Penn State Baseball Looking to Win Big Against Indiana

Story posted March 30, 2023 in CommRadio, Sports by Anthony Desher

The Penn State Nittany Lions will welcome the Indiana Hoosiers this weekend. After an impressive day at the plate during their previous game against Pitt, the Nittany Lions are looking to carry that momentum into their next interconference matchup.

Penn State’s last Big Ten series didn’t go so well. Getting smacked around by Michigan left a bad taste in the Nittany Lions’ mouths. Now, they’ll have a chance to bounce back even further, but they’re running into a tough test.

All-time the Nittany Lions are 16-22 against the Hoosiers. The record may indicate that they have struggled, but over the last seven games against Indiana, Penn State has won six of those contests.

The Indiana Hoosiers are hotter than the sun right now, winning their last nine straight games. They are 18-7 overall with a perfect record at home, but when the Hoosiers go on the road they are 2-6.

The offense is led by Phillip Glasser, who is batting .440 in 100 plate appearances. He leads the team with 44 hits and 13 doubles. Brock Tibbitts has also put together an impressive season, slashing .333 and leading the team with 28 RBI.

Pitcher Luke Sinnard has been the go-to guy for the rotation. He is currently undefeated with a 3-0 record and although the ERA is a bit high at 3.82, he has kept the Hoosiers in games and allowed them to find a way into the win column.

Looking at the Penn State side of things, they are coming off a performance where the Nittany Lions recorded 21 hits. Eight players ended with multiple hits and four players finished with multiple RBI.

So far this season, Penn State is a perfect 4-0 at home. The offense is getting contributions from multiple players in the lineup. Thomas Bramley is an on-base machine with 25 hits in 77 games, good enough for a .325 average.

Jay Harry, Johnny Piacentino, and Grant Norris have all hit for a .310 average so far and have hit eight home runs combined. Kyle Hannon has improved as well, slashing .291 and he’s had quite a few defensive plays in the field.

On the mound, Travis Luensmann has put together some impressive numbers. He’s pitched a 4-1 record and has struck out 26 batters in 28.1 innings. Speaking of strikeouts, Daniel Ouderkirk has been collecting the “Ks” in his sleep. 44 strikeouts in 26.2 innings is his stat line.

It is still early in the Big Ten season, but inter-conference matchups like these are still very important. Can Indiana remain red-hot and push their winning streak to double digits, or will Penn State’s bats remain on fire and carry out another strong offensive performance?

Anthony Desher is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email acd5698@psu.edu.