The Penn State Nittany Lions had their first "losing record" week of the season last week, with a loss to Lafayette and two losses to Michigan State. Despite a win over Saint Bonaventure and Michigan State, the offense and pitching staff struggled throughout the stretch. Here are the biggest storylines from last week.
Greatest offensive strength became greatest weakness
Plate discipline has been a huge factor for the Nittany Lions, as they've drawn 113 walks so far this season. This, however, played right into the hands of the Lafayette arms last Wednesday, allowing only one walk and holding the Nittany Lions to three runs in a 5-3 Nittany Lion defeat.
In the weekend series against Michigan State, Penn State walked 13 times and struck out 20 times. This strategy allowed the Spartan pitchers to go after the Nittany Lion batters and force them to swing. Penn State got a hold of it on Saturday, with 11 runs on eight hits in a win, but they failed to capitalize in the loss on Sunday.
Bullpen stumbled consistently
There have been few mainstays in the Penn State bullpen, but with the absence of Dimond Loosli and Chase Renner the Nittany Lions struggled. Penn State allowed 15 walks, with 12 of them being from the bullpen during the weekend series. On Sunday, Matt Morash and Mason Butash combined for seven earned runs in 3.2 innings, which seemed to be the difference-maker in the 10-5 loss.
Jesse Jaconski broke through
Saturday was another one of left fielder Jesse Jaconski's offensive clinics, hitting two home runs including a grand slam. He drove in six runs and went 2-for-3 in the game, contributing highly to the 11-5 Nittany Lion victory.
Jaconski has had two multiple-home run games this season, with the other one being in a 16-7 win over VCU on March 1. Despite being at the bottom of the lineup, the junior outfielder has made a heavy impact at the plate this season with a team-third 25 runs batted in.
Olson slowly recovered from injury
Junior left-handed pitcher Logan Olson made two starts last week, with one against Saint Bonaventure on Tuesday and the other against Michigan State on Saturday. Previously, Olson had yet to make an appearance on the mound for the Nittany Lions, battling an injury.
So far this season, Olson has struck out three batters and allowed three earned runs in two appearances. He will look to build on last week's performance and his outings last season at Iowa Western Community College, where he had a 9-0 record and a 2.58 earned run average.