The Penn State Nittany Lions rolled to a four-game win streak last week, beating Bucknell by a score of 14-3 in seven innings and sweeping Minnesota on the road. Here are the biggest storylines from last week.
Molinaro continues to mash
Third baseman Bryce Molinaro had himself a fantastic week at the plate, going 6-for-15 with four home runs. The redshirt sophomore reached base 11 times last week, drawing four walks and getting hit by a pitch once. Over the last two weeks, his slugging percentage has been .867, and has recorded nine hits in 30 at-bats. His 40 runs batted in now leads the team and places fifth in the Big Ten in that stat category.
The resurgence of the long ball
The Nittany Lions mashed six home runs in the 15-10 win with two separate occasions of back-to-back homers to help Penn State sweep Minnesota. The Penn State bats hit 12 home runs overall in four games last week, as Molinaro led the team during that stretch with four. The Nittany Lions now have 56 home runs this season, the second-highest in the Big Ten behind Oregon with 61.
Voss proves to be the hero on Saturday
Coming in as a pinch-hitter in the top of the fourth inning on Saturday, catcher Nate Voss opened up the Penn State scoring with a solo home run. After a few back-and-forth scoreless innings, the Minnesota bats broke out with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning thanks to a Jake Elbeery solo home run and an RBI single by Drew Berkland. With two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning, Voss cleared the bases with a three-run RBI double, propelling the Nittany Lions to a series-clinching 5-2 win.
Running towards the record books
Shortstop Ryan Weingartner has had a breakout season on the base path this year, leading the Big Ten in stolen bases with 22. He is now six steals away from the single-season record at Penn State, currently held by Kyle Hannon who had 27 bag-swipes in 2023.