Penn State Baseball Look to Keep Momentum Against Binghamton
Penn State had a successful start to the season with its 9-5 start down south. Two of those losses were to then No. 17 Miami and one was to then No. 15 North Carolina.
The Nittany Lions would then win their first two home games over Georgetown by a combined score of 13-3.
They’ll look to get a third win in a row Tuesday night when they host the Binghamton Bearcats.
The probable starter for Penn State is redshirt freshman Ben DeMell. He had a rough start to the season by giving up five earned runs in his first 4.0 innings pitched.
In his first two relief appearances, DeMell allowed batters to get solid contact. He gave up two doubles against Wagner and a home run against North Carolina.
DeMell had a good outing against Brown on March 11 where he threw 4.1 scoreless innings. Despite the slow start, he has shown he can strikeout batters with nine on the season in 8.1 innings pitched.
Binghamton started the season with four straight losses between Clemson and Wake Forest. But the Bearcats have turned it around and are on a four-game winning streak to put them at 8-7.
Binghamton’s probable starter is freshman Dan McAliney. He has also had his problems with giving up power hits with four extra-base hits given up over 4.1 innings pitched.
But the Bearcats have a group of relievers that can shut down a game when they come in from the bullpen. Relievers Alex Henderson, Tommy Snyder and John Lumpinski all have an ERA under 2.50.
Snyder and Lumpinski have been particularly good at making batters miss as they have combined for 24 strikeouts. They sit at first and second among Binghamton pitchers that haven’t made a start.
For the Penn State hitting, junior infielder Jay Harry has been an effective run provider.
But the RBIs come in spurts for Harry. He leads the team in RBIs with 16 and 13 of those have come over five games.
Harry will continue to be a factor at the plate with his .313 batting average but more consistency in bringing in runs can help Penn State.
Graduate student Thomas Bramley has done a great job at filling the shoes of Matt Wood at catcher. Bramley leads the team in average and has caught six runners on the base paths which is second in the Big Ten.
The transfer from Mount St. Mary’s has also reached base in every game this year.
Binghamton got production at the plate from junior outfielder Mike Gunning in the series against Lafayette. Gunning was able to hit four RBIs and hit 4-10 over the weekend series and will look to have another big game against Penn State.
A win for both teams can boost confidence as they head into conference play starting Friday.
First pitch is set for 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 21 at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
Jayson O’Connell is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jbo5216@psu.edu.
