As some of his players slept on the bus on their way to an airport, Penn State baseball coach Robbie Wine talked on the phone about his team's weekend in Dothan, Ala.
It was a weekend that saw the team go 1-2 and give up big leads in late innings, but Wine said the losses weren't the hardest part.
"Probably the toughest thing this whole weekend from a team standpoint was playing a couple of morning games, followed by long travel and bus trips," Wine said. "I'm worn out, so I know these guys are."
There was never a schedule set in stone for Penn State (2-4) as it took part in the ScreenTech Wiregrass Classic. On Friday, the team lost to Troy, 5-2, in a night game that started at 6 p.m. The Nittany Lions managed a close 4-2 win the next day in an afternoon meeting with Kennesaw State, then had to take batting practice at 8 a.m. yesterday before losing to Wake Forest, 15-4.
The tired Lions suffered late as the Demon Deacons scored six runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth. The game was moved up to 9 a.m. and shortened by one inning because of travel problems for both teams.
Seth Whitehill started on the mound for Penn State but was ineffective after just three innings, giving up six hits and six runs. Wake Forest took advantage of Whitehill in the third, driving in four runs to take a 6-1 lead it never relinquished.
"We need to win down here," shortstop Cory Wine said. "It didn't work out the first night. [Yesterday], everything was falling for them. It just wasn't our day."
Mike Lorentson, who got the win for Penn State on Saturday, said the difficulties the young relievers faced yesterday were normal and that they'd have to learn some time.
"A lot of guys are young so they'll get their reps in," Lorentson said. "They might take their licks, but that's the way the game goes. It'll be beneficial for guys toward the end of the season."
The bullpen struggled for Penn State all weekend. On Friday night, senior reliever Drew O'Neil tossed a wild pitch and watched as two errors allowed Troy to jump out to a three-run lead in the eighth.
Wine said he's beginning to learn about his team, and even though his underclassman relievers had trouble yesterday, he wanted to see how they would play under certain circumstances.
"I walked away from the weekend thinking we're finding out more and more about our team. Roles are starting to be identified," Wine said. "We threw guys out in situations to see how they're going to respond and get them used to those situations.
"... There's some key guys on this team that need that experience in some situations, and we're just not quite getting that done right now."
