UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State baseball team will return to Big Ten play on Friday evening, welcoming Iowa for a three-game set to kick off Blue-White Weekend. The Nittany Lions (8-24, 0-9 Big Ten) will face the Hawkeyes (13-18, 2-7 Big Ten) at 6:05 p.m., while Saturday’s contest will begin at 2:05 p.m. at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The final game of the series will be played at 12:05 p.m. on Sunday.
Promotions: Friday is $1 Dog Night at Medlar Field, with the first 500 fans receiving a FREE appetizer voucher to the Texas Roadhouse at the gates. Following the conclusion of the game, there will be fireworks to celebrate the commencement of Blue-White Weekend. The THON Sluggers game will be held on Sunday, with $1 of every ticket sold donated to the THON 2014.
Saturday is the annual Wounded Warriors Game. The same camouflage hats worn by the Penn State baseball team will be sold for $20 with all proceeds benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project. WWP is a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering the “most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation's history”. Its mission is to raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members, while helping the Wounded Warriors aid and assist each other. For more information on the Wounded Warrior Project, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
Links: All contests will be available via GameTracker and Listen Live at GoPSUsports.com, as well as updated at the @PennStateBASE Twitter account.
Lion Stats: Coming off of a 7-6, extra-inning victory over Bucknell on Tuesday evening, Penn State looks to carry that momentum into its weekend Big Ten series. Sophomore J.C. Coban (Boca Raton, Fla.) continues to lead the Lions at the plate, currently holding a .301 batting average with a team-best 34 hits. Following his two-RBI, two-double showing against the Bison, senior Luis Montesinos (Miami, Fla.) leads his squad with 18 RBIs and has now posted five multiple-RBI games. Freshman James Coates (Girard, Ohio), who leads the team with 17 runs, tallied his eighth multiple-hit game on Tuesday, going 2-for-5 with one run scored. Coban, Montesinos, Coates and redshirt senior Elliot Searer (Lewistown, Pa.), who drove in the game-winning run in the walk-off victory over Bucknell, have combined for 124 hits, 57 RBIs and 57 runs this season.
Penn State Rotation: Following an impressive outing at Michigan, where he went 7.0 scoreless innings with just two hits allowed, redshirt sophomore T.J. Jann (Westford, Mass.) will make the start on Friday. Jann has made eight appearances with five starts this season and currently holds a 3.79 ERA. The Massachusetts native has allowed 25 hits and 15 earned runs in 35.2 innings while striking out 12. Senior Steven Hill (Colleyville, Texas) will continue as the Saturday starter, currently sitting with a 3.65 ERA after 56.2 innings of action. Hill has allowed 62 hits and 23 earned runs in eight starts, and has struck out a team-best 36 batters. Sunday’s starter has yet to be announced.
Scouting the Hawkeyes: Iowa currently holds a 13-18 overall record with a 2-7 mark in the Big Ten, most recently dropping a weekend series to Kansas State, 2-1. The Hawkeyes are led by sophomore Kris Goodman, holding a team-best .344 batting average, as well as 42 hits and 24 runs scored. Sophomores Jake Yacinich and Taylor Kaufman have each tallied 17 RBIs, while Goodman sits close behind with 13. Four Hawkeyes are currently batting over .300, including Goodman, Yacinich (.314), freshman Nick Roscetti (.311) and junior Trevor Kenyon (.306). The foursome has combined for 107 hits, 52 runs and 44 RBIs.
Iowa Rotation: Senior Matt Dermody will face off with Jann on Friday, boasting a 6-1 record and currently holding a 3.77 ERA. Dermody has struck out a team-best 39 while allowing 69 hits and 24 earned runs in 57.1 innings. Making the start on Saturday, senior Andrew Hanse sits with a 4.76 ERA after 12 appearances and three starts this season. The right-handed pitcher has seen 28.1 innings of action with 33 hits and 15 earned runs allowed. Closing out the series on Sunday, lefty Sasha Kuebel has fired 43.2 innings with a 6.60 ERA. The sophomore has allowed 58 hits and 32 earned runs while striking out 28. Senior Ricky Sandquist and Kaufman lead Iowa’s bullpen, holding respective ERAs of 1.50 and 2.86 after 10 appearances a piece. Sandquist has fired 30.0 innings with just five earned runs and 30 hits allowed, while Kaufman has allowed 32 hits and 11 earned runs in 34.2 innings.
All-Time Series: Penn State leads the all-time series against Iowa, holding a 36-27 record since their first meeting in 1994. The Lions are 4-6 in the last 10 contests but hold an 18-13 overall record in Happy Valley. Last season, Penn State took the Big Ten series 2-1, winning 5-2 and 2-0 and falling 4-2 at Iowa. The 2-0 victory over the Hawkeyes on April 21, 2012 was the first Penn State no-hitter since 1995, with Hill throwing a perfect game.
Up Next: The Lions will host LaSalle on Tuesday, April 23 and Mount St. Mary’s on Wednesday, April 24 before heading back out on the road for a conference series at Ohio State next weekend.
Tickets: Season tickets for students are just $20, with Student General Admission tickets starting at $2 and Student Bleacher tickets at $1. Season tickets for Adult General Admission start at $63, while Adult General Admission tickets are sold for $4. For fans interested in the Diamond Club "In the Box" seats, single games start at $6 and season tickets will be sold for $99. Youth General Admission and Season tickets are the same cost as student tickets. Single game tickets can be purchased at the Spikes' Box Office or via the Tickets page on http://GoPSUSports.com.
Check back to GoPSUSports.com for continued updates during the 2013 season. Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/PennStateBASE and find us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/pennstatebaseball.