Baseball Begins Big Ten Tournament Against IllinoisBaseball Begins Big Ten Tournament Against Illinois
Mark Selders

Joe Jaconski

Baseball Begins Big Ten Tournament Against Illinois

OMAHA, Neb. – The Penn State baseball team opens the Big Ten Tournament Presented by IFS.ai on Tuesday against top-seed Illinois. The eighth-seed Nittany Lions meet the Illini at 7 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network and the Fox Sports App. The tournament is being played at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.
 
Penn State, led by Mike Gambino, is 26-23 overall and finished the regular season with a 12-12 record in Big Ten play after a three-game sweep at Maryland last weekend, including a doubleheader sweep on Friday.
 
Illinois, coached by Dan Hartleb, is 33-17 overall and won the Big Ten regular season title with a 17-7 mark. The Illini swept a three-game series at Purdue.
 
For updates on the Penn State baseball team, please check @pennstatebase on X and Instagram.
 
The 2024 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State will meet No. 4 seed Iowa or No. 5 seed Michigan on Thursday at either 11 a.m. or 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network.

 
LEADING OFF

  • Penn State opens the Big Ten Tournament Presented by IFS.ai on Tuesday against Illinois.
  • The Nittany Lions dropped three games against the Illini in late March, leading into the fifth in all three games.
  • Penn State swept a three-game series at Maryland, including a doubleheader sweep on Friday, to clinch its spot in the Big Ten Tournament.
  • Mason Horwat earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week after seven shutout innings.
  • In year one under Mike Gambino, Penn State has a winning record after the regular season for the first time since 2016 and maintained a .500 or better record the entire season for the first time since 2011.
  • PSU tied for best in the Big Ten with an 11-3 record in weekend openers and went 6-2 in Big Ten series openers.
  • J.T. Marr is second in the Big Ten in average (.419) and hits per game (1.73), good for sixth and seventh in the country, respectively.
  • Marr's 85 hits are third in a season at PSU, while Adam Cecere's 46 walks are tied second. Cecere (15) and Grant Norris (14) rank fifth and sixth in homers.

 
SCOUTING ILLINOIS

  • Head Coach Dan Hartleb is in his 19th season leading the Illinois program.
  • Illinois is 565-415-1 under Hartleb, including an 11-12 mark this season.
  • Last weekend, the Illini swept its three-game series at Purdue.
  • The Illini rank fourth in the Big Ten in batting average (.304) and leads the Big Ten in both total homers (103) and home runs per game (2.06).
  • Camden Janik leads Illinois with a .370 average, 74 hits, 15 doubles, seven homers and 47 RBI.
  • Jacob Schroeder owns 14 homers and 41 RBI to go with a .315 average, while Ryan Moerman leads the Big Ten with 18 homers to go with 52 RBI and Drake Westcott has 16 homers and 49 RBI.
  • Illinois holds seventh in the Big Ten with a 6.02 ERA and is allowing a .366 opponent average.
  • Cooper Omans leads the Illini rotation with a 4.09 ERA in 13 appearances (11 starts) with 51 strikeouts in 55 innings.
  • Jack Crowder is 6-1 with a 5.24 ERA in 14 starts with 70 strikeouts over 77.1 innings.
  • Joe Glassey leads Illinois with 21 appearances and eight saves.
     

AGAINST THE ILLINI

  • Penn State is 31-44 all-time against Illinois.
  • The teams last played in late March, with the Nittany Lions dropping three games.
  • Penn State's last win in the series came on May 23, 2021, a 13-4 victory.
  • PSU is 3-4 all-time against Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament.

 
FIRST YEAR UNDER MIKE GAMBINO

  • In its first season under head coach Mike Gambino, Penn State finished the regular season with a winning record (26-23) for the first time since 2016 (28-27).
  • Penn State maintained a .500 or better record for the entire season for the first time since the 2011 season (finished 32-22).
  • The Blue and White posted its best record in Big Ten play (12-12) since going 12-12 in 2016.
  • PSU ranks 111th in the RPI entering the Big Ten Tournament, its highest ranking at this point of the season since finishing 103rd in 2012.
  • The Nittany Lions went 11-3 in weekend opening games, tying Illinois and Nebraska for the best record among Big Ten teams.
  • Penn State was 6-2 in Big Ten series openers, trailing only Illinois' 7-1 mark, and tying Nebraska and Purdue.
  • Non-conference action included a series win at Stanford, a 2023 College World Series participant, and wins over current Top 100 RPI teams Georgetown (59) and Pitt (83) and two wins over Army, a 2023 NCAA Tournament team.

 
HORWAT TABBED BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK

  • After firing seven shutout innings in Penn State's sweep at Maryland, Mason Horwat was named Big Ten Freshman on the Week.
  • In Thursday's game, Horwat entered the contest in the sixth and tossed four shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out one. He worked 1-2-3 innings in the eighth and ninth to earn the save.
  • On Friday, in game one, the Pittsburgh native closed out the game with three scoreless innings. He picked up the win after giving up one hit and two walks, while recording one strikeout. Five of his nine outs came on the ground.
  • On the season, Horwat is 4-1 with two saves and a 4.35 ERA in 51.2 innings.
  • In Big Ten play, he owns a 2-1 record with a 4.05 ERA in 12 appearances (1 start) and 33.1 innings.

