John Karr's start was more valuable than his three-inning, four-hit, three-walk, no-decision line could show.
For the first time, Penn State head coach Robbie Wine told Karr to "get up, get hot, and you are in there" before the first pitch was even thrown. Instead of taking the ball from another starter or reliever, it all started with Karr.
And while Wine was impressed with the freshman -- who only surrendered one run in his first career start against Duquesne on Tuesday -- Karr might have elevated his status in his coach's eyes as more than just a spot starter.
"We are looking for another starter come tournament time," Wine said, "and we are going to need somebody to step up."
As the Penn State baseball team (17-19) crawled to two games below .500, postseason thoughts have finally bubbled to the surface. Last season, the closest the Nittany Lions got to two-games-under was when they started 0-2 in the midst of three straight losses to No. 10 Tulane.
Since starting this season 2-8 after three-game sets against North Carolina and Wichita State, Baseball America's current No. 6 and No. 10 teams respectively, Penn State has been four games above .500.
The Lions' 9-5 conference record has them third in the Big Ten. Only the conference's top six teams enter the league's tournament, and in Wine's two previous years at the helm, Penn State has failed to reach the postseason.
Karr has entered the program in a year where the Big Ten tournament is a real possibility. Senior Matt Cavagnaro had to think back to his freshman year, 2004, when the Lions were in a similar position.
Heading into the last three weekends that year, after a series sweep against Illinois, Cavagnaro remembers being at the top of the conference with a 13-7 record. Then, in series against Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan, Penn State fell to 17-15.
That is a cautionary tale for any of his younger teammates.
"Yeah, I've been around it," Cavagnaro said, "but right now, it's nothing."
Over/Under
While catcher Joe Blackburn has been on a tear as of late, hitting .682 in his last six games, it has been a struggle for catcher Rob Yodice to stay above the Mendoza Line.
With a 2-for-3 effort and two RBI on Tuesday, the first-year junior college transfer has increased his batting average to .208. Wine attributes much of the lefty-hitting Yodice's struggles this season to splitting time with a righty, Blackburn.
"He hasn't been playing a lot because we are playing a lot of left-handers," Wine said, "but for him to get up there in a situation like that and relax, get a couple of hits, that will only make the club better."
Sophomore center fielder Garrett Field has also struggled with the bat, sitting below The Line with a .179 average, but showed signs of what he can do if he is on base. His three-steal effort on Tuesday was the first in the short history of Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
The speed Field displayed on the base paths, could go a long way toward helping Penn State manufacture runs.
"We need Garrett," Wine said. "We need Garrett to come around with the bat and get on base for us. And with his speed, his athletic ability out in centerfield, we need that on this team right now."
Joey Pants Party
The star of Tuesday's game, or just the only one in attendance at Medlar Field, was B-list celebrity Joe Pantoliano.
"Joey Pants," as he is called, was in town for the screening of his film "Canvas" at 8 tonight at the State Theatre.
At the game, Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll" won the stadium's eighth inning song contest, which was featured in "Risky Business" -- a movie in which Pantoliano played the side role of Guido.
After the game, Blackburn was quizzed to as what his favorite Pantoliano film was, saying that he was more of a "Sopranos" fan from when the actor played Ralph Cifaretto. It became more difficult to find an answer after that.
"I don't know, 'Dirty Dancing' just because they said that today," said Blackburn, who was then cued to Pantoliano's side role as Cypher in the ever-popular "The Matrix" trilogy. "Oh, 'Matrix.' Definitely," he said.
