Nittany Lions Begin Big Ten Play Against RutgersNittany Lions Begin Big Ten Play Against Rutgers
Mark Selders

Jay Harry

Nittany Lions Begin Big Ten Play Against Rutgers

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team hosts Rutgers this weekend to begin Big Ten play. The Nittany Lions meet the Scarlet Knights, beginning with a doubleheader on Friday starting at 3 p.m. on B1G+. Saturday's game will begin at 5 p.m. with a broadcast on Big Ten Network.
 
The Nittany Lions, led by head coach Rob Cooper, look to bounce back after falling 2-1 against Youngstown State on Tuesday. Penn State's pitching staff had another strong performance with 12 strikeouts, while giving up five hits and two unearned runs.
 
The 2022 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
PARKING
All Penn State Athletics non-football events will require a valid permit or payment of the applicable parking fee for campus lots. Complimentary parking will no longer be issued for season ticket holders.
 
Fans with valid Penn State University Park parking permits will be permitted to park at non-football athletics events for free, following Transportation Services parking policies and access.
 
Fans without a permit are encouraged to prepay for event parking at a discounted rate through ParkMobile - https://psu.parkmobile.io/. Prepayment is available through 11:59 p.m. the day prior to each event. Season packages will be available for general parking for most sports, and information on VIP parking options available for select events will be released later.
 
Please visit the 2022 Baseball Parking page for additional information.
 
Non-football event parking is managed by Penn State Transportation Services. For more information on parking for this event, please email parking@psu.edu or call 814-865-1436. 


PROBABLE STARTERS* 
Friday (3 p.m.)  – PSU: Travis Luensmann (0-2, 6.29 ERA) vs. RU: Jared Kollar (3-0, 1.84 ERA)
 
Friday (Game 2) – PSU: Tommy Molsky (0-3, 4.35 ERA) vs. RU: Brian Fitzpatrick (2-1, 4.74 ERA)
 
Saturday (5 p.m.)  – PSU: TBA vs. RU: Nathan Florence (2-1, 2.25 ERA)
*subject to change
 
LEADING OFF

  • Penn State begins Big Ten play, hosting Rutgers for a three-game series.
  • The Nittany Lions are 48-34 all-time against Rutgers.
  • Rutgers is one of 11 opponents that Penn State has played 80 or more times.
  • Penn State won five of seven games against Rutgers in 2021.
  • Penn State won two of three games in its series against Milwaukee last weekend, but fell against Youngstown State on Tuesday.
  • The blue and white dropped a 2-1 decision against  YSU despite a strong performance from its pitching staff, which struck out 12 batters and allowed five hits and two unearned runs.
  • Billy Gerlott and Johnny Piacentino each had two hits against Youngstown State, with Gerlott scoring a run.
  • Matt Wood leads the NIttany Lions this season in batting average (.345), hits (20), runs (16), home runs (4), RBI (14), walks (12), slugging % (.655) and on-base percentage (.472).
  • Josh Spiegel is batting .306 with 19 hits.
  • Jaden Henline and Tyler Shingledecker have been strong members of the Nittany Lions' bullpen.
  • Shingledecker is 3-1 in a team-high nine appearances, while Henline has three saves.

 
SCOUTING RUTGERS

  • Rutgers is led by Steve Owens in his third season as head coach.
  • The Scarlet Knights are 41-37 under Owens.
  • Before coaching at Rutgers, Owens spent nine years leading the Bryant baseball program, guiding the Bulldogs to three NCAA Tournaments and nine winning seasons.
  • Rutgers is 14-5 this season, coming off a 5-2 win over Rider. Last weekend, Rutgers went 1-2 in its series at Omaha with both losses coming by a run. Jared Kollar struck out 10 in 7.2 shutout innings last Friday.
  • The Scarlet Knights lead the Big Ten in team batting average with a .318 mark, sitting 14th in the nation. RU averages 2.74 doubles per game.
  • Rutgers has a team ERA of 3.11, good for 19th in the country, and has thrown four shutouts.

 
AGAINST THE SCARLET KNIGHTS

  • Penn State meets Rutgers for a three-game series.
  • The NIttany Lions and the Scarlet Knights have met 82 times.
  • The Scarlet Knights are one of 11 opponents Penn State has played more than 80 times: Bucknell (130-30-1), Indiana (42-45), Michigan (49-51), Michigan State (41-50), Northwestern (44-42), Ohio State (39-71), Pittsburgh (88-46-1), Purdue (33-52), Temple (51-34-1) and West Virginia (71-42).
  • In 2021, Penn State won five of the seven matchups during a Big Ten-only schedule.
  • Justin Williams hit four homers against Rutgers last season.

