Dimly lit buildings, spongy turf and the inability to hit a routine fly ball have plagued Penn State baseball practices since early winter.

But on Tuesday, the ceilings of the Multi-Sport Facility and Holuba Hall did not ricochet pop-ups in strange directions. Grounders did not take the perfect bounce every time into infielders' gloves. When the Nittany Lions (4-13) took the field of Medlar Field at Lubrano Park for their first outdoor spring practice, they sensed that the season had finally really begun.

"Oh man, it's a ton better outside. You start to get really drowsy with being inside. You get sick of it," sophomore first baseman Cory Wine said. "It's good weather. It's good to be outside. That's what we all came here for. We didn't come here to be in Holuba."

Wine said that it's important to start to understand the nuances of Medlar Field's infield so he can make better scoops on long throws from third. The Lions already seem comfortable with the field. After making 24 errors in its first road 14 games, Penn State made just two in three home games against Central Connecticut State, neither of which came on a grounder.

Junior shortstop/pitcher Scott Gaffney said spirits in the clubhouse are soaring.

"We get to see true ground balls, instead of off the turf and getting the perfect ground ball," Gaffney said. "You wanna go out there, you wanna play... Everybody's bored of going outside down South and then coming back inside."

Though finally warm enough for practice, Mother Nature still attempted to put a damper on Tuesday for the Lions. Gaffney had just stepped onto the field when a strong shower started pouring on the stadium, but the tarp covering the infield kept the dirt dry for the entirety of the storm -- about 10 minutes -- so infielders could resume drills.

Hitters and pitchers benefit from the change of scenery, also. While head coach Robbie Wine contests that hurlers profit mostly "sanity-wise," hitters can gauge how deep they need to hit a ball to get an extra-base hit or a home run, as opposed to in a cage where the ball finds the net immediately after contact.

Soon, batters will know which parts of the park are more conducive to power hitters and which parts help faster players.

"[The park] plays real big for righties," Cory Wine said. "But for lefties like me, it's small."

Catcher Rob Yodice, a lefty, narrowly missed the first collegiate home run at Medlar Field last weekend, as the ball caromed off the wall in the deepest part of the stadium. However, he was able to leg out the first triple.

"As a hitter, seeing the ball fly, and really knowing what you're getting... I think that's another thing," Robbie Wine said. "It's a lot different, so getting those repetitions, being out there every day is going to make us a better club."