If your ace is 1-4 and has a 10.53 ERA, you aren't winning many ball games.

That's exactly the case for the Penn State baseball team and top pitcher Pete Yodis. The Nittany Lions are 6-11 after a spring break trip in which they lost six of ten games.

Yodis pitched a team-high 114 2/3 innings in 19 starts last season, finishing 7-4 and clearly established himself as the ace. He also struck out twice as many batters as he walked and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors.

But this year, in five starts he has made it through just 19 2/3 innings, giving up 32 runs, all of them earned. He has walked 15 batters and struck out 14.

"What's most indicative of his problem this season is the number of hits he's giving up per inning," pitching coach Randy Ford said. Last season Yodis gave up 102 hits but has allowed 32 already this season.

"When we talk about control problems with Pete, we mean that he's leaving pitches out over the plate," Ford said. "Guys are hitting them and then Pete starts nitpicking a little on the mound."

Yodis sets batters up with a breaking fastball usually in the mid-80s, then goes to a downward cutting slider for the out. But in order for him to get movement on either of those pitches, his arm needs to be in what coaches refer to as the "high slot."

"Basically, I'm not getting my arm through the rotation high enough," Yodis said. "My pitches are coming out straight or flat, which makes them much easier to hit if they're around the plate."

Yodis began lifting weights last season and has a reputation for being one of the team's fiercest competitors and a locker room leader.

He also added a change-up to his repertoire this off-season, but hasn't used the pitch to full effectiveness because of his control problems.

"He has pitched at such a high level before," Ford said. "With his work ethic and desire we know it's only a matter of time until he comes around."

To try to rectify the problem, Yodis talked with the coaches on Monday. They agreed that Yodis must be aware of his mechanical flaw while on the mound and consciously work not to slip back into his bad habits.

Yodis said that his biggest struggle has been mentally.

"When you have a bad outing, you want to forget it," he said. "When you have a good one you want to carry it through to the next game. The main thing is not to push on the mound and I've been doing that all season."

Besides working specifically on his release in practice, Yodis may watch film of last season so he can see exactly what he's doing wrong.

"It's a matter of him fixing a few things," Ford said. "Once he does that, he'll be as dominant as ever, if not better."