Penn State baseball coach Robbie Wine likes stability in his starting lineups.

As a player, he liked knowing who was above and below him in the batting order, knowing what was expected of him. As a coach, he would like his players to feel that same comfort.

But after watching the Nittany Lions offense produce five runs in the first three games of a four-game set against Iowa this weekend, all losses, Wine felt it was time for a change, and that's putting it lightly.

"It was time to panic," Wine said. "It was time to shake things up. I hesitate to do that all year. I want our team and our lineup to be solid and know whose in front of them, behind them, have stability. It was just time."

The lineup card for Friday afternoon's home opener and both games of Saturday's doubleheader read like it had most of the year. Second baseman Matt Cavagnaro in the leadoff spot. Shortstop Scott Gaffney behind him, followed by left fielder Lance Thompson and third baseman Scott Gummo.

The Lions (8-21, 3-5 Big Ten) lost the first three games 6-1, 11-3 and 2-1.

Sunday's lineup, which resulted in an 11-10 win, saw all four players out of their normal hitting positions, and some in different spots in the field.

Gaffney moved out of his usual second spot to sixth. Cavagnaro moved down to second in the lineup and third base in the field, to make room for Jim Leitgeb to play second and bat fifth. Right fielder Brian Ernst assumed the leadoff position.

Gummo, who moved from third base to designated hitter, and Thompson flip-flopped the third and fourth spots.

Ernst, who was the Lions leadoff hitter during fall ball, ended up with the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the sixth inning of the curfew-shortened game.

Thompson, hitting cleanup for just the second time this year, hit a grand slam during a six-run fourth inning that ended with the game tied at nine.

"I thought it was a smart idea," Thompson said of the lineup changes. "[Wine] was even thinking of just flipping the whole lineup. He was just thinking about flipping it backwards. Just to get something going different."

Heading into the series, Wine said he was looking to get some bench players time in the lineup, to keep the usual starters rested during the four-game series.

"Me and Robbie actually talked about that a little bit before the series," Iowa coach Jack Dahm said. "If you're a good Big Ten team and are going to make a run at the championship, that's what you need to do, keep guys fresh."

Wine did execute that plan. Aaron Greenfield got two starts, one at catcher, the other at designated hitter. Travis Laird started the first two games in center field and Joe Blackburn got a start at first base.

What the coach didn't anticipate was going with the reshuffled lineup that took the field for Sunday morning's game.

"You don't want to send up red flags, but it was time to," Wine said. "I want that same lineup. I know how important it is as a player just from my playing days and what is was like to be a hitting coach at other schools. How stability and consistency are so important. That's what you like, but there's a time to shake it up and move things around."

Wine felt the Lions reached that point after the run-producing struggles in the first three games against the Hawkeyes (14-13, 4-4).

"We had the right guys out there today," Wine said Sunday. "[Tomorrow against Duquesne] it might be something different."