As Penn State pitchers cycled through their pregame stretches in the home team bullpen Wednesday, the scoreboard perched atop the left field wall flashed the current Big Ten standings.
The Nittany Lions were fifth, sitting at a respectable 2-2. Holding the top spot with a perfect 4-0 conference record, however, were the Michigan Wolverines, boasting five pitchers with perfect records.
This weekend, Penn State (8-14, 2-2 Big Ten) will look to its pitching staff to knock the maize and blue off of its perfect pedestal, as the Lions will serve as host for a four-game series against the Wolverines (14-7, 4-0), starting at 6:35 tonight.
"It's that time of the season where we have to buckle down," Penn State coach Robbie Wine said. "There's really nothing more I can say about what we have to do. We need to find our team's nucleus, and that's what I've been telling these guys this week."
So far this season, that nucleus has appeared in the form of the Lions' pitching staff, particularly the starting rotation. Oftentimes accompanied at practices with ice packs wrapped around their shoulders and slight winces with each arm rotation, the Lions' starters have been put to work but have responded to each grueling task.
Penn State starters have thrown 180 innings -- the fourth-highest total in the Big Ten. The team also has four pitchers with ERAs less than 4.00, including ace Mike Wanamaker, one of the team's junior college transfers.
In just his first season with Penn State, Wanamaker has a 2-2 record, with a 2.75 ERA. He is the strikeout leader among starters with 26, and has also given up the fewest earned runs with 11.
"Our pitching staff looks really good right now heading into Michigan," center fielder Brian Ernst said. "I think we've got one of the best staffs in the league, and I know that I and the rest of the hitters have confidence in them to go out and get us a win."
Though Wine admitted he had not made a final decision on a starting rotation for this weekend's series as of Wednesday, the combination of Wanamaker, Seth Whitehill, Jake Lorentson and Ryan Stobart will all see time on the mound against the Wolverines.
Each pitcher will have to worry about Michigan's Nate Recknagel. The slugger leads the Big Ten in both home runs (7) and RBIs (27).
"I think we're going to stick with those four for right now," Wine said Wednesday. "We'll see how this weekend goes. There's definitely a master plan here for the season, trust me."
