Just four innings into a game, catcher Joe Blackburn is busy making adjustments. He lurks only a few feet behind home plate, already studying the habits of each opposing batter.
Is he hugging the plate too much? Can he handle the pitcher's fastball? Is he looking to drop a bunt?
It's a multi-step process the Penn State baseball team's All-America candidate takes each game. By analyzing each batter's strengths and flaws, Blackburn can determine what makes them struggle, then relays the information to his teammate on the mound.
"We get scouting reports before the games, so I head in there knowing at least something," Blackburn said. "Usually the first time through the order, the report is completely null and void, but certainly by the end of the game I try to have a game plan for each of the hitters."
During Sunday's game against High Point, the Panthers' No. 5 hitter, Randy Schwartz, had already tagged two hits against the Nittany Lions, including a momentum-shifting triple in the third inning.
After making some changes behind the plate, Blackburn adjusted to Schwartz's aggressive swinging tendencies.
Schwartz's next two at-bats were strikeouts.
Last season Blackburn emerged as the team's top catcher. The senior started 38 of the team's 57 games, helping the team to a 24-14 record in those 38 starts.
But it is Blackburn's relationship with the Lion pitchers that truly shows his value on the diamond. In games where Blackburn started, Penn State's pitchers registered a 3.43 ERA, compared to a 5.35 ERA in games he missed.
"One of the main reasons [Joe is] back there is because he handles the pitching staff," Penn State coach Robbie Wine said. "It's about knowledge of the hitters, and you have to have a relationship with the pitchers, the coaches and the umpires. There's a lot more going on back there than people think."
Arguably the toughest aspect for Blackburn is having to communicate with multiple pitchers during one game. It seems that just as Blackburn and the starting pitcher begin to get into a niche, it's time to bring in a reliever or closer, forcing Blackburn to not only relay the information to the new arm, but adjust to that pitcher's tendencies on the hill.
"I think Joe calls a great game," relief pitcher Drew O'Neil said. "I come in at the end of the game, and it's so easy because he's been in the whole game and got a good feel."
The senior catcher, a preseason first-team All-Big Ten member, has meshed with O'Neil and some of the other veterans on the team. And though it may take more than four innings to learn the habits of some of the new pitchers, Blackburn will always be adjusting, lurking only a few feet behind home plate.
"I think I've established a pretty good relationship with all of the pitchers," he said. "Obviously some of the older guys like Seth [Whitehill] and Paul [Hawkins], Drew [O'Neil], guys that I've been with longer, I'm going to have a better relationship with. But one thing I did this fall was try to work with new guys to try and establish that relationship."
