Cory Wine, a native Oklahoman, stood at first base in an April snowstorm.

Kent State players, whose university resides in the northern state of Ohio, were still passing Wine on their way to first base saying, "Man, how can you guys play in this stuff?" State College seemed to have its own measure of ridiculous weather.

Exiting the field, coming back into a heated clubhouse on Wednesday, the Penn State baseball team was sniffling. As soon as the Nittany Lions warmed up, though, head coach Robbie Wine had a not-so-cozy message for his players, including his son, Cory.

When Penn State (7-15, 1-2 Big Ten) starts play at 4 p.m. today in Iowa City, Iowa, it will face more than the Hawkeyes, but also 22 mph wind paired with 37 degree highs.

"You hate to see this weather but, boy, it was nice to get out there and experience this, because it sounds like it is going to be a cold weekend out there," Wine said. "We have some southern guys on this team who need to learn to play in this stuff."

Outfielder Rick Marlin, who lived in Buffalo before moving to Orlando when he was 10, has an easier adjustment than Lions like Landon Nakata, who hails from Hawaii, or Georgia boys, like third baseman Mike Deese and reliever Drew O'Neil.

But after going 0-for-5 in Wednesday's cold weather, Marlin's batting average is down to .279, which is still above the team average. It's been a struggle Penn State at the plate, hitting .256 collectively, ranking last in the conference.

On the other hand, Iowa (11-8, 1-3 Big Ten) ranks near the top of the Big Ten in batting percentage, connecting aluminum to ball at a .320 clip. Five Hawkeye players are hitting above .300, while three more have eclipsed .400.

Only Penn State's Matt Cavagnaro and Joe Blackburn, at .337 and .318 respectively, are hitting better than .300. Marlin, who has the third-best batting average on the team, said he feels prepared for the sting of a cold bat hitting the ball.

"I was prepared for the cold because I lived up in Buffalo for awhile," Marlin said, shortly reminiscing about Orlando. "Sometimes I miss home when it's 20 degrees."

While today it is supposed to be party cloudy, according to weather.com, Iowa City has a 30 percent chance of rain and snow tomorrow. Lows are supposed to sink into the teens.

And even though sniffles after Wednesday's midweek game were not well received, Robbie Wine's perspective remains a positive one. After nine hits in their last game, the Lions found a way to warm up the bats in the cold.

"With the weather, we could have rolled over there, but we didn't. We just kept battling," Robbie Wine said. "I'm getting ready to tell these guys this is the weather we have in Iowa this weekend. Get ready."