UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State baseball will open its 2020 season Friday at 2 p.m. against Bucknell at the USA Baseball National Training Center in Cary, North Carolina. The Nittany Lions are hosting a tournament that also includes games against NJIT (Saturday, noon; doubleheader) and Monmouth (Sunday, 10 a.m.)
Penn State returns 18 letterwinners from its 2019 squad and has added 12 newcomers. Head coach Rob Cooper, who is entering his seventh season at the helm of the Nittany Lions, will have some new names written on his lineup card, as the Nittany Lions seek to replace five starting position players and two starting pitchers.
Penn State will spend its first three weekends playing host at the USA Baseball complex, and is scheduled to play 14 games. The Nittany Lions are then scheduled to play six more games over spring break before opening at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Wednesday, Mar. 18 at 4 p.m. against Binghamton. The Lions then open Big Ten play that weekend at Northwestern.
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| Friday Probables | |
| BUCK | TBA |
| PSU | RHP Bailey Dees (0-0, 0.00 ERA) |
| Saturday Probables | Game 1 |
| NJIT | LHP Grant Vurpillat (0-0, 0.0 ERA) |
| PSU | RHP Kyle Virbitsky (0-0, 0.00 ERA) |
| Saturday Probables | Game 2 |
| NJIT | TBA |
| PSU | LHP Hutch Gagnon (0-0, 0.00 ERA) |
| Sunday Probables | |
| MON | TBA |
| PSU | RHP Conor Larkin (0-0, 0.00 ERA) |
All-Time vs. Bucknell
Penn State holds the advantage in the all-time series with Bucknell, its most familiar foe, 130-28-1. Penn State has won 28 of the last 30 matchups, and has won 24 straight games at home. The all-time series dates back to 1882, which was Penn State's third recorded game ever and the last time the two teams met at a neutral site.
All-Time vs. NJIT
Penn State holds a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series against NJIT. The teams last played in 2018, at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in their first ever meeting.
All-Time vs. Monmouth
Penn State holds a narrow advantage in the all-time series with Monmouth, 4-3. This is the third-straight season the two have played each other at the USA Baseball National Training Center. The Nittany Lions swept Monmouth in three games to open last season.
Mellott on Stopper of the Year Watch List
- Junior RHP Mason Mellott was named to the initial watch list for the 16th Annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award.
- The award is annually given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball. Mellott was one of six Big Ten pitchers and 70 overall to be placed on the preseason watch list.
- Mellott ranks tied for sixth on Penn State's career saves list (Jeff Emerlich, 1993-96) with nine after posting five last season. He was one of the most crucial members of the Nittany Lion pitching staff in 2019, totaling 63.0 innings in relief and posting a 2.43 ERA that led the team and ranked third in the Big Ten. Mellott also led the team with six wins, which were the most by a Penn State reliever since at least 2004. He also ranked among the top-10 in the conference with 2.00 walks allowed per nine innings (5th), a 3.71 strikeout-to-walk ratio (9th) and a 1.16 WHIP (10th).
Opening Weekend Rotation Set
- Junior RHP Bailey Dees will get the ball on Opening Day. Last season, Dees spent much of the season in the weekend rotation and went 2-1 with a 4.27 ERA and 60 strikeouts over 13 appearances (11 starts) and 52.2 innings pitched. He ranked 10th in the Big Ten with 10.25 strikeouts per inning.
- Junior RHP Kyle Virbitsky has started one game in each of his previous two seasons, but is set to start Saturday. He was a key reliever last season ranking second on the team in appearances (20) and saves (4). Virbitsky tallied two wins and posted a 4.66 ERA in 38.2 innings pitched.
- Sophomore LHP Hutch Gagnon is scheduled to start the second game Saturday in what would be his first career start. Gagnon made the third most appearances on the team as a freshman last season with 18, striking out 21 in 19.1 innings pitched and going 0-1 with a 5.59 ERA.
- Junior Conor Larkin is scheduled to start the tournament finale. Larkin, who has seven career starts in two seasons, with 4-2 with a 3.14 ERA in 13 appearances (five starts) last season. He struck out 56 and only walked 11 in 48.2 innings pitched.
At the Plate
- Penn State returns Big Ten All-Freshman third baseman Justin Williams. Last season, Williams made his presence in the lineup felt during his first career start at Pittsburgh in mid-March, going 3-for-5 with a double and four RBIs. He finished the year tied for the team lead in home runs with four, and batted .262 with five doubles, a triple and 18 RBIs. Williams flashed his potential with a 445-foot home run against Lafayette in April and a 12-game reached-base streak from late April through early May. During the streak, Williams led the team with a .442 on-base percentage, .333 batting average, eight runs, 14 hits, two home runs, .548 slugging percentage, 23 total bases and nine walks.
- OF/IF Mac Hippenhammer boasts the top returning batting average. He batted .272 in 2019 with a .350 on-base percentage, four doubles, two triples and eight RBIs in 39 games (35 starts).
The 2020 Slate
- The 56-game schedule includes six opponents that participated in the 2019 NCAA Baseball tournament, including College World Series finalist Michigan. The Wolverines will visit Medlar Field at Lubrano Park Apr. 17-19, as will NCAA Regional teams Indiana (Apr. 3-5), West Virginia (Apr. 28) and Illinois (May 1-3). Penn State will also play at Nebraska (May 8-10) and Creighton (May 12).
- Power Five non-conference match-ups include a home-and-home series against Pittsburgh (Mar. 24 [H] & Apr. 7 [A]), a visit from West Virginia (Apr. 28) and a three-game series at Arizona (May 14-16)
- Penn State plays eight Big Ten series, opening its conference slate at Northwestern (Mar. 20-22) and its home conference slate the following weekend against Iowa (Mar. 27-29).