The Nittany Lions are in their final weekend before Big Ten conference play as they wrap up their road trip in the commonwealth of Virginia. Penn State faces Richmond, VCU, and William & Mary this weekend, so here's a storyline for each team.
Penn State: Kling makes massive impact out of the gate
Center fielder Paxton Kling has been a force to be reckoned with offensively and defensively so far in his six games with the Nittany Lions. His four home runs and six runs batted in last weekend earned him Big Ten Player of the Week and Perfect Game National Player of the Week.
Defensively, Kling has been a perfect 12-for-12 in putouts this season, including a running and sliding catch to seal the 7-6 win over UConn during opening weekend. His speed has also been a factor so far this season, stealing two bases to begin his Nittany Lion tenure.
Richmond: Pitching keys early success
The Spiders have locked down three Atlantic 10 pitching stat categories so far this season, leading in ERA with 3.31, hits allowed per nine innings with 7.28, and strikeout-to-walk ratio with 2.29. 10 out of 15 Spider pitchers have an ERA of 3.00 or less.
Their stellar pitching came in clutch on Tuesday as Richmond took down NC State by a score of 5-1. Lefthander Brian Reinke and righthander Chayse Gruber combined for seven scoreless innings and nine strikeouts in the win.
VCU: Homeward bound
The Rams play their first home game on Friday to open up an 11-game home stretch that ends on Sunday, March 16. This part of the schedule includes Toledo, Penn State, Boston College, William & Mary, Princeton, East Carolina, and Rhode Island.
The Rams were tough to beat at The Diamond last season, going 18-9 overall at home and 11-5 in home non-conference play.
William & Mary: Wild card at the plate
The Tribe have scored as many as 22 runs in a game and as little as one run this season. Surprisingly enough, both of these scores resulted in losses for William & Mary.
The Tribe are 2-2 this season when scoring nine runs or more in a game, with wins over Marist twice and losses to Rhode Island twice. Outfielder Christian Rush has been stellar at the plate, leading the team in home runs and runs batted in with three and 10 respectively.
1. Friday Projected Starters
Penn State: LHP Ryan DeSanto (2-0, 1.12 ERA)
Richmond: RHP Esteban Rodriguez (0-0, 1.17 ERA)
2. Saturday Projected Starters
Penn State: RHP Mason Horwat (2-0, 0.00 ERA)
VCU: RHP Brian Yetter (0-2, 9.00 ERA) [unofficial]
3. Sunday Projected Starters
Penn State: LHP Matt Morash (0-1, 6.00 ERA)
William & Mary: LHP Tom Bourque (0-0, 15.00 ERA) [unofficial]
Portney's Picks
The Nittany Lions will use Richmond's lack of offense to their advantage and win the Friday game. Penn State will continue that effort against VCU in a sound victory on Saturday. William & Mary will come ready to play on Sunday, defeating the Nittany Lions. Penn State will have a 2-1 record for the weekend.