The rocky campaign continued for Penn State over the weekend as Nebraska swept the Nittany Lions and now the squad looks to break its five-game losing streak against FDU on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
While the blue and white hope to get back on track, the Knights are hot and enter the game on a five-game winning streak. The Nittany Lions are currently 8-21, and if they want a chance at another postseason run, they must start stringing together some wins.<\/p>\n
Penn State has enjoyed much success against FDU, holding a 3-0 record, with the two squads’ last meeting in the 2025 season.<\/p>\n
Battle on the mound<\/p>\n
The main reason the Blue and White\u2019s season has been so far underwhelming is the poor pitching. The Nittany Lions have posted the Big Ten\u2019s worst team ERA for most of the season and have also surrendered the most hits, so if they want to pull off the victory, the pitching must simply limit runs.<\/p>\n
On the other side, the Knights hold a steady team ERA at 5.18, allowing 87 hits and 57 earned runs. Penn State has been outscored by its opponents 260-152 and outhit 318-237, which is a stark difference from FDU, which has dominated most of the teams they\u2019ve faced.<\/p>\n
Junior Mason Horwat is likely to get the start on the mound for the Nittany Lions. The Pittsburgh native had a rough outing in his last start against Illinois, lasting just 1.2 innings and surrendering six runs on three hits and five walks.<\/p>\n
The right-hander holds a 9.17 ERA and has allowed 22 hits, 11 walks and 19 earned runs over 17.2 innings. He faces an FDU offense that has a team batting average of .341 on 133 hits and 131 runs, and it’s heading into Happy Valley.<\/p>\n
The Knights rake throughout their lineup, but sophomore Ray Hunter spearheads their explosive offense. The Woodbine, New Jersey, native posts a .407 average and leads FDU in hits (22), RBI (21) and home runs (nine).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear who\u2019s getting the ball for the Knights, but Penn State may face FDU\u2019s ace left-hander Chris Messina. The freshman has recorded the team\u2019s second-lowest ERA at 1.86, while allowing just four earned runs, eight hits and four walks over 19.1 innings.<\/p>\n
It hasn\u2019t only been a bad start to the season on the mound for the Nittany Lions, but also behind the plate with a conference-worst team batting average of .255. However, the two stars of their lineup have been on a tear.<\/p>\n
Senior Michael Anderson ranks among the leaders at Penn State in most offensive stats. Among those are a .366 batting average, 13 home runs and 34 RBI. The Havertown, Pennsylvania, native continued dominating over the weekend, totaling five hits in the Nebraska series, which included two home runs in the series finale.<\/p>\n
Alongside him, redshirt junior Bryce Molinaro has picked up right where he left off last season and is a steady force in Mike Gambino\u2019s lineup. The Drums, Pennsylvania, native has maintained a solid .279 average, with eight home runs and 22 RBI.<\/p>\n
However, the Nittany Lions will need production from elsewhere in the lineup as well if they want to snap their losing skid.<\/p>\n
MORE BASEBALL COVERAGE<\/p>\n
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