Penn State baseball looks to get back on track against Northwester

Penn State will have the opportunity to regain its footing as the Nittany Lions get ready to host the Northwestern Wildcats this upcoming weekend.

The Nittany Lions have started the Big Ten slate on the wrong foot, winning only one of the six games so far. Their most recent series saw them suffer a sweep against Illinois on the road.

With another Big Ten team on the doorstep, the Nittany Lions will try to take care of the struggling Wildcats who have lost six straight games coming into this series.

Penn State currently sits at 12th in the Big Ten with a 1-5 conference record and a 13-12 record overall. In last place sit the Northwestern Wildcats who are 0-3 in Big Ten play and 10-15.

The Wildcats also got swept in their most recent series against the No. 24 Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Both teams coming into this series are well rested as their midweek games were both canceled due to weather.

At the plate, both teams are on opposite sides of the rankings. Penn State enters this matchup with the fourth-best team average of .298.

Northwestern sits at 13, last in the conference with a .255 team average. They have scored the fewest number of runs in the conference.

Northwestern’s offense has been struggling this year, giving Penn State’s pitching staff a chance to get its mojo back after a rough series in Champaign.

Both staff haven’t had too much success silencing bats. Penn State currently holds a team earned run average of 6.85, which is the third worst in the conference.

Northwestern holds a slightly better team ERA with 6.50.

Penn State’s J.T. Marr is carrying a hot bat coming into this weekend, leading the entire conference in the batting average category with .437. He has recorded 45 hits in 103 at-bats.

Adam Cecere is always finding ways to get on base and provide offense for the Nittany Lions. He has an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.180, including 26 walks and seven home runs.

Kyle Potthoff has been Northwestern’s lead horse on the mound this season. He’s started seven games this year, going 32.2 innings with a 4.41 ERA.

Travis Luensmann will be called upon in this series too. The Nittany Lion has also started seven games, pitching across 32 innings with a 5.06 ERA.

Both of these programs need to get back on track if they want to get a chance at the Big Ten tournament in May. The top eight teams in the conference make it, but these two teams are on the outside looking in.

The Nittany Lions can turn the home crowd’s energy into a successful showing at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

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