The Nittany Lions had their home opener against FDU be a success on Tuesday. Penn State continued the effort into the weekend, winning their conference-opening series in Big Ten play. Here are the biggest storylines from last week.
Home opener yields large crowd
Penn State hosted FDU for their 2025 home opener, defeating the Knights 7-6 on Tuesday. The biggest storyline, however, was the crowd, where 4,049 fans showed up for the game. Almost 6,000 hot dogs were consumed as well, with so many being bought that the PA announcer shifted its price to $2.
Molinaro gets out of slump
After snapping his hitting streak early in the season, third baseman Bryce Molinaro had been struggling at the plate, batting .256 and striking out 13 times. This week, however, he came back into his element, going 4-for-14 with two home runs.
Molinaro also had a sliding stop defensively, making a SportsCenter-worthy throw to first base to record a ground out against Indiana on Sunday. His first home run of the season was a grand slam in Game 1 against Indiana on Friday.
Steele locks it down on the mound
The Nittany Lion bullpen has begun getting established for Big Ten conference play, and no pitcher has been more impressive than left-handed pitcher Anthony Steele. Steele has been effective as a middle-innings reliever this season with a 1.13 batting average.
Last week, Steele pitched 2.2 innings, striking out three batters and helping secure the series-clinching win over Indiana on Sunday. He's been great getting out of runner jams this season, forcing 11 flyouts and five groundouts.
Breaking the history books
By defeating Indiana last weekend, Penn State clinched its first conference-opening series win since 2014, which was against Northwestern. The Nittany Lions also claimed their first series win over Indiana since 2008.
From impressive starts to winning streaks, there has not been a day that has gone by without fans needing to check the record book for new feats.