Baseball Meets Bucknell, West Virginia For Mid-Week ContestsBaseball Meets Bucknell, West Virginia For Mid-Week Contests
Mark Selders

Jay Harry

Baseball Meets Bucknell, West Virginia For Mid-Week Contests

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team is set to play two mid-week, non-conference matchups this week. Penn State welcomes Bucknell back to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Nittany Lions then travel to West Virginia on Wednesday with a 6:30 first pitch at Monongalia County Ballpark.
 
The Nittany Lions, led by head coach Rob Cooper, are coming off a series win at Minnesota. Penn State clinched the series with a 6-5 win on Sunday and earned a 5-1 victory on Saturday. Billy Gerlott homered in both games, including a three-run, go-ahead homer on Sunday.
 
The 2022 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Tuesday (6 p.m.)  – PSU: RHP Tommy Molsky (0-5, 6.00 ERA) vs. Bucknell: TBA
 
Wednesday (6:30 p.m.)  – PSU: TBA vs. West Virginia: TBA
 
*subject to change
 
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. 
 
NATIONAL PRETZEL DAY
In honor of national pretzel day, the first 50 fans in attendance will get a voucher for a free soft pretzel.
 
LEADING OFF

  • Penn State battles two non-conference opponents in mid-week contests.
  • The Nittany Lions meet Bucknell for the second time this season after a 7-6 win on April 6.
  • Penn State travels to West Virginia for a second game in that series. PSU fell 8-4 in the first game on April 12.
  • The Nittany Lions are coming off a series win at Minnesota. Penn State has won back-to-back Big Ten series.
  • Penn State dropped the first game of the series, but bounced back to win 5-1 on Saturday and 6-5 on Sunday.
  • Billy Gerlott homered in both wins, including a pinch-hit, go-ahead, three-run homer in Sunday's game.
  • Travis Luensmann helped the Nittany Lions to a win on Saturday with six shutout innings.
  • In five appearances against Big Ten teams, Luensmann is 2-0 with a 1.21 ERA.
  • Luensmann has not allowed an earned run in his last 16.2 innings.

 
SCOUTING BUCKNELL, WEST VIRGINIA

  • Bucknell is led by Scott Heather, in his 10th season. Heather has guided the Bison to 188 wins.
  • The Bison are 17-21 overall after winning one of three games against Lehigh this past weekend.
  • Grant Voytovich is hitting .322 and leads Bucknell with 33 RBI. Bucknell has a team ERA of 5.98.
  • West Virginia is led by head coach Randy Mazey in his 10th season. Under Mazey, the Mountaineers are 287-222.
  • The Mountaineers are 24-14 overall and won one of three games in their series vs. No. 8 Texas Tech.
  • West Virginia continues to be one of the country's most dangerous teams on the bases, ranking second in the country in stolen bases (130) and steals per game (3.42). Victor Scott III sits second in the nation with 30 saves, while Austin Davis is ninth with 25.
  • Davis (.348) leads four WVU players batting above .300.

 
AGAINST THE BISON, MOUNTAINEERS

  • The Nittany Lions hold a 131-30-1 lead in the all-time series against Bucknell.
  • Penn State has won nine straight games in the series and 30 of the last 31 matchups.
  • The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series, 71-43, against West Virginia.
  • In matchups earlier this season, Penn State earned a 7-6 win over Bucknell, but fell 8-4 against West Virginia.
  • Bucknell and West Virginia are two of five opponents Penn State has played more than 100 times: Michigan (49-51), Ohio State (39-71) and Pitt (88-46-1).

 
WOOD LEADING BIG TEN IN BATTING AVERAGE

  • Through 36 games played, junior Matt Wood is batting .412 with 11 doubles, three triples, six homers, 33 RBI and 31 runs.
  • He leads the Big Ten in batting average (.412), good for 15th in the country.
  • Wood also sits second in the Big Ten in hits per game (1.50), third in triples (3), third in OPS (1.153), third in slugging percentage (.679) and eighth in on-base percentage (.474).
  • Wood leads the Nittany Lions in batting average, hits (54), runs (31), triples, homers, RBI, walks (17), slugging percentage, on-base percentage and steals (4).
  • Among Division I catchers, Wood is third in batting average, fourth in triples, eighth in slugging percentage and OPS and 13th in on-base percentage.
  • The lefty batter has been impressive facing righty (.420) and lefty (.395) pitchers.
  • Wood is batting .519 with runners in scoring position.
  • In Big Ten play, Wood is hitting .473 with 26 hits in 15 games. He has five doubles, two triples, two homers and 16 RBI.
  • Wood paces PSU with 19 multi-hit games and eight multi-RBI games this season and is riding a current 19-game hit streak.
  • During the 19-game hit streak, Wood has 12 multi-hit performances. He is batting .466 (34-of-73) with seven doubles, two triples and two homers.

