Penn State baseball had an offensive explosion during its weekend series against Princeton. After being inconsistent at the plate the prior series, the Nittany Lions bounced back with 39 runs and 47 hits in just four games.

In game one of the series, Penn State totaled 19 hits and 18 runs, the team’s most hits in a game since 2013 and most runs since 2016. It was an all-around offensive performance, with players up-and-down the lineup contributing.

“We really made a point in practice to really focus on some things to stay middle and to stay center,” head coach Rob Cooper said. “I thought our guys carried over the things we worked on Monday and Wednesday offensively and really put it into play. Guys really battled, didn’t try to do too much, and stayed within.”

Mac Hippenhammer, who has bounced around between the outfield and shortstop this year, broke out in a huge way this past weekend. Before this series he had mustered only one hit on the season, most of the time batting out of the leadoff spot. This past weekend, he was bumped down to the bottom of the order, and it did wonders for him, as he batted .438 while driving in eight runs and scoring six. This change in the batting order seemed to have jumpstarted his season.

One player who really shined this past weekend is senior second baseman, Gavin Homer. He batted .538, launched a home run, drove in six runs, and drew three walks.

“Gavin has really been swinging the bat well,” said Cooper. “When he gets on he has the ability to make some things happen.”

Homer has been a constant at the bottom of Cooper’s lineup this season, as he is second on the team with a .467 batting average and the leader on the team with 13 runs-batted-in and six stolen bases.

One of the driving forces behind the success of the Penn State offense this past weekend was the performance of the bottom of the lineup. At the top of the lineup, players like Matt Wood, Justin Williams, and Ryan Ford led the way. The bottom of the lineup managed to back them up, and kept the production going this past weekend.

The 7-8-9 slots in the batting order combined to hit .413, and were responsible for driving in 18 runs. The key to a great offense is balance, and the Nittany Lions showcased that in their series against the Princeton Tigers.

Right fielder Curtis Robison followed up last week’s walk-off heroics with another productive weekend. He batted .308 with five RBIs, and six runs scored. Coach Cooper loves the work ethic that Robison displays.

“Curtis is one of the hardest working guys we have,” Cooper said. “He did a good job of swinging the bat.”

The Nittany Lion offense will attempt to have a repeat performance this upcoming weekend when they travel down to Maryland to face Navy, UMBC, and Farleigh Dickinson.