Baseball Hosts Purdue For B1G SeriesBaseball Hosts Purdue For B1G Series
Craig Houtz

Jay Harry

Baseball Hosts Purdue For B1G Series

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team takes on Purdue in a three-game Big Ten series this weekend at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The series begins on Thursday at 6 p.m. Friday's game is set for a 6 p.m. first pitch and Saturday's series finale is set for 1 p.m. All games will be livestreamed on B1G+.
 
The Nittany Lions, led by head coach Rob Cooper, dropped an 8-4 decision against West Virginia on Tuesday. Cole Bartels and Josh Spiegel each hit a two-run homer. Carson Kohls, Ryan Partridge and Chase Renner combined to shutout the Mountaineers over the final 5.1 innings.
 
The 2022 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.

SHIRT SWAP
The Nittany Lions will be hosting a "shirt swap" during Thursday's game. Fans who bring in a shirt from a different college can exchange it for a Penn State "We Are" shirt.

More details here.
 
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. 
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Thursday (6 p.m.)  – PSU: RHP Jaden Henline (0-1, 3.72 ERA) vs. Purdue: TBA
 
Friday (6 p.m.)  – PSU: TBA vs. Purdue: LHP Jackson Smeltz (5-0, 2.66 ERA)
 
Saturday (1 p.m.)  – PSU: TBA vs. Purdue: TBA
 
*subject to change
 
LEADING OFF

  • Penn State hosts Purdue for a three-game Big Ten series, beginning on Thursday.
  • Both teams enter the weekend with three Big Ten wins this season.
  • The Nittany Lions have one win in each Big Ten series so far this year.
  • Six of Penn State's nine conference games have been decided by three or less runs.
  • On Tuesday, Penn State fell 8-4 against West Virginia.
  • Cole Bartels and Josh Spiegel each hit a two-run homer.
  • Carson Kohls, Ryan Partridge and Chase Renner combined to hold the          Mountaineers scoreless over the final 5.1 innings.
  • Over the last 10 games, Matt Wood is batting .452 (19-of-42) with two doubles and a homer, while Jay Harry is hitting .405 (17-of-42) with three doubles.
  • Harry is riding a 13-game hit streak, while Wood has a hit in 12-straight games.
  • Over the last five games, Josh Spiegel has seven hits, including five for extra bases (three doubles, two homers).
  • The PSU pitching staff has 11+ strikeouts in six of the last nine games.

 
SCOUTING PURDUE

  • Purdue is coached by Greg Goff, in his third season as head coach and fifth year at Purdue.
  • Under Goff, the Boilermakers are 44-40.
  • Prior to his time at Purdue, Goff coached seven years at Campbell.
  • The Boilermakers like to create chaos on the basepaths, ranking fourth in the country in steals oer game (2.5) and seventh in total steals (70).
  • Evan Albrecht leads the Big Ten with a .417 batting average, while Mike Bolton Jr. paces the conference in steals (17) and triples (4).
  • On the mound, Jackson Smeltz is second in the Big Ten with 64 strikeouts and sixth with a 2.66 ERA. He is 5-0 in eight starts.

 
AGAINST THE BOILERMAKERS

  • The Nittany Lions trail the all-time series, 52-33, against Purdue.
  • Penn State went 1-2 against the Boilermakers in 2021.
  • In PSU's 11-0 win on April 10, 2021, Matt Wood went 3-for-5 with a solo homer and a two-run single. On the mound, Kyle Virbitsky threw 8.1 shutout innings, allowing just five hits.
  • In the first game of the series, Johnny Piacentino hit a two-run homer and in game two, Parker Hendershot launched two homers.

 
WOOD OFF TO STRONG START

  • Through 29 games played, junior Matt Wood is batting .396 with seven doubles, two triples, five homers, 24 RBI and 24 runs.
  • Wood leads the Nittany Lions in batting average, hits, runs, triples, homers, RBI, walks (14), slugging percentage (.642) and on-base percentage (.464).
  • He sits third in the Big Ten in batting average and sixth in slugging percentage.
  • Wood is one of two Big Ten players, and nine in Division I, with 10+ extra-base hits (14) and 10 or less strikeouts (10).
  • The lefty batter has been impressive facing righty (.414) and lefty (.361) pitchers.
  • Wood is batting .450 with runners in scoring position.
  • Wood paces PSU with 15 multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games this season and is riding a current 12-game hit streak.
  • The Gibsonia, Pa. native is batting .452 over the last 10 games with two doubles, a homer and six RBI, including a solo homer in game one vs. Northwestern (4/9).
  • He batted .500 in the Maryland series (4/1-3) with six hits and two RBI. He had three hits in each game, including the game-tying RBI single in Penn State's win on Saturday.
  • Earlier this season, on opening weekend, Wood went 3-for-4 with four RBI and four runs while crushing two homers and a double in game one against LIU.
  • In D1baseball's preseason rankings, Wood was tabbed as the top catcher in the Big Ten.