 
LUENSMANN AGAINST THE BIG TEN

  • Travis Luensmann has been strong in five appearances (three starts) against Big Ten opponents this year.
  • In 22.1 innings, Luensmann has allowed five runs (three earned) and 15 hits (no extra-base hits), while striking out 23 batters.
  • The sophomore is 2-0 with a save and a 1.21 ERA in those five appearances. His 1.21 ERA ranks second in the Big Ten in conference games.
  • He has not allowed an earned run in 16.2 innings, including each of his last three outings (4IP at Northwestern, 6IP vs. Purdue, 6IP at Minnesota).
  • Over his last three outings, he's given up two runs (both unearned) and 10 hits in 16 innings.
  • He struck out six batters in each outing vs. Northwestern (4/9) and Purdue (4/16).

 
PENNSYLVANIA INFLUENCE IN PITCHING STAFF

  • In 32 of 34 games this season, Penn State's starting pitcher has been a Pennsylvania native.
  • Sophomore Travis Luensmann (Altoona) has made eight starts, and 10 appearances, with 55 strikeouts in 46.2 innings. Luensmann struck out eight in six innings against Maine (2/25). He ranks ninth in the Big Ten in strikeouts per nine innings (10.61).
  • In Big Ten games, Luensmann has a 1.21 ERA in five appearances (three starts), sitting second in the conference.
  • Freshman Tommy Molsky has made eight starts, and 11 appearances, tallying 33 strikeouts. Molsky tied a career high with six strikeouts against UMass (3/12).
  • Graduate student Mason Mellott has made four starts and 14 appearances.
  • Mellott, graduating in August 2021 with a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology, is tied third all-time at Penn State with 15 saves and ranks third with 81 appearances. Mellott is on the NCWBA Stopper of the Year Watch List.
  • He threw four shutout innings to earn the win at Minnesota (4/24).
  • Junior Kellan Tulio has made eight starts and 10 appearances. with 33 strikeouts and a 3.90 ERA. 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 the last four weekends. At Maryland, he went five innings and at Northwestern (4/9), struck out six.
  • Henline has struck out 40 batters in 36.1 innings and sits third in the Big Ten with three saves. In 12 appearances (four starts), Henline has thrown two or more innings in nine outings.
  • Senior Pittsburgh native Steven Miller made his first career start at Northwestern (4/9), throwing three shutout innings and striking out three.
  • In the bullpen, senior Tyler Shingledecker has made 14 appearances with a team-high four wins. The lefty has held opponents without an earned run in nine of his 14 outings.  He has 36 strikeouts and only seven walks.
  • Over his last four appearances, Shingledecker has allowed just earned two runs and struck out 18 batters in 11.2 innings.
  • Junior Souderton native Jordan Morales leads PSU with 17 appearances.
  • Carson Kohls has been another effective member out of the bullpen in 11 appearances (one start), including two 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 IN BIG TEN PLAY

  • In 15 Big Ten games, Penn State has collected 44 extra-base hits, including 21 doubles, nine triples and 14 homers.
  • Matt Wood leads the Nittany Lions with nine extra-base hits, including five doubles, two triples and two homers, to go with 16 RBI.
  • Jay Harry and Josh Spiegel lead the Nittany Lions with eight extra-base hits. Harry has three doubles, two triples and three homers, while Spiegel has four doubles, a triple and three homers. Spiegel has 13 RBI in conference play, while Harry has scored 12 runs.
  • Billy Gerlott has two doubles, a triple and three homers during that span.
  • On the season, Wood leads PSU with three triples and six homers to go with 11 doubles, while Spiegel paces PSU with 12 doubles.
  • Spiegel also has five homers, while Harry has four.

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State then hosts Omaha for a three-game series, beginning on Friday, April 29.