Mike Pierce Class: Junior Hometown: State College, Pa. High School: State College Height / Weight: 5-11 / 185 Position: LHP B/T: L/L

Mike Pierce enters the 2009 season with seven-straight scoreless innings dating back to his appearance against Purdue on April 11. Pierce will most likely be one of the top lefty relievers out of the bullpen for head coach Robbie Wine's squad.

2008
A redshirt freshman walk-on, he has turned in some solid performances out of the bullpen this year....Held opponents scoreless in eight of his 12 appearances this year....Began his career with three straight scoreless appearances, spanning 2.1 innings....Had a 0.00 ERA in Big Ten play over 2.2 innings and three appearances....Has held the opponent without a hit in five of his 12 appearances and has given up more than one hit only three times and more than two hits only once....Currently has gone seven straight scoreless innings dating back to April 11 vs. Purdue and has only given up two hits in that span, which covers his last five appearances.

Game-by-Game Highlights
_vs. Wake Forest (3/2): Retired the only hitter he faced in his first collegiate appearance against the Demon Deacons.
_vs. Monmouth (3/10: Pitched a scoreless inning vs. Monmouth, striking out one.
_vs. Connecticut (3/11): Allowed his first hit but also struck out one in a scoreless two-thirds of an inning against Connecticut.
_vs. Lehigh (3/21): Went one inning and gave up just one hit and two runs vs. the Mountain Hawks.
_vs. Purdue (4/11-12): Threw a scoreless two-thirds of an inning. Began his string of seven straight scoreless innings. Tossed a full scoreless inning the next day in relief.
_vs. La Salle (4/22): Retired one hitter in a third of an inning against La Salle.
_vs. Youngstown State (4/23): Had his longest and most impressive outing of the year vs. Youngstown Statem, as he pitched four innings, the 10th-13th innings, and allowing just one hit and one walk while also striking out a career high two and picked up his first win as Penn State won in 13 innings.
_vs. Michigan State (5/4): Pitched a scoreless inning against the Spartans.

State College HS
Earned two varsity letters at State College Area High School....Went 8-0 as a starting pitcher as a senior with a 2.94 ERA and was named first team All-MAC and a CPL All-Star as the team went 18-3....Had a 0.00 ERA as a junior and led the CPL in saves as the team went 20-4....Was a member of the high honor roll and a faculty scholar for having a 3.5 gpa or higher....Graduated with a 4.3 grade point average.

Background
Michael Walker Pierce was born on June 27, 1988 in State College, Pa....He is the son of Greg and Linda Pierce and has an older sister, Katie (24) who attended Penn State....His father is a finance professor at Penn State....Majoring in industrial engineering and would like to be a stock broker for a career....Lists baseball as his favorite hobby.