 
PENNSYLVANIA INFLUENCE IN STARTING ROTATION

  • In 29 of 30 games this season, Penn State's starting pitcher has been a Pennsylvania native.
  • Sophomore Travis Luensmann (Altoona) has made six starts, and eight appearances, with 45 strikeouts in 34.2 innings. Luensmann struck out eight in six innings against Maine (2/25).
  • Luensmann earned his first save as a NIttany Lion, going four innings and striking out six vs. Northwestern (4/9).
  • Freshman Tommy Molsky has made eight starts, and 10 appearances, tallying 31 strikeouts. Molsky tied a career high with six strikeouts against UMass (3/12).
  • Graduate student Mason Mellott has made four starts and 11 appearances.
  • Mellott, graduating in August 2021 with a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology, ranks fourth all-time at Penn State with 13 saves and tied third with 78 appearances. Mellott is on the NCWBA Stopper of the Year Watch List.
  • Junior Kellan Tulio has made seven starts and eight appearances. with 24 strikeouts and a .179 opponent batting average. He threw five innings, allowing no earned runs, and struck out a career-high seven at Northwestern (4/9).
  • Jaden Henline made the start in game one at Maryland, going five innings, and the game-one start at Northwestern (4/9), striking out six.
  • Henline has struck out 35 batters in 29 innings and sits third in the Big Ten with three saves. In 10 appearances (two starts), Henline has thrown two or more innings in seven outings.
  • Senior Steven Miller made his first career start at Northwestern (4/9), throwing three shutout innings and striking out three. Miller has a 2.53 ERA in eight appearances.
  • In the bullpen, senior Tyler Shingledecker has made 12 appearances with a team-high three wins. The lefty has held opponents without an earned run in eight of his 12 outings.  He has 28 strikeouts and only four walks.
  • Junior Pennsylvania native Jordan Morales leads PSU with 15 appearances.
  • Carson Kohls has been another effective member out of the bullpen with a 3.94 ERA in nine appearances, including two-straight scoreless outings where he went three or more innings.
  • 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.

 
NITTANY LIONS FINDING POWER

  • Over the last 10 games, Penn State has tallied 22 extra-base hits, including 13 doubles, 20 triples and seven homers.
  • Josh Spiegel has a team-best five extra-base hits in that span with three doubles and two homers.
  • Johnny Piacentino has two triples and two homers, while Cole Bartels has homered twice and added a double.
  • Matt Wood has two doubles and a homer in that span, while Jay Harry has three doubles.
  • Harry is riding a current 13-game hit streak, while Wood has a hit in 12-straight games.
  • On the season, Wood leads PSU with 14 extra-base hits, pacing PSU with two triples (tied with Piacentino) and five homers to go with seven doubles.
  • Josh Spiegel leads PSU with eight doubles and has four homers, while Harry and Spiegel have three homers this season and Piacentino has two.

 
B1G ROAD WIN

  • Penn State earned a 6-4 win in 10 innings over Maryland on Saturday (4/2).
  • The Terrapins were ranked No. 23 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and 25th in the Baseball America Poll.
  • Penn State earned its first win in a true road game against a ranked opponent since a 15-5 win over No. 16 Michigan (5/13/07).
  • The Nittany Lions recorded their first win against a ranked opponent away from home since March 2, 2019 against No. 21 Duke (8-7).
  • Johnny Piacentino launched his first homer of the year, a two-run shot, in the sixth, while Matt Wood tied the game, 3-3, with an RBI single in the eighth.
  • Penn State broke the tie in the 10th with a two-run double by Tayven Kelley and an RBI double by Jay Harry.
  • Travis Luensmann earned the win on the mound, throwing three innings in relief and allowing just one run.

 
UP NEXT

  • The Nittany Lions host Mount St. Mary's on Wednesday, April 20 at 6 p.m.
  • Penn State then travels to Minnesota for a three-game Big Ten series on April 22-24.