| Mike Wanamaker |
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It took little time for Mike Wanamaker to adjust to Big Ten baseball. Wanamaker, who pitched for his third school in as many years last season, quickly became the ace of the staff, leading the team in starts, wins, ERA, complete games, innings pitched, strikeouts, and opponents' batting average among Nittany Lion starters. Of his 14 starts in 2008, 11 were turned in as quality starts. Wanamaker is sidelined for the 2009 season and looks to continue capturing wins for head coach Robbe Wine's squad in 2010.
2008
Has proven to be the ace of the pitching staff this year as he leads the team in starts (14), wins (6), ERA (3.41), complete games (4), innings pitched (87), strikeouts (59) and opponents' batting average (.272) among starters....Is the only pitcher to start in all of his appearances this year....Turned in 11 quality starts out of 14 this year....Pitched at least seven innings in six starts and at least six innings in 10 starts....Never went less than four innings in a start....Allowed two earned runs or less in 10 of his 14 starts and allowed one earned run or less in seven starts....Ranks fourth in the Big Ten in ERA, seventh in strikeouts, seventh in opponents' batting average, third in strikeouts looking, third in innings pitched and tied for eighth in wins....Team has won in seven of his starts, the most wins for the team with any starter on the year....Was plagued by poor run support in his first eight starts of the year, getting only a total of 14 runs of support in those eight games but in his last five starts, has gotten a total of 39 runs of support and has a 3-1 record in those contests while the team is 4-1....Pitched in the second game (first the doubleheader) in the first six Big Ten series of the year before being moved the opening game of the series in the last two series of the year.
Game-by-Game Highlights
_vs. High Point (2/23): Made his Penn State debut in the season-opener at High Point, going six innings and allowing no runs on just five hits while striking out five to pick up the win.
_vs. Troy (2/29): Struck out a career high seven and allowed just five hits and two runs in seven innings of work in a no decision against Troy.
_vs. Lehigh (3/23): Got another no decision after pitching seven innings and allowing just five hits and one run against the Mountain Hawks.
_vs. Ohio State (3/29): Led Penn State to its first Big Ten win of the season with a six-inning, three-hit, one-run performance over the Buckeyes.
_vs. Michigan (4/5): Came up with the hard-luck loss in a 1-0 game vs. Michigan (4-5) as he went seven innings and allowed just two hits and one run with four strikeouts.
_vs. Indiana (4/19): Allowed one run on seven hits in seven innings and did not walk any while striking out six.
_vs. Michigan State (5/2): Allowed five hits and one run with no walks and four strikeouts in six innings to pick up the win over Michigan State.
_vs. Iowa (5/9): Tossed seven innings, allowing 11 hits but only two earned runs while equaling his career high with seven strikeouts in a no-decision that Penn State would go on to win in extra innings.
_Big Ten Tournament: Pitched a complete game and allowed just one earned run against Indiana in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Summer 2007
During the regular season, went 4-0 with a 2.02 ERA in five appearances, all starts, for the Glens Falls Golden Eagles of the New York Collegiate Baseball League....In 35.2 innings, allowed just 15 hits, eight earned runs and struck out 38, walked just 12 and limited opposing hitters to a .124 average....Also made one start in the league playoffs as Glens Falls made it to the league championship series. He struck out seven and allowed six hits in a 4.2-inning start as Glens Falls won the deciding game of the opening round of the playoffs.
St. Petersburg College
Went 6-4 with a 3.19 ERA in 65 innings of work for St. Petersburg, which went 35-12 and won Suncoast Conference championship....Struck out 58 and gave up just 23 earned runs and was named All-Conference.
Boston College
Went 3-3 with a 5.46 ERA in 11 appearances, including three starts, for the 29-26 Eagles in the 2006 season....Threw 29.2 innings, allowing 32 hits, 18 earned runs, struck out 26 and walked 12.
Nyack HS
Had a 22-2 career record with a 0.75 ERA and a school record 285 career strikeouts....Threw three no-hitters in his career and a school record 18 complete games....Allowed just 3.01 hits per game over his career....Was a three-time All-Conference honoree, a three-time All-Section pick, and a two-time All-State selection....Was named the All-Section Pitcher of the Year as junior and a senior....Named the All-Northeast Region Player of the Year as a senior....Team won three league championships and a section championship as a senior....As a sophomore, hit .360 with two home runs and had a 1.30 ERA on the mound....Helped lead team to a 21-3 record while hitting .456 with two home runs, 15 doubles, and had a 0.70 ERA with 128 strikeouts as a junior....Team went 23-2 and won the league and sectional championship as he hit .415 with four home runs and had a 0.30 ERA with 90 strikeouts a senior....Also lettered in football for one year....Was a membcer of the National Honor Society, the Spanish Honor Society and was the recipient of a Business Law Award....Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 25th round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.
Background
Michael John Wanamaker was born on March 14, 1987 in Nyack, N.Y....Son of Steven and Lia Wanamaker....Has an older brother, Steve (25), who played baseball at Cortland State, and a younger brother, Andrew (16)....His father, Steven, played football at Penn State from 1973-75....Majoring in Crime, Law and Justice and would like to be a professional baseball player.
