It was a promising start to the season for the baseball team as it swept Monmouth in its three-game season-opening series last weekend down in North Carolina.

On Friday, Penn State won its game 1-0 after left-handed pitcher Kyle Ajjan was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, forcing home the winning run.

The Nittany Lions’ bats got hot on Saturday when they won 7-0 and continued into Sunday with a 6-4 win. It was the first time the team has ever won their first two games without allowing a run.

“It’s pretty honorable just to know that that’s the first time that’s ever happened,” pitcher Tyler Shingledecker said. “It’s great for the pitching staff because we’ve been putting in a lot of work in the offseason and everybody as a whole deserves it.”

Coach Rob Cooper was very pleased by his team’s performance last weekend.

“I’m really proud of our kids,” Cooper said. “We played and competed with hard energy. To start the season 3-0, I’ll definitely take that.”

Cooper also mentioned how his team can improve after their opening series.

“I think we wasted a lot of at-bats early but I think that had a lot to do with our guys being excited to play,” Cooper said. “I feel like we were trying to do too much offensively.”

He also said he feels the pitching can be a little better.

“We pitched well for the most part but I feel like we can execute pitches better and play better defense as well,” Cooper said.

Penn State will face Fairfield next this weekend in a four-game series. Last season, Fairfield finished with a record of 22-29 after losing its first three games against Georgia Southern. The team was better playing at home than on the road last season with a 12-6 record at home and 10-23 record on the road. The Stags finished 9-14 against conference opponents.

The Nittany Lions did not face Fairfield at all last season so it will be a relatively new matchup. Due to weather, the series has been pushed back a day.

The two teams will play four times from Saturday to Monday, including a yet-to-be announced double header.