After Wednesday afternoon's victory over the Temple Owls, head coach Robbie Wine wouldn't be surprised at least one player hasn't noticed how hot the Penn State baseball team has been.
"How many in a row is that, five?" pitcher Paul Cianciolo said.
While the coach said his team is always focused on the next task at hand, the 7-4 win over Temple (8-11) Wednesday in Ambler, Pa., was actually the Nittany Lions' (13-8) sixth straight win overall and fifth victory in six days.
Cianciolo captured his first win of the season and reliever Ryan Ignas cleaned up a tying-run-to-the-plate ninth inning to lift Penn State to its 13th win on the season that also halted the Owls' four-game winning streak.
"It was a great win, as a team," Cianciolo said. "We put a lot of runs up on the board early. And the guys played great in the field."
Cianciolo came under fire immediately during his second start of the season as the Owls tallied two runs and six hits in the first two innings.
But the senior hurler eventually settled into his role and allowed just two hits and one run in his next four innings of work.
"I just found a little bit of rhythm I guess," Cianciolo said. "In the fourth, fifth and sixth, they started hitting to our guys a little more, and our guys made the plays."
Penn State answered Temple's fast start and gave their starting pitcher run support when, in the top half of the third, the first three batters all reached base safely before Cory Wine came to the plate and drew a walk that scored a run.
The situation gave freshman third baseman Jordan Steranka his second bases-loaded at bat in as many days. On Tuesday against Kent State, Steranka cleared the bases and cranked his first career grand slam.
This time, against Temple pitcher Mike Click, Steranka blooped a single over the first baseman's head that scored two runners.
"Just put the ball in play," Steranka said. "Get those runners in, that's what I tried to do with that at bat."
Two batters later, Grant Youngblood smacked a bases-clearing, two-RBI triple down the right field line. The Lions piled on six total runs in the third inning to give them a lead they would hold onto for the final six innings.
The white-hot bats eventually cooled for Penn State, and the Lions failed to cross home plate for the remainder of the contest, something Wine attributed to what may have been a lack of focus on his team's end.
But Cianciolo's strong turnaround performance and reliever Mike Franklin's three up, three down seventh kept Temple quiet until the final half inning.
With runners on first and second and no outs, Ignas stepped to the mound with a three run lead in the ninth and immediately forced a double play and a ground out to seal Penn State's sixth straight victory.
"I really think our pitching staff is getting better and improving," Robbie Wine said. "Throwing strikes, not trying to do too much and letting the defense play behind them, and that's exactly what we did."
The team remains focused on future tasks, Wine said, and less than hour after their victory against Temple was completed, was already thinking about their next opponent.
"It's perfect timing," Steranka said of the team's hot streak. "The midweek series is over, and we have Big Ten play against Ohio State this weekend."
