Penn State baseball will return home to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park after a weekend series against Michigan State.
The Nittany Lions ended their five-game losing streak with a 11-9 Sunday afternoon victory over the Spartans.
The blue and white will play West Virginia at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday before hosting Minnesota in a three-game, weekend series starting at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The teams are also set to match up at 12:30 p.m. Saturday before closing out the series at noon Sunday.
West Virginia
The Mountaineers enter Wednesday’s matchup on a three-game losing streak after getting swept by Texas Tech over the weekend.
The losses dropped the team out of the D1Baseball.com’s Top 25 rankings. However, the gold and blue still have immense talent to look out for.
Middle infielder JJ Wetherholt is currently one of the top 2024 MLB Draft prospects, and his numbers show why.
Since returning to the lineup in early April, he’s improved his slashes to a .327 batting average, .493 on-base percentage and a .531 slugging percentage.
The Nittany Lions’ bullpen will have to step up in order to slow down one of the best players in college baseball.
In the all-time series history, Penn State leads 73-44, including an 11-6 victory last year in Happy Valley.
Minnesota
The Nittany Lions will then remain home to continue Big Ten play against Minnesota.
So far in 2024, the teams are right next to each other in the Big Ten standings, with the Golden Gophers sitting at 4-8 in conference play while the blue and white hold a 6-9 Big Ten record.
Overall, the Golden Gophers have a 16-18 record, including a loss in their most recent game against Indiana on Sunday. The Hoosiers took two of three in the series.
Minnesota’s pitching staff enters the weekend with one of the best ERAs in the Big Ten. The staff holds a 5.72 ERA so far this season upon facing one of the best offenses in the conference.
The Nittany Lions will look to raise that ERA with the offensive firepower that they’ve showcased all season.
Grant Norris and Adam Cecere sit at the top of the conference in home runs, and the team ranks second in the conference in home runs.
The long ball will be key for the Nittany Lions to regain success at home following a loss to Kent State in their most recent home matchup.
Penn State will be looking to carry its momentum following Sunday’s win into both its mid-week game against West Virginia before its weekend conference series against Minnesota.
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