 
THE MARR-CHINE KEEPS HITTING

  • Grad student J.T. Marr's season average sits at .419 with a team-best 85 hits and 49 RBI.
  • His 85 hits are third in a season at Penn State. He also reached the 200-career hit mark, currently sitting at 204.
  • Marr ranks second in the Big Ten and sixth in the country with his .419 average.
  • He ranks seventh in the nation, and second in the Big Ten, averaging 1.73 hits per game.
  • Marr holds 15th in the country, and second in the conference, with 85 total hits.
  • He owns 27 multi-hit games, including 14 against Big Ten opponents, and 15 multi-RBI games. Marr has two games with four hits and 13 games with three hits.
  • Marr tied a PSU game record with three doubles against FDU.
  • Among his 85 knocks, he has 16 doubles and six homers to go with 49 RBI and a 1.053 OPS, good for 11th in the Big Ten. He has five homers and 27 RBI in conference play.

 
NEWCOMERS LEADING BALANCED LINEUP

  • The Nittany Lions rank Top 5 in the Big Ten in batting average (.307; 2nd), slugging percentage (.494; 2nd), sac flies (29; 2nd), on-base percentage (.404; 4th), home runs per game (1.37; 5th) and runs per game (7.7; 5th).
  • Penn State has seven players with 48+ hits, five with a .400+ on-base percentage and eight with a .436+ slugging percentage.
  • Penn State, Illinois and Indiana are the only Big Ten teams with seven players owning at least 36 RBI and PSU is one of two Big Ten teams with seven players owning 48+ hits.
  • The Nittany Lions' 67 home runs this year are its most since hitting 91 in 1998.
  • PSU's 46 homers in Big Ten games are tied with Illinois for most among Big Ten teams.
  • Graduate student J.T. Marr paces the squad with a .419 average and 85 hits. He owns 16 doubles, six homers, 49 RBI and 46 runs.
  • Going 34-of-96 (.354) with 29 RBI at the plate in conference play, Bobby Marsh is hitting .311 with 56 hits, including nine doubles, one triple, six homers, 45 RBI and 34 runs.
  • Matt Maloney's .364 average (28-of-77) in Big Ten play ranks 11th in the league.
  • Holding a .337 average (32-of-95) in Big Ten play, Bryce Molinaro owns 10 homers and 11 doubles, among 62 hits, and 40 RBI to go with a .325 average. He had two homers at Indiana (4/12) and vs. Rutgers (5/11) and a go-ahead, three-run homer at MSU (4/21).
  • Graduate student Adam Cecere is hitting .315 with 53 hits, including 12 doubles and 15 homers, 47 RBI and a team-best 47 runs. He has a team-high 46 walks and 10 hit-by-pitches. He owns nine homers and 26 RBI in Big Ten play.
  • He leads the Big Ten with a 1.133 OPS and ranks second in slugging percentage (.655), while sitting fourth in on-base percentage (.478). He's third in the league in home runs in conference play (9). He's also third in the conference in total walks (46).
  • Cecere is one of 17 current Division I players with 47+ homers and 163+ RBI in their career. Among active DI players, Cecere is 23rd in homers (47).
  • Grant Norris has 55 hits, including 10 doubles, a triple, and 14 homers, 42 RBI and 39 runs.
  • Norris collected his first career multi-homer game against Northwestern (4/6) and had another at Michigan State (4/20), while adding an inside-the-park homer vs. Minnesota.
  • With Cecere (15), Norris (14) and Molinaro (10), Penn State has three players with 10+ homers for the first time since 1999 (Shawn Fagan, 13; Dan Beers, 13; Chris Netwall, 12; Eric Spadt, 10).
  • Cecere is tied fifth in the Big Ten with15 homers, while Norris is tied eighth with 14.  Norris ranks second with 10 homers in conference games, while Cecere is third with nine homers.
  • Joe Jaconski is fifth in the Big Ten in walks (39) and owns 54 hits, 42 runs and six homers.

 
MARYLAND SERIES RECAP

  • The Nittany Lions swept a three-game series at Maryland last weekend.
  • PSU won its first series against Maryland since the Terrapins joined the Big Ten and became the first Big Ten team to sweep at Maryland since Michigan in 2019.
  • In the series, PSU hit .353 with 42 hits, 33 runs and seven homers.
  • Kevin Michaels led PSU with seven hits, including a double and two homers, five RBI and five runs. Matt Maloney also had seven hits, with two doubles and a homer. Adam Cecere added a double and two homers with six RBI.
  • Mason Horwat tossed seven shutout innings out of the bullpen, working four innings on Thursday to earn the save and three in Friday's first game to pick up the win.

 
NITTANY LIONS CLIMB RECORDS LISTS

  • With 13 steals this year, senior Kyle Hannon has moved up to fourth all-time at Penn State with 47 career steals. He is currently three steals behind Doug Keener (50, 1984-87) for third place.
  • Senior+ Tayven Kelley owns 13 career triples, tied second all-time at Penn State with Kevin Billotte (1995-98).
  • Grad student Grant Norris' .548 career slugging percentage sits fifth all-time at Penn State, while sophomore Bobby Marsh's .495 slugging percentage is seventh all-time.
  • Grad student Adam Cecere is tied fourth in a season at PSU with 15 homers, while Norris is tied sixth with 14.
  • Fellow grad student J.T. Marr is now third in a season at Penn State with 85 hits, while Cecere is tied second at PSU with 46 walks.