Although they struggled at the beginning of the year, it looks like the Penn State baseball team's starting pitchers have turned a corner.

In its first 18 games of the season, Penn State gave up 10 or more runs seven times -- with 18 unearned runs -- pushing the team ERA to 6.53.

But in its biggest series of the season so far, three of the four Nittany Lions starters this past weekend had outstanding starts in their first conference series against Ohio State. Although it got off to a rocky start, Penn State rebounded and came out of Columbus, Ohio with a series split because of the starts from Mike Wanamaker, Mike Lorentson, and perhaps the highlight of the weekend, Ryan Stobart.

Making his third start of the year, Stobart built upon his 6.2-inning performance last Monday, holding the Buckeyes to just one unearned run over eight innings.

Those types of performances are necessary for Penn State to reach the top of the Big Ten -- especially since most of the Lions' conference games will take place in colder climates.

In colder weather, pitching becomes imperative to win because scoring dwindles and the winner is decided by the team who gives up fewer runs. Last year, Penn State scored 4.54 runs per game during Big Ten road games in April, but in May the Lions averaged 6.33 runs per game on the road.

If the Penn State offense is struggling, the quality of starting pitching will keep them in the game.

Wanamaker did just that on Saturday. Penn State didn't necessarily struggle offensively -- it had 13 hits, but only three runs -- but Wanamaker's ability to keep the Buckeyes off the bases and the scoreboard gave Penn State the victory.

With the season nearing its halfway point, a strong pitching staff gives Penn State a good chance for a top seed in the Big Ten tournament. A good pitching staff could have a solid run in the postseason and carry Penn State deep.

This was the second week in a row that Wanamaker, Lorentson and Stobart have pitched well. It can only get stronger, too.

Sophomore John Karr is coming back from offseason arm surgery while junior college transfer T.J. Macy has held out of the beginning of the season because the NCAA was checking on Macy and his adviser, sort of like an unpaid agent, but he'll make his debut in the next couple of weeks.

It keeps getting better.

Brendan Shorts is a sophomore majoring in journalism and is a Collegian baseball writer. His e-mail address is bhs5013@psu.edu.