The Nittany Lion baseball team won their home opener Wednesday with a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Panthers. Over 1,000 fans showed up at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park to watch the first home game of the season.

Senior Jordan Steranka had a tremendous day on offense going 4-4 with four RBIs and a three-run blast in the second inning that gave the Lions a 3-0 n early lead. Sophomore Steve Snyder and senior Sean Deegan each recorded two hits on the night.

Senior starter Mike Franklin had good day on the mound pitching 5.2 innings with three strikeouts while giving up three earned runs. Freshman Casey Kulina earned his first save of the season as he and sophomore Greg Welsh threw a combined 3.1 innings with zero runs to finish the game. Today’s win was Franklin’s first of the season.

Pittsburgh scored two runs in the fourth inning and one in the sixth. Elvin Soto of the Panthers hit a two-run single in the fourth to power the Pitt offense.

Big Ten play starts this Friday at 6:05pm as the Lions host Indiana at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. That will be a three-game series and every fan that attends one of those games will receive a free Penn State baseball schedule magnet. The Friday game will also be one of the “Free Food” games available to students who purchased season tickets.