Baseball Begins Big Ten Tournament Against Illinois

OMAHA, Neb. – The Penn State baseball team opens the Big Ten Tournament Presented by IFS.ai on Tuesday against top-seed Illinois. The eighth-seed Nittany Lions meet the Illini at 7 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network and the Fox Sports App. The tournament is being played at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.
 
Penn State, led by Mike Gambino, is 26-23 overall and finished the regular season with a 12-12 record in Big Ten play after a three-game sweep at Maryland last weekend, including a doubleheader sweep on Friday.
 
Illinois, coached by Dan Hartleb, is 33-17 overall and won the Big Ten regular season title with a 17-7 mark. The Illini swept a three-game series at Purdue.
 
For updates on the Penn State baseball team, please check @pennstatebase on X and Instagram.
 
The 2024 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
UP NEXT

• Penn State will meet No. 4 seed Iowa or No. 5 seed Michigan on Thursday at either 11 a.m. or 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network.

 
LEADING OFF

• Penn State opens the Big Ten Tournament Presented by IFS.ai on Tuesday against Illinois.
• The Nittany Lions dropped three games against the Illini in late March, leading into the fifth in all three games.
• Penn State swept a three-game series at Maryland, including a doubleheader sweep on Friday, to clinch its spot in the Big Ten Tournament.
• Mason Horwat earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week after seven shutout innings.
• In year one under Mike Gambino, Penn State has a winning record after the regular season for the first time since 2016 and maintained a .500 or better record the entire season for the first time since 2011.
• PSU tied for best in the Big Ten with an 11-3 record in weekend openers and went 6-2 in Big Ten series openers.
• J.T. Marr is second in the Big Ten in average (.419) and hits per game (1.73), good for sixth and seventh in the country, respectively.
• Marr’s 85 hits are third in a season at PSU, while Adam Cecere’s 46 walks are tied second. Cecere (15) and Grant Norris (14) rank fifth and sixth in homers.

 
SCOUTING ILLINOIS

• Head Coach Dan Hartleb is in his 19th season leading the Illinois program.
• Illinois is 565-415-1 under Hartleb, including an 11-12 mark this season.
• Last weekend, the Illini swept its three-game series at Purdue.
• The Illini rank fourth in the Big Ten in batting…