Surging Nittany Lions to Host First Dollar Dog Night of 2025

March 3, 2025

2 minutes read

After a strong road start to the season, Penn State baseball returns home for its first Dollar Dog Night of the season. Penn State will host FDU on Tuesday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park for a single game before beginning the Big Ten Conference season. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET, and lots of hot dogs will be on sale.

Penn State baseball renews its popular Dollar Dog Night promotion this season, seeking to break more attendance and sales records. The program has sold more than 35,000 hot dogs through the promotion over the past two seasons. Last season against Kent State, the Nittany Lions set program records for attendance (5,025) and hot dogs sold (8,591). Penn State will host Dollar Dog Nights for all Tuesday home games this season.

The Nittany Lions are 8-1 under second-year coach Mike Gambino, their best start since 1980, and has won seven consecutive games. Penn State recently won games in Virginia over William & Mary, VCU and Richmond and took three straight from Longwood. Penn State opened the season with a 10-0 win over Missouri, its first win over an SEC team since beating Alabama in 1995.

Leadoff hitter Paxton Kling, who transferred to Penn State from LSU, is off to a hot start for the Nittany Lions. Kling has hit six home runs in nine games, tied for second in the Big Ten. He was the conference’s player of the week and the Perfect Game national player of the week after hitting .538 with four home runs, seven runs and six RBI.

Through nine games, Penn State has hit 20 home runs, which ranked fifth nationally and second in the Big Ten in homers per game. The Nittany Lions also ranked 16th nationally in total home runs and 14th in slugging percentage (.576). Eight Penn State players have hit at least one home run this season.

In Gambino’s first season as head coach, the Nittany Lions reached the Big Ten title game, falling 2-1 to Nebraska in Omaha. After the game, Gambino said he believed Penn State baseball had “championships” in its future.

“I told the team afterward, ‘There will be dogpiles,'” Gambino said last May. “I believe it. There will be pictures on the wall, there will be championships. I believe Penn State will be back here, not just for the Big Ten Tournament but for the main course.”

Penn State opens the Big Ten season this weekend with a three-game home series against Indiana. Game 1 is set for Friday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.