nick Riotto hit one against Maryland on April 30, 2016.
Homer slugged a grand slam in the seventh inning at UCF to break open the game. The slam was the first for Penn State since Ryan Sloniger hit one against NJIT on Mar. 18, 2018. Homer's slam was also the first of back-to-back home runs, as Jordan Bowersox followed it with a shot over the left field wall, as well. The last time Penn State had hit back-to-back home runs was at Pitt on Apr. 5, 2017 (Bowersox and Christian Helsel).
Three-Homer Games
After going six seasons without hitting three or more home runs in a game, Penn State accomplished the feat twice in a span of five games.
Kris Kremer single-handedly hit three home runs for Penn State against No. 21 Duke (3/2), and then Mason Nadeau, Gavin Homer and Jordan Bowersox each hit home runs at UCF (3/10).
Prior to Penn State's spring break trip, the last time it totaled three or more home runs in a game was May 12, 2000 against Illinois. It also totaled four home runs April 1, 2012 at Purdue.
