The Penn State Nittany Lions continue their gauntlet of a week as they face the No. 15 UCLA Bruins. The Nittany Lions are fresh off a crucial home victory over the No. 17 West Virginia Mountaineers, winning by a score of 3 to 2 in front of a record crowd. Here are the biggest storylines for this challenging clash on the West Coast.
Penn State: Program-defining win
For the first time in the Mike Gambino era on Tuesday night, the Nittany Lions defeated a ranked opponent as they upset No. 17 West Virginia. This was Penn State's first win over a ranked opponent since May 19, 2023, defeating then-No. 20 Maryland at home by a score of 5 to 3. The program had shattered their attendance record, posting a crowd of 6,106 fans. The Nittany Lions went viral on social media overnight, with their final score being posted by the official NCAA Baseball account.
Penn State: Butash goes the distance against Mountaineers
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Mason Butash had the longest outing of his career as a Nittany Lion in the win over No. 17 West Virginia on Tuesday night, tossing 4.2 scoreless innings in the win. His previous start was on May 8 of last season when he gave up seven earned runs against West Virginia. When asked if he was thinking about that day in preparation for his start on Tuesday, Butash replied, "Coach Gambino taught me to never connect my outings... kind of erased it from my mind, and it was a new day."
No. 15 UCLA: Regional host chances at play
The Bruins are closing in on a historic season with 14 games left to go in the regular season. UCLA is competing on the national stage as a potential regional host, which would be their first time since 2019. The Bruins are the projected No. 15 national seed in the latest D1Baseball Field of 64 and would be in a regional with Cal Poly, Arizona State, and Sacramento State. Having only lost one Big Ten series this year--at No. 13 Oregon last week--UCLA is well on its way to hosting a regional if all goes well for the rest of the regular season.
No. 15 UCLA: Cholowsky shining on national stage
Sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky has been making waves now that he has been named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List. The award is given out to the best amateur baseball player--across all levels of college and high school baseball--and Cholowsky has surely made his case, as his 4.28 wins-above-replacement currently leads the nation. His .733 slugging percentage ranks fifth in the Big Ten as well, and he has shown off his power with a team-high 13 home runs this season.
1. Friday Projected Starters
Penn State: LHP Ryan DeSanto (7-1, 3.28 ERA)
No. 15 UCLA: LHP Ian May (6-2, 3.95 ERA)
2. Saturday Projected Starters
Penn State: RHP Mason Horwat (4-3, 7.34 ERA)
No. 15 UCLA: RHP Michael Barnett (7-0, 4.57 ERA)
3. Sunday Projected Starters
Penn State: LHP Logan Olson (0-2, 7.54 ERA)
No. 15 UCLA: RHP Landon Stump (3-0, 5.04 ERA)
Portney's Picks
The Nittany Lions proved on Tuesday that they can go toe-to-toe with any team in the nation. All signs point to Penn State being able to do it again given their success against right-handed pitchers, shorter field dimensions, as well as their efficiency on the road. In a crucial series for bubble chances, Penn State won't fumble this opportunity as they take two-of-three from No. 15 UCLA.