Next month at the Big Ten tournament, Penn State baseball coach Robbie Wine may have to slowly walk up the dugout stairs onto the field, point to his bullpen and bring in either TJ Macy or Calvin Grumley to keep Penn State's postseason alive.

With the four regular weekend starters taking a day's rest, Wine will send Macy or Grumley to start at 6:35 tonight against LaSalle at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Whoever doesn't start tonight will start tomorrow against Youngstown State, to get both first-year Penn State pitcher some game experience.

"We're going to get some younger guys out there and rest some guys," Wine said. "Our pitching -- we have a lot of guys who need some innings."

Midweek games like this provide an opportunity for players who haven't seen many at-bats or innings so far this year.

But as catcher Joe Blackburn said, depth is imperative for success in the Big Ten tournament and these midweek games give younger players a chance to play.

"To do that, after having gone through that last year, through the losers bracket, we know we're going to need everybody," Blackburn said. "So it's really important in these midweek games in particular, that we get these guys the experience."

Twice during last year's Big Ten tournament, Penn State played extra innings. It needed 24 innings from its bullpen in just five games played over four days.

But it's not just pitchers who need the experience, as the Nittany Lions have only 10 players with 60 at-bats or more.

In last week's midweek game against Akron, four players with under 30 at-bats -- infielder Jack Greenberg, catchers Ben Heath and Bobby Jacobs and outfielder Grant Youngblood -- were all in the lineup for the 5-3 loss to the Zips.

Those players will hit the field tonight, too, so that they will know what to expect when the pressure of the Big Ten tournament comes around.

"As Coach likes to call it, 'the scoreboard pressure,' where the at-bats mean something so that they can be ready when called upon at the Big Ten tournament," Blackburn said.

Blackburn went through the same process as an underclassman, he said. As an outfielder, he saw plenty of time in the midweek games, which he said was paramount in his success in the conference games he played.

But Wine knows what tonight's goal is all about.

"Get some playing time for guys who haven't played a lot," he said, "and prepare for the weekend again."