Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/787374
T he Penn State baseball team wrapped up its 2016 regular season in dra- matic fashion, as freshman Connor Klemann delivered an RBI single in the 12th inning to defeat Iowa, 5-4, in the second game of a doubleheader at Med- lar Field last May. But despite the rousing finish, it was a bittersweet day for the Nittany Lions. While the victory clinched their first winning season since 2012, it did not propel them into the Big Ten tournament. Their hopes of extending the season ended about five hours ear- lier when they lost the opening game to the Hawkeyes, 8-0. There was a lot of dis- appointment, given that the team had come within one victory of achieving its goal, and those feelings lingered into the off-season. "Last year we just missed it by one game, which was heartbreaking," pitcher Dakota Forsyth said on the first day of practice for the 2017 season. "But it's motivation to get back after it this year. So that's definitely one of our goals [to reach the league tournament]. It's the first goal. Once we get there, then we'll focus on winning it." There is reason for optimism. Penn State finished 28-27 last year, a 10- game improvement over its record in 2015, and it doubled its Big Ten win total by going 12-12 in league play. Moreover, it did all that with a youthful lineup that frequently included five or six freshmen. One of those players, first baseman Willie Burger, made the Big Ten All-Freshman squad after driv- ing in 34 runs to finish second on the team. The youth movement extended to the starting rotation, and as a result, Penn State appears to be in good shape in 2017. The rotation is headlined by sophomore right-hander Justin Ha- genman. A native of Voorhees, N.J., Hagenman got his college career off to a dazzling start, claiming Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball after leading the team in starts (14), wins (six) and innings pitched (82.0). Sporting a 3.84 ERA, he was the first Penn State pitcher to win six games in a season since 2011. Also back is junior right- hander Sal Biasi, who led the team with 66 strikeouts last year, and junior lefty Taylor Lehman, who was second with 47 strikeouts. Heading into his fourth season, coach Rob Cooper is focused on build- ing consistency. "We have to make sure we give quality starts and in- nings," he said. "That's where I feel like we are deeper throughout our pitching staff. We just need a couple guys to step up, and I definitely think we have those guys." The Lions did lose a key member of their bullpen with the graduation of Jack Anderson, a third-team All-Big Ten reliever and a 23rd-round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners. Anderson had 13 saves last season, while no one else on the roster had more than one. But Forsyth, a senior right-hander from Bethel Park, Pa., has plenty of experi- ence, having made 20 appearances last season, more than anyone except An- derson. The returning players give the Nit- tany Lions a foundation on which to build as they look to get back to the conference tournament. After presid- ing over his most successful season at Penn State, Cooper doesn't think his are great here, and we've got a great group of guys here, too. Obviously, I didn't know a lot of them when I committed here, but I think I made the right decision." Smirnov was not the only Russian player in Penn State's 2016 recruiting class. The Lions also brought in forward Nikita Pavlychev, a draft pick of the Pitts- burgh Penguins. Smirnov and Pavlychev are the first Russian players in Penn State's short hockey history, and they share a special bond. "It's always nice to have a Russian guy on the team," Smirnov said. "I didn't have a Russian on the team for three years." The play of Smirnov and Pavlychev will be key moving forward, as the Lions set their sights on an NCAA tournament berth. ■ TRENDING UP PSU baseball team looking to build on last year's success | COOPER MEN'S ICE HOCKEY Lions rebound with sweep of Badgers Bouncing back from a :ve-game winless streak, its longest since the 2013-14 season, 10th-ranked Penn State swept No. 17 Wisconsin on the road Feb. 10-11, defeating the Badgers 6-3 and 5-2. Senior David Goodwin scored twice in the opener, including a :rst-period goal that gave the Nit- tany Lions a 1-0 lead. They dou- bled their advantage later in the period on a goal by freshman Bran- don Biro. Also scoring for Penn State were Denis Smirnov, Trevor Hamilton and Zach Saar. In the second game, freshman classmates Nate Sucese and Smirnov each scored a pair of goals to fuel Penn State's victory. Sucese scored the Lions' :rst two goals, the second of which gave them a lead they would not relinquish. Heading into a two-game home series against :;h-ranked Min- nesota, the Lions were 18-6-2 over- all and 7-4-1 in the Big Ten. ■ VARSITY VIEWS