The Penn State Nittany Lions had their fair share of ups and downs last week, getting run-ruled by Delaware before closing out their conference homestand with a series win against Purdue. Here are the biggest storylines from last week.
Next man up mentality for Graham
After first baseman Cole Wagner exited Friday's game against Purdue due to injury, second baseman Patrick Graham fit right in with the rest of the lineup. In his first start since February 22, the junior transfer from Wabash Valley College went 2-for-5 and drove in a run via a single in the bottom of the fourth inning. Overall, this weekend, Graham recorded four hits in 11 at-bats and hit in each game, proving that he can provide a spark off the bench when needed for the Nittany Lions.
Two-out magic
The Nittany Lion bats were on fire in high-leverage situations last weekend as they scored seven runs with two outs in the 10-2 win over the Boilermakers on Friday. Penn State scored 12 of their 34 runs with two away in the series against Purdue. The Nittany Lions reflected that performance with high-average hitting, going 11-for-36 at the plate in such situations last weekend.
Jesse shines in final two games
Left fielder Jesse Jaconski has been stellar at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park this season, and that storyline continued last weekend against Purdue. On Saturday and Sunday, he combined for four hits and five runs batted in on eight at-bats. Jesse hit home runs on back-to-back days and totaled a slugging percentage of 1.500 during the two-game stretch. At home this year, he's been the Nittany Lions' top hitter, leading in batting average with .305 and tying for the team high in runs batted in with 20.
Warm weather brings sizeable crowds
With temperatures dipping into the mid-60s and low 70s last weekend, Medlar Field at Lubrano Park saw a great deal of fan support in the stands. The ballpark saw an attendance number of 1,961 last Saturday, which was the highest-attended crowd for a weekend game in the Mike Gambino era at Penn State. The Nittany Lions had 1,000 or more fans in attendance for three of the four games last week, averaging 1,389 fans per game.