March 27, 2013
By Scott Traweek, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After opening conference play dropping three straight games to No. 22 Indiana (18-3, 3-0 Big Ten), Penn State baseball (5-14, 0-3 Big Ten) returned to Happy Valley with a plan to return to the basics.
It has been a hectic start to the 2013 season for the Nittany Lions, who've played 19 games and have yet to step foot on their home turf. Three games have already been cancelled and the players have competed in four doubleheaders, all as a result of weather.
The inability for the players to practice outdoors and the chaotic schedule has made it difficult for them to get into midseason form and, as a result, the team's consistency has suffered.
"We need to get back into game mode," said head coach Robbie Wine. "We're at the mercy of Mother Nature right now. My goal is to find a way to get this team on the field."
Any opportunity for the Nittany Lions to play outdoors at home has been squandered by cold temperatures, rain, and snow, which means the players are seeing their first outdoor practices at opposing stadiums just before game time.
Every northern team faces a similar challenge, though many have already played a home game.
Nevertheless, the coaches and players aren't searching for excuses. What coach Wine knows is that he has a team with a lot of potential. All Penn State needs now is experience.
"At this point right now I like our team," said Wine. "They need repetition, getting in that game mentality and getting on the field."
Teams in the south are playing four or five games every week. When the Nittany Lions returned from their Spring Break road trip, which included eight games over ten days, they were playing some of the best baseball the team had seen all year.
Since then, Penn State has played five games in two weeks, four of which were played in double headers and three more games were cancelled.
"There's no substitute for playing an opponent and that's what we're lacking right now," said Wine.
Despite the challenges, the coaching staff has worked to prepare their players both mentally and physically for every single game.
"This coaching staff never gives up," said Wine. "We keep working, we keep them focused, and we don't give up on players."
The Nittany Lions have had a positive mentality through it all, but for the first time it wavered at Indiana. The coaches noticed the change and knew it was time to take a step back and breathe. When the rhythm broke following the Spring Break trip, it was time to focus on the basics once again.
"We have to get back to the fundamentals," said Wine. "We have to get back to not striking out, putting the ball in play, bunting and moving runners over, and finding a way to do the little things."
It's the little things that define this Penn State squad. Small-ball, getting batters on base, moving them into scoring position, and coming up with timely hits is what the players have been working on since the season began.
Under normal circumstances, players are reaching midseason form at this point and talent begins to replace the fundamentals, but when that rhythm is broken, then its back to the basics.
The players want to win and they are prepared to work for it, but patience is key when it comes to weather in State College.
"The fight, the determination, the work ethic is there, but we have to back track a little bit because of the weather and go back to the basics with fundamentals," said Wine.
Baseball is a game of inches, as the Nittany Lions are fond of saying, and it's executing the little things, a bunt or a hit and run, that can make the difference.
--NITTANY LIONS--