 
WOOD OFF TO STRONG START

  • Through 18 games, junior Matt Wood is batting .345 with four doubles, four homers, 14 RBI and 16 runs.
  • Wood has seven multi-hit games and four multi-RBI games this season.
  • He went 3-for-3 with a two-run triple in PSU's series opener vs. Milwaukee (3/18).
  • Wood began the 2022 campaign going 6-for-14 (.429) at the plate with two doubles and three homers on opening weekend. He drove in seven RBI and scored eight runs.
  • Wood went 3-for-4 with four RBI and four runs while crushing two homers and a double in game one against LIU. He added a homer against Northeastern.
  • The junior was named Big Ten Player of the Week on March 2 after going 5-for-11 (.454) at the plate with two RBI and four runs against Maine.
  • In D1baseball's preseason rankings, Wood was tabbed as the top catcher in the Big Ten and the 16th-best catcher in the country.
  • Wood returned to the squad after receiving Second Team All-Big Ten honors in 2021.

 
SPIEGEL FINDING SUCCESS AT THE PLATE

  • Junior Josh Spiegel has been hot at the plate over Penn State's last five games, going 6-of-15 (.400).
  • On the season, Spiegel has seven multi-hit games.
  • The junior was 8-for-14 (.571) vs. VMI (3/8) and UMass (3/11-13) with two doubles and a homer. He had two hits in each game.

 
PENNSYLVANIA INFLUENCE IN STARTING ROTATION

  • In all 18 games this season, Penn State's starting pitcher has been a Pennsylvania native.
  • Sophomore Travis Luensmann (Altoona) has made five starts with 32 strikeouts in 24.1 innings.
  • Luensmann struck out eight in six innings against Maine (2/25).
  • He was ranked as the No. 2 pitcher in Pennsylvania in the 2020 class by Perfect Game.
  • Freshman Tommy Molsky has also made five starts, tallying 22 strikeouts in 20.2 innings.
  • Molsky tied a career high with six strikeouts against UMass (3/12).
  • Graduate student Mason Mellott has made four starts, and six appearances.
  • Mason Mellott, graduating in August 2021 with a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology, ranks fourth all-time at Penn State with 13 saves and sixth with 73 appearances. Mellott is on the NCWBA Stopper of the Year Watch List.
  • Junior Kellan Tulio has made four starts.
  • Tulio pitched the last two seasons at Louisville before transferring to Penn State. Tulio was ranked as the top pitcher in Pennsylvania in the 2019 class.
  • Penn State is challenged with replacing a 2021 rotation that featured three MLB draft selections in Conor Larkin (9th round, Toronto Blue Jays), Kyle Virbitsky (17th round, Oakland A's) and Bailey Dees (18th round, New York Yankees).
  • The Nittany Lions were one of only four Division I schools to have all three members of their starting rotation selected. Penn State has eight pitchers who have been drafted since 2016.

 
HENLINE, SHINGLEDECKER LEAD BULLPEN

  • Senior Tyler Shingledecker leads the team with nine appearances and three wins. The lefty has held opponents without an earned run in eight of his nine outings.
  • The versatile Shingledecker has gone more than an inning in five appearances and has a 2.57 ERA.
  • Sophomore Jaden Henline has struck out 21 batters in 15.2 relief innings, while sitting third in the Big Ten with three saves.
  • In seven appearances, Henline has thrown two or more innings in five outings.
  • Senior Steven Miller and junior Jordan Morales have also established themselves as key members of the bullpen.
  • Miller has a 3.09 ERA and a save in six appearances. She has struck out 14 batters in 11.2 innings.
  • Miller struck out six in a career-high 3.2 innings against Milwaukee (3/19).
  • Morales is 2-0 with 14 strikeouts in 9.2 innings over seven appearances.
  • Morales has held opponents scoreless in four of seven outings.

 
BARTELS, GERLOTT BRING CONSISTENT APPROACH TO LEAD OUTFIELD

  • Graduate student Cole Bartels and sophomore Billy Gerlott have been consistent presences in Penn State's lineup this season.
  • Bartels is batting .282 and is tied with Matt Wood for a team-high 20 hits, including two doubles. He also has two steals.
  • He just snapped a 16-game hitting streak against Youngstown State. The streak began against LIU (2/19).
  • Bartels is hitting .400 with runners in scoring position.
  • Bartels was 5-of-12 at the plate against Virginia for a .417 average.
  • Gerlott is batting .290 with 18 hits, including five doubles, and eight RBI. He's tied second on the team in RBI.
  • Gerlott is hitting .368 with runners in scoring position.
  • Fellow outfielder Johnny Piacentino went three-for-five with a double and two RBI in the series opener against UMass (3/11).
  • He also had two hits against Youngstown State (3/23).
  • The junior put up impressive power numbers in 2021 with a team-high 15 doubles and eight homers. He drove in 32 RBI and scored 30 runs, both team bests.
  • Piacentino ranked third in the Big Ten in doubles and was a major factor in Penn State leading the conference in doubles as a team with 93. PSU held 11th in the nation averaging 2.21 doubles per game.
  • Piacentino was ranked among D1baseball's Top 150 outfielders in their preseason rankings.

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State hosts two mid-week non-conference games next week. The Nittany Lions welcome Pitt on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and St. Bonaventure on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Both games will be livestreamed on B1G+.