Penn State Baseball: Nittany Lions hit the road for last time in 2019

The Penn State baseball team will hit the road for the final time in the 2019 regular season this weekend. The Nittany Lions will travel to Ohio State this weekend for their final Big Ten weekend series. They enter this weekend with 20-22 overall record and are 3-16 in Big Ten play.

Since starting the season at 13-3, the Nittany Lions have struggled in Big Ten play and never found their footing. Since that hot start, Penn State is 7-19, including 4-5 in non-conference play. The Nittany Lions just finished up their most recent non-conference game with a 4-6 loss to Towson on Tuesday night.

This weekend, the Jackets will take on the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes are 24-23 on the season, not too much better than the Nittany Loins. Like Penn State, they’ve struggled in conference play with a 7-11 record.

Last weekend, the Buckeyes were swept by Minnesota before picking up a midweek win over Wright State on Wednesday. In terms of the RPI, the Buckeyes are ranked at No. 149 according to WarrenNolan.com . The Nittany Lions are just about 40 spots behind at No. 183.

For Penn State, this season has certainly not been the season they expected after such a hot start. That being said, they still have a chance to finish the season above .500 with a series win this weekend. But the odds are not in their favor with a 3-7 record in their last 10 games and a five game losing streak on the road.

With a series win over Ohio State this weekend, the Nittany Lions can find themselves at 22-23 heading into the final week of the regular season. That will leave them with four games left in the regular season, all at home, one against Mt. Saint Mary’s and three against Arizona.

Based off their recent success, the chances of the Nittany Lions making it to .500 this season seems slim but for now there is certainly still hope for head coach Rob Cooper’s program.