The Penn State baseball team's streak of mediocrity may finally be coming to an end -- but it's still going to have to find its identity first.

The Nittany Lions shouldn't have to wait long to get their search started. They're slated to take on North Carolina-Charlotte in their season debut at noon tomorrow and again on noon Sunday.

"Identity, that's important early in the season," Penn State coach Robbie Wine said. "You're trying to formulate your team, trying to find out who can handle what."

And Wine said he's not afraid to see what the Lions are capable of doing.

Whether that means stealing aggressively or allowing batters to swing during a 3-0 count, Wine wants to test the waters.

"If we show we can't steal bases, then we'll back off and we'll go another direction," Wine said. "That's where we are right now, it's a wait-and-see."

And, hopefully for the Lions, Penn State won't have to wait long for a win.

UNC-Charlotte (1-2) is already having its share of struggles early in the season. Only one player is hitting over .250, and the 49ers' pitching depth is shallow to say the least.

"It's early in the season, we're still trying to figure things out," UNC-Charlotte coach Loren Hibbs said.

The 49ers have a young team, and Hibbs said he's attempting to keep things simple for his inexperienced squad.

"We don't really concentrate on scouting reports," he said. "We don't try to make it too complex."

Unlike the 49ers, however, more than half of Penn State's roster consists of upperclassmen -- like junior Sean Stidfole, for instance.

Wine projects Stidfole as his ace pitcher, and said Stidfole will start in tomorrow's contest.

"Right from the start, we sensed this guy's got something special," Wine said. "He's got the arm and the stuff to be a good college pitcher."

Stidfole recorded a 3.89 ERA last year, good for 11th place in the conference, and averaged more strikeouts per inning than any other Big Ten pitcher.

Wine also expects Stidfole's brother, Alan Stidfole, to start in Sunday's matchup.

But pitching and defense don't worry the teams' fans -- offense does.

The Lions placed last in the Big Ten in terms of scoring last season. Even the second-to-last place team, Iowa, recorded 36 more runs than Penn State. But Wine is optimistic.

"There's different people in the mix this year," he said. "Some guys who thought they were buried for one reason or another have new life, and other guys that thought they had it made have gotten better from the competition.

"We're just going to take it one at-bat at a time, and try to win every inning and see what happens at the end."