Scott Kelley was recruited to Penn State as an outfielder, but became a relief pitcher as a freshman. In his sophomore year, Kelley was placed in an outfield rotation and saw time as a designated hitter. Last season, the journeyman split time in both roles.

A few heads turned when Penn State baseball coach Robbie Wine said the former reliever and outfielder would be placed high in the starting rotation this season.

But now Kelley has turned a few heads of his own after he notched his first collegiate win in his first start as a pitcher.

"It felt good, especially just to get out there," Kelley said of his first collegiate start. "We got the win, so it went well."

Against Northwestern, Kelley allowed just one earned run while he rang up five Wildcat batters in 5.2 innings pitched while earning that first win in his first collegiate start.

Behind that impressive statistical line lies a journey that started three years ago in the most dreaded area for pitchers -- behind the outfield fence -- and ended up in the middle of the diamond.

Now, Kelley is 100 percent a starting pitcher.

"I really don't care, I'll do it any way," Kelley said about which position he prefers. "It's nice knowing when you're going to start. Your whole week, you plan when you can throw, when you're going to go hard, when you lift even. It's kind of nice having a little schedule."

Kelley began working on setting a schedule in August, when he arrived on campus for his senior year. Along with pitching coach Jason Bell, Kelley started to work on changing his routine from his days watching in the bullpen into a new custom of starting a game from the center of the field.

"The biggest thing was stamina and arm strength, getting him prepared to go out there more than once through the lineup," Bell said. "Through the long toss program and conditioning, lifting -- it's something you slowly build into."

At first, Bell said he worked Kelley gradually from about a 20-pitch workout. In the first fall scrimmage, Kelley threw around 60 pitches. By the time February practices rolled around, Kelley became accustomed to 100 toss sessions.

To help along the transition, Kelley studied the mechanics of successful major league pitchers and attempted to insert their styles into his game.

Fellow senior pitcher T.J. Macy took it upon himself to lead by example each time he took the mound as well.

"Just go out there and give it my all," Macy said of his inherited role as a mentor.

Using a new technique by loading more on of his back foot, Kelley found he was able to put less strain on his arm by putting his entire body into a pitch.

"It gets more power and torque out of my body, which in turn gives me more velocity, movement and accuracy in my off-speed pitches," Kelley said. "My arm feels great and I've been doing well. I don't feel tired."

But in case the unthinkable were to happen and that stamina and those mechanics were to become as useless as Ken Griffey, Jr.'s stint with the White Sox-- maybe a no out, bases loaded first inning -- Kelley also had to train his mind for the duties of a starting pitcher.

While Bell has been impressed with Kelley's physical ability to take up a starting role, he acknowledged Kelley's "biggest adjustment is going to be how he reacts to different situations that arise out of a game."

So, Bell gave his first-year starter a tip or two about how he prepared for the game when he was a pitcher.

Remembering back to when he sat in the bullpen, passing time with fellow mound artists while waiting their turn to toss, Kelley was also able to turn idle chitchat into useful bits and pieces of his mental approach to the game.

"I can't remember specific times, we talk about that stuff a lot," Kelley said.

Bell's job as a pitching coach to help Kelley along was made easier with a staff full of veteran pitchers.

"It's something where some of the other pitchers who have been doing this since they were 12 or 13 years old. They've had that mentality and they've developed that throughout the course of their career," Bell said. "It's great to see a guy like a [Mike] Lorentson or [Mike] Wanamaker, just different guys talk to him and throw different ideas."

Kelley said the biggest difference was getting prepared hours in advance now, in contrast to warming up on the fly as a reliever.

Eventually, Bell said Kelley, like all pitchers, will mash and mold all he has learned into his own identity on the mound.

"It's going to come from a combination of players, coaches, what they buy into and what they believe," Bell said.

But the coaches do not seem to be in a huge hurry to see what type of pitcher Kelley develops into.

Maybe that is because, right now, they believe they already have, as Bell put it, "a guy where every time he has the ball, we feel, as a team, he gives us a chance to win a game, no matter who we're playing."

If his first ever start was a sign of things come, Kelley will keep turning those heads too -- heads of batters -- towards the catcher's mitt, and then toward the spit-laden dugout floor.

"I mean, shoot, he's consistent," Wine said. "He needs to work on some things and the experience isn't there yet, but what you saw, you liked.

"It's going to get better and keep getting better."