YEAR-BY-YEAR RESULTS

2018 (15-34, 3-21 Big Ten)

Head Coach: Rob Cooper

2019 (22-27, 4-18 Big Ten)

Head Coach: Rob Cooper

*Denotes Conference Games

2020 (10-5, 0-0 Big Ten)

Head Coach: Rob Cooper

2021 (18-24, 18-24 Big Ten) Head Coach: Rob Cooper

2022 (26-29, 11-13 Big Ten)

Head Coach: Rob Cooper

1952

The Performance: The Lions posted a 17-6 record en route to their first College World Series appearance in school history.

The Story: Anchored by freshman Keith Vesling (7-3, 2.40 ERA, 82.1 IP), Penn State’s three-man rotation dominated opposing hitters. Bill Everson and Jack Krumrine each posted 5-1 marks to round out a rotation that combined for all 17 of the Lions’ wins.

The Result: After a fine season and back-to-back wins in the District II Regionals, the Nittany Lions bowed out of their first CWS appearance. They fell to eventual champion, Holy Cross, and took home a tie for third.

1956

The Performance: The “Technology Bandwagon” made its way through Happy Valley as coach Joe Bedenk invested in an early model of today’s pitching machine. The machine, an awkward and inefficient contraption, was able to hurl one ball every eight seconds.

The Story: After having his spring batting practices delayed weeks at a time due to weather conditions, Bedenk was finally able to take his men indoors to get their swings. In addition to buying his batters over two weeks of extra batting practice, the machine also kept his pitchers’ arms fresh as they threw batting practice in previous years.

The Result: It didn’t take long to see a return on the technological investment. The 1957 squad made a run to the College World Series Final.

1957

The Performance: After reeling off a school-record 21 consecutive wins to start the year, the 1957 Nittany Lions became arguably the best team in school history and in doing so, became the benchmark for success in Happy Valley. Finishing with a 22-2 record and a school-best second-place finish in the College World Series.

The Story: Legendary hurler Ed Drapcho (12-0, 1.52 ERA; single-season school record wins) and two-sport star Cal Emery (10-1, captain of basketball team) posted all 22 of the Lions’ wins. The tandem also tallied an astounding 15 complete games and gave up a combined 29 earned runs.

Drapcho became the school’s first-ever first-team All-American and Emery, despite the Penn State loss to California in the CWS Final, became the only NCAA Tournament MVP in school history.

The Result: After a 17-0 regular season and four consecutive postseason victories, the squad ran into a juggernaut in the University of California. Penn State fell in both the second round and final to take runner-up honors while making its mark in the record books.

1959

The Performance: Reminiscent to the 1952 season in which Penn State made its first College World Series, the 1959 squad posted an identical 17-6 record while making the school’s third CWS appearance.

The Story: As per the theme of the 1950s, dominant pitching led the Lions into the postseason. The staff as a whole posted a skimpy 2.66 ERA for a Nittany Lion squad that outscored its opponents by a 172-89 margin.

The Result: Penn State defeated Connecticut, 5-3, in the first round before falling into the losers’ bracket after an 8-6 loss to eventual College World Series champion Oklahoma State. The persistent Lions fought back through the losers’ bracket by shutting out Clemson 7-0, only to fall to the same Oklahoma State squad, 4-3, when the Cowboys rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. It marked the third time in the decade in which Penn State lost to the eventual College World Series Champion. The Nittany Lions finished fourth.

1963

The Performance: In Chuck Medlar’s first season at the Penn State coaching helm, his Lions posted a 14-6 record in making their first and last College World Series appearance of the decade.

The Story: In addition to posting a 10-2 mark (10 wins, tied for third on school’s single-season wins list) and a miniscule 1.94 ERA, Bob Fenton also tallied no-hit games in wins over Cornell (17-0) and Rider (3-0, District II Regionals). He became just the third of eight Nittany Lions to toss no-hitters and the first to accomplish the feat twice.

The Result: Medlar debuted in fine fashion, leading his squad to the College World Series after a three-year absence. The Lions, after finishing the regular season 11-4, won three of their five postseason matchups to close the season with a 14-6 record and a fifth-place CWS finish.

1973

The Performance: Penn State, again led by a dominant pitching staff, posted a 19-7 record and made the last of its five College World Series appearances.

The Story: Mitch Lukevics, a freshman, turned in one of the most dominating pitching performances in school history to lead a rock-solid Nittany Lion squad. Lukevics, from nearby Bellefonte, posted a 7-2 record with a 1.23 ERA in the first of his three seasons at Penn State. To go along with his impressive stats, he finished the season with 86 strikeouts in just 65.2 innings of work, a ratio of 11.7 K per nine innings (seventh in the nation).

Lukevics in the Penn State Record Book

Career Record: 24-5 (3rd in wins)

Career ERA: 1.24 (1st)

Career Strikeouts: 266 (3rd)

Career Shutouts: 9 (1st)

Single-Season Shutouts: 3 (2nd)

Single-Season Wins: 11 (1975, 2nd)

The Result: Despite going 0-2 in the College World Series, the Lions finished the postseason with a 3-2 mark and an overall record of 19-7.

1976

The Performance: The Lions posted an 18-8 record on their way to the school’s last NCAA Tournament appearance until 2000.

