by JAY NATOLI
GoPSUsports.com
own to the last strike and last out in the top of the ninth inning against No. 1 North Carolina in Chapel Hill earlier this season, Rob Yodice hit a storybook home run that tied the game, 2-2.
In the top of the tenth, the Nittany Lions manufactured a run to take a 3-2 lead. It couldn??t have been scripted better.
Meanwhile, on the mound, Penn State got what it lacked last season: a dominant relief performance. Trusted with a slim lead in a pressure packed extra-inning situation, the bullpen delivered. Reliever Drew O??Neil shut out the Tar Heels for the final two innings and locked up a milestone one-run victory for the Lions.
Craig Clark started the game and brilliantly pitched the first eight innings and had no trouble turning over the game to the ??pen.
??It??s nice to have them down there throwing well,?? Clark said. ??The starters don??t have to be perfect because our bullpen can come into any situation and we??re confident they??ll do well.??
Pitching coach Jason Bell takes it one step further. ??The bullpen has been our strength this year,?? he says. ??The team knows that if it can get those guys a lead, we??ve got a pretty good chance of winning the game.??
The Lions lost 36 games last season but a whopping 18 were heart-achingly close one-run contests. Many of those games hinged on bullpen performance and sometimes it seemed like Penn State couldn??t catch a late break.
Bell said his stable of late-game pitchers decided to be the difference-makers in 2007. ??Those guys worked hard all summer and fall,?? Bell said of the relievers. ??They knew they were better than what they showed last season and they are determined to prove it.??
So far they??re doing just that. Through April 17, the aforementioned O??Neil (1-1 with a 2.57 ERA) has pitched 14 innings in 12 appearances and leads Penn State in saves with five. Matt Ogrodnik has been equally clutch in the very late stages of games, holding opponents to just seven runs in 23 innings. His 1.96 ERA over 16 outings is the best on the staff. Combined, O??Neil and Ogrodnik have faced 123 hitters but have allowed just 29 hits.
The effort hasn??t come from just the so-called closers; reliable middle relief has been a staple this season as well. Gary Amato returned after earning four wins and 16 strikeouts in 19 appearances last year and is helped by contributions from newcomers Michael Lorentson, David Lutz and John Karr.
The keystone has been Ogrodnik, who opted to return to Robbie Wine??s roster for a fifth season after breaking an 11-year old school record for appearances (28) in 2006. The trusty lefty gave up just six earned runs over 25.2 innings last year and held opponents to a .211 batting average.
??Ogrodnik didn??t have to come back,?? Bell said. ??We told him that we wanted him back and that he would be an important part of our team. He worked hard during off-season conditioning and has turned himself into one of the best relievers in the conference.??
Even more important could be Ogrodnik??s clubhouse influence. ??We??ve got a young pitching staff,?? says the head coach, Wine. ??OG is a guy who provides senior leadership. He sees a lot of action and we can count on him.??
Big Ten parity ensures that will be several tight contests this year. Wine and Bell count on pitching and solid defense to win games in the clutch. Thanks to a strong bullpen, there are many more Hollywood endings in store for the Nittany Lions.