Nittany Lions Wrap Up Virginia Trip in Last Weekend Before Big Ten Play (Weekend Preview)
- bryanportney01
- Feb 27
- 3 min read
Penn State (5-1, 0-0 Big Ten) at Richmond (7-1, 0-0 Atlantic 10) &
VCU (2-6, 0-0 Atlantic 10) & William & Mary (4-4, 0-0 Coastal)
Dates: February 28-March 2
Times (EST): 1:30 PM (Richmond), 2:00 PM (VCU), 1:00 PM (William & Mary)
Locations
Richmond: Malcolm U. Pitt Field (Richmond, VA)
VCU: The Diamond (Richmond, VA)
William & Mary: Plumeri Park (Williamsburg, VA)
Coverage
TV: ESPN+ (Richmond & VCU only), N/A (William & Mary only)
Radio: Tribe Athletics Audio Network (William & Mary only)
Live Stats/Pregame Lineups: StatBroadcast (PSU, all games)
Storylines
Kling Earns Conference, National Honors
Following a weekend of going 7-for-13 with four home runs, center fielder Paxton Kling earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors. He also captured Perfect Game National Player of the Week honors last week. (Source: Daily Collegian | Daily Collegian)
Spiders Claim Second Consecutive Victory over Wolfpack
Richmond has been off to a hot start this season with a 7-1 record, most recently taking down NC State at Doak Field on Tuesday. This marks the Spiders’ fourth win over the Wolfpack in Raleigh since 2002. (Source: University of Richmond Athletics | NC State Athletics)
Thompson Takes Helm as Head Coach
Sean Thompson took over as VCU’s head baseball coach after being an assistant coach for the Rams last season. Thompson played for VCU for four years, garnering a 27-10 record and a 3.30 ERA in his collegiate career. (Source: Virginia Commonwealth University)
Making Their Mark in the Coastal
William & Mary’s offense has been one to watch so far this season as they’ve led the CAA in batting average and slugging percentage with .311 and .472, respectively. They also lead the conference in runs per game with 8.6. (Source: William & Mary Athletics)
Numbers Tell The Story
Penn State | Offense | Richmond | VCU | William & Mary |
.301 | Batting AVG | .257 | .229 | .311 |
.409 | On-Base Pct | .352 | .330 | .404 |
13 (2.17) | Home Runs (per game) | 7 (0.88) | 5 (0.63) | 6 (0.75) |
10-25-22 | Run Splits (Fri-Sat-Sun) | 4-9-5 | 2-15-6 | 14-14-37 |
Penn State | Defense | Richmond | VCU | William & Mary |
3.00 | Earned Run Avg | 3.31 | 6.93 | 9.86 |
.203 | Opp Batting Avg | .224 | .280 | .336 |
59 (9.83) | Strikeouts (per game) | 64 (8.00) | 55 (6.88) | 68 (8.50) |
22 (3.67) | Walks (per game) | 28 (3.50) | 48 (6.00) | 47 (5.88) |
Penn State History vs. Richmond, VCU, William & Mary (Richmond | VCU | William & Mary)
Penn State is 0-1 against Richmond, with the most recent meeting being a Richmond 6-5 home win on March 13, 2016. Penn State is 0-0 against VCU. Penn State is 6-4 against William & Mary, with the most recent meeting being a Penn State away series win from March 20-21, 1999 (Penn State outscored William & Mary, 22-19).
Probable Starting Pitchers
*Unofficial starter.
Friday
LHP Ryan DeSanto, Jr. (2-0, 1.12 ERA) vs. RHP Esteban Rodriguez, Sr. (0-0, 1.17 ERA)
Saturday
RHP Mason Horwat, So. (2-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Brian Yetter, Gr. (0-2, 9.00 ERA)*
Sunday
LHP Matt Morash, So. (0-1, 6.00 ERA) vs. LHP Tom Bourque, R-So. (0-0, 15.00 ERA)*
Top Hitters/Runners
Penn State (10.00|8.33|11.00 Runs per Game)
CF Paxton Kling, Jr. (.440|.533|1.080, 5 hr, 9 rbi, 3 sb)
2B/OF Joe Jaconski, Sr. (.346|.379|.654, 1 hr, 6 rbi)
UTIL Jack Porter, Jr. (.316|.481|.579, 1 hr, 5 rbi)
Richmond (2.00|9.00|2.00 Runs per Game)
RF Phil Bernstein, Gr. (.556|.647|.778, 1 hr, 5 rbi, 5 sb)
1B/3B Jordan Jaffe, Jr. (.273|.333|.606, 2 hr, 9 rbi, 3 sb)
DH/C Jack Arcamone, So. (.240|.278|.469, 2 hr, 6 rbi)
VCU (1.00|5.00|6.00 Runs per Game)
C Jacob Lee, Fr. (.290|.333|.516, 2 hr, 7 rbi)
DH/LF Will Henson, Sr. (.318|.423|.409, 0 hr, 3 rbi)
1B/3B Sean Swenson, Gr. (.269|.394|.385, 1 hr, 3 rbi)
William & Mary (7.00|7.00|18.50 Runs per Game)
RF/LF Christian Rush, Sr. (.241|.324|.586, 3 hr, 10 rbi)
C/DH Jerry Barnes III, Jr. (.429|.500|.810, 1 hr, 7 rbi)
CF Ben Parker, Gr. (.429|.556|.607, 1 hr, 5 rbi)
Game Promotions [Central Virginia Challenge]
Friday: N/A (Richmond)
Saturday: Brews & Baseball (VCU)
Sunday: N/A (William & Mary)
Quick Picks: Expert Analysis
Penn State at Richmond
Bryan: This should be a Ryan DeSanto shove day for Penn State. The Nittany Lions shut it down in a big Friday win to set the tone for the weekend. Penn State 8, Richmond 2.
Penn State at VCU
Bryan: Horwat will be able to take advantage of the Rams’ poor hitting in this one. The Nittany Lions bypass the Saturday blues and cruise. Penn State 10, VCU 3.
Penn State at William & Mary
Bryan: Penn State pitching remains suspect as the Tribe looks to blow this game wide open. They’ll succeed and slide past the Nittany Lions. William & Mary 12, Penn State 8.
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