The Story: The most notable of the squad’s 18 wins came on April 19 in a 9-3 handling of George Washington. The win marked the team’s eighth of the season and 1,000th in school history.

The Result: After posting an 18-6 regular season record, the Lions dropped their first two postseason games and bowed out of the Regionals. Greg Vogel was rewarded for an outstanding season by nabbing first team AllAmerica status. He became just the third of four Nittany Lions to receive the honor. Vogel was rewarded again after the season by becoming the first Penn Stater to be selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft.

1978

The Performance: David Simononis turned in arguably the best offensive season in Penn State history.

The Storyline: Simononis hit a school-record 17 home runs, all with significant meaning. Penn State went 11-2 in games when Simononis homered and just 6-4-2 when he didn’t.

Simononis also tallied the best single-season slugging percentage (total bases/at-bats) in school history with a 1.100 mark, hit .478 (also best) and recorded a 13-game hit streak.

The Result: Simononis not only led the Lions to a solid 17-6-2 record, but he also propelled himself into the Penn State record books with his dominant offensive performance.

Simononis in the Penn State Record Book

Single-Season Batting Avg.: .478 (1st)

Single-Season Slugging: 1.100 (1st)

Single-Season Home Runs: 17 (2nd)

Career Batting Avg.: .403 (2nd)

Career Slugging: .756 (1st)

1990

The Performance: O.J McDuffie, PSU Football and NFL standout, played his first and last season for the Nittany Lion baseball squad.

The Storyline: McDuffie stole 20 bases (t-3rd, single-season school history) on 21 attempts (96 percent clip), hit .336 and had a .969 fielding percentage.

The Result: As a reward for his stellar football play, McDuffie was taken in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins (1993).

1996

The Performance: With a 19-8 Big Ten season (32-24-1 overall), the Nittany Lions won the school’s only Big Ten Championship.

The Story: Baby-faced sophomore Nate Bump led a list of 10 All-Big Ten honorees, including first-teamers Bump and Carl Albrecht. Bump was also named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and Pitcher of the Week three times. The sophomore posted an 8-5 mark, including three shutouts and seven complete games, to go along with his 3.60 ERA and 93 strikeouts.

The Result: The result was a Big Ten Championship and a Big Ten Coach of the Year honor for sixth-year head coach Joe Hindelang.

1996

Big Ten Standings

2000

The Performance: After a 24-year NCAA absence, the 2000 Lions posted a 45-19 record and advanced to the postseason for the first time since 1976.

The Storyline: Led by the banner year of first-team All-American Michael Campo, Penn State tallied a 41-16 regular season record. Campo established single-season school records in at-bats (261), hits (111), doubles (24) and runs (83) on his way to Big Ten Player of the Year and Academic All-Big Ten accolades.

In postseason action, freshman Kevin Damiano stepped into the limelight. In the Upper Montclair Regional, Damiano’s nine innings with just six hits allowed against North Carolina earned Penn State the Regional Title and himself the Most Outstanding Player Award. The Lions cruised through the regional with a 4-1 record, including two victories over the Tar Heels.

The Result: Despite dropping back-to-back games to Texas in Super Regional action, the 2000 Lions finished a school-record 45 wins. The program also saw five players - Shawn Fagan, Matt Harter, Eric Spadt, Chris Netwall and Scott Russo - drafted by Major League clubs.

2007

The Performance: Penn State set a school record for most Big Ten wins and tied its second-best finish in the Big Ten. Numerous individuals also broke school records.

The Storyline: After starting out the season 2-12 against one of the toughest schedules in the country, the Nittany Lions finished the year with a 29-14 record to finish 31-26, just the fifth time with at least 30 wins in school history. Penn State also tied for second in the Big Ten behind a 20-10 conference record. That mark is tied with the 2000 team for the second-best Big Ten finish in school history while surpassing the 19 Big Ten games won by the 1996 squad for the most in school history. The team also won three Big Ten Tournament games (tied for most in school history) while its five Big Ten series wins were tied for the second most.

Individually, Drew O’Neil set the school record for most saves in a season with 11 (since broken in 2016). Matt Ogrodnik broke his own record by appearing in 29 games while Scott Gaffney’s 17 sacrifices were a record as well. In addition, Cory Wine broke his own mark for putouts with 521.

The Result: Despite its hot streak at the end of the year that featured wins in five of its last six Big Ten series and three straight in the conference tournament, Penn State fell just short of an NCAA Tournament berth. However, the Nittany Lions ended their first season at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park with some records, many memories and with upward momentum for the program.

2011

The Performance: The 2011 season was highlighted by record-setting performances, impressive non-conference victories and a berth in the Big Ten Tournament.

The Storyline: Coming off a season in which they won just three road games, the Lions won 16 road contests. Penn State’s 13-win jump from last year was also the highest by any team in the nation. Sean Deegan was one of only two players in the conference to earn unanimous first-team All-Big Ten honors. He led the league with a .622 slugging percentage, which was 25 points higher than the next closest competitor.

The Result: Seeded sixth after wrapping up the year with a 12-12 record in Big Ten action, Penn State faced a difficult road in the postseason and eventually bowed out following setbacks to Purdue and Minnesota in the conference tournament. Despite the exit, the Lions proved they could play with anyone in the conference, emphasized by their seven victories against fellow postseason contenders.