Josh Yukelson and some of his ACACIA fraternity brothers stood directly behind the Central Connecticut State dugout yesterday afternoon, leading a rowdy student section that hoped to spur the Penn State baseball team to a ninth-inning rally.

Although the Nittany Lions were upset that they ultimately fell short of the series sweep and their third consecutive victory, the 2-0 loss to the Blue Devils did not dampen the long-awaited opening weekend for the Lions at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park for Yukelson and others in attendance.

"It's absolutely beautiful," Yukelson (senior - marketing) said of the ballpark. "It's a great thing to have a full venue and be able to get people to come out here."

Yukelson and many of his fraternity brothers attended games at Beaver Field -- Penn State's former home -- in seasons past. According to Yukelson, they would sit near the Lions' dugout, "get loud, and heckle the other teams."

Yesterday, they did just that while enjoying the brand-new amenities and facility of Medlar Field, along with the rest of the 1,184 people in attendance.

For Yukelson, the generously-sized crowd offered positive glimpses of things to come.

"The more people start realizing that this is a great venue to come out to, and the more the weather gets nicer, I think people will start coming out a lot more," he said.

The opening of the new ballpark, coupled with the pleasant weather, are precisely what attracted Mike Matty (junior - kinesiology) to yesterday's series finale.

"I wanted see the new stadium," said Matty, who -- like many students -- came to his first Penn State baseball game this weekend. "Obviously it's a nice field ... I would want to come here more and I plan to come more."

That's exactly what Penn State junior catcher Joe Blackburn and the rest of the Lions wanted to hear and would love to see in the future.

After playing its first 14 games of the season on the road, Penn State anxiously saw this opportunity to finally be the home team and collect some victories. The Lions did just that with impressive wins Friday night, 8-1, and Saturday afternoon, 9-0.

As for the fan support, it was the icing on the cake.

"It was great," Blackburn said. "I would like to personally thank every fan that came out to make this home opener amazing.

"To come home and have fans screaming for us and at them, and cheering for us and heckling them ... was amazing and it makes [playing at home] so much better. These past couple games have probably been the most fun I've had in a long time, playing baseball in front of a crowd like that."