Nash was left in a different position -- get out of the inning or find a seat on the pine.

At a point in the game when most pitchers would fold up the tents and head for their spot in the dugout, Nash remembered what that feeling was like and chose a different route.

He remembered watching an array of Nittany Lion starters pitch in the 18 previous games leading up to yesterday's double header.

He remembered the feeling of watching teammate Peter Yodis pitch a game against Virginia that Nash was originally scheduled to start in at the beginning of the year.

He also remembered the pain that he had overcome to get to this point -- making his first-ever-collegiate start.

Nash didn't want to remember any longer.

"When I hurt my knee before the season I was like, 'No not again. I don't want to have surgery'," Nash said. "I originally hurt my knee about four years ago and basically today I just tried to get it out of my mind and get back to pitching. It was good that I got out of the fourth -- I was pretty confident."

And apparently the Penn State coaching staff had just as much confidence in the New York Yankees' 42nd round selection in last June's amateur draft.

Nash forced the next two Bison batters to hit a ground ball back to the mound and pop up to Lion catcher Chris Netwall to get out of the inning. Nash shut down any chances Bucknell had to cut into the Lions' slim 3-1 advantage. With the poise of a veteran, the freshman from Hunt Valley, Md., pitched himself out of a difficult situation.

He also may have pitched himself into a spot on Penn State's regular starting rotation.

"We're tickled that (Nash) got out there," Penn State manager Joe Hindelang said. "His knee feels good and you can see the pop on his ball. I think it was a commendable performance, and he's only going to get better now."

That is a scary thought considering that when Nash's afternoon was done, he gave up only four runs on seven hits while retiring four Bison batters on strikes. His performance was so impressive that Bucknell's third base coach could not believe his eyes -- so he questioned the umpire.

"The umpire just came over to me and said that he thought I was licking my hands," Nash said as he rolled his eyes. "I only blow my hands, not lick them."

Despite the claim, Nash was able to lick something -- Bucknell's batting lineup.