UNIVERSITY PARK — With just four weekends remaining in the regular season Penn State baseball opens a six-game homestand Friday at 6:30 p.m. against Northwestern in Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

Essentials

Live Video: BTN Plus

Live Audio: GoPSUsports.com

Live Stats: GoPSUsports.com

TV: N/A

Radio: State College’s ESPN Radio 1450

Series History: Penn State, 42-37

Last Series: Northwestern, 2-1 (2017)

Streak: W1

Friday Probables

PSU RHP Justin Hagenman (2-5, 4.36 ERA)

NU LHP Quinn Lavelle (3-5, 4.34 ERA)

Saturday Probables

PSU LHP Dante Biasi (1-5, 7.05 ERA)

NU RHP Hank Christie (2-4, 4.89 ERA)

Sunday Probables

PSU LHP Taylor Lehman (2-6, 5.23 ERA)

NU LHP Jack Pagliarini (1-3, 3.77 ERA)

Promotions

Friday

-Dollar Dog

-Sitcom Night

-Student Giveaway – Penn State Baseball Tank Top

-Donate to Lion’s Pantry

Saturday

-Bark in the Park Day

-Alumni Day

-Wing Saturday

-Bellefonte vs. State College High School Baseball

Sunday

-THON Sluggers

-vs Cancer

-Post-Game Kids Run the Bases

-Post-Game Players to shave their heads to stand with those who have cancer

-Youth 12 and under in their Little League Jersey will receive FREE admission!

Home Sweet Home

Penn State is staying close to home until the last weekend of the regular season, playing 10 of its next 11 at home and the next 12 straight in Pennsylvania.

Penn State will play three consecutive weekend series at home before closing out the regular season at Iowa.

Penn State is visiting three different regions of the state during a 13-game stretch of games within the Keystone State. The Nittany Lions took on Lafayette in Allentown (Apr. 25) to open the slate, and will play games at Pittsburgh (May 8) and at Villanova (Plymouth Meeting, Pa., May 15).

Bats Come Alive

Penn State has posted two of its highest hit totals of the season in the past five games, totaling 13 against Mount St. Mary’s and a season-high 14 Saturday at Michigan. The figures were the highest since totaling 13 in a win over Rutgers on Mar. 25.

Junior Jordan Bowersox and freshman Parker Hendershot are both riding six-game hitting streaks. Hendershot is batting a scorching .500 (11-for-22) with two doubles, five RBIs and six walks for a .607 on-base percentage. Bowersox is 8-for-27 (.296) with a double, triple and three RBIs.

Three of Hendershot’s last six games have been multi-hit games, including three-hit efforts against Ohio State and Michigan. He also tallied three RBIs in a game against Michigan. Both of Hendershot’s hits against Mount St. Mary’s came in the second inning and included a double, run and RBI.

Ryan Sloniger has four multi-hit games in his last nine outings. He leads the team batting .290.

All-Time vs. Northwestern

Penn State has won six out of the last nine meetings with Northwestern, which has stretched out a previously tight all-time series to 42-37. Penn State has done well with home field advantage at 25-15, but the Wildcats took two of three in last year’s series on Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The teams first met in 1992.

Scouting Northwestern

Northwestern is 10-24 overall and 1-14 in the Big Ten this season, with its lone conference win came at Maryland, a 4-0 shutout. The Wildcats and Nittany Lions have played much different schedules though sharing only Michigan as a common opponent. Northwestern is one of the most aggressive base running teams in the country, ranking seventh with an average of 2.06 stolen bases per game. Jack Dunn, the team’s batting leader at .307, ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 15 stolen bases and is followed by Alex Erro. On the mound, LHP Jack Pagliarini ranks second in the Big Ten with 10.32 strikeouts per nine innings.

Midweek Success

Predominantly due to weather, Penn State has been limited to just four midweek games this season, going 2-2 with two games at home.