The Nittany Lions' four-run lead had been cut to two in the eighth inning Tuesday night, Bucknell runners stood on first and second, and Scott Kelley -- the opening-day starting pitcher for Penn State -- jogged in from right field to take the mound.
It's a situation Kelley should get used to, head coach Robbie Wine said, because the hurler's new role will be that of closer.
"It was a perfect situation to throw him in," Wine said. "He's going to learn from that outing."
Statistically, Kelley may flourish in his new role. As a starter, in the first three innings of work, Kelley sported a 1.50 ERA.
From inning four on, his numbers dive south with a 7.15 ERA.
The first batter Kelley faced Tuesday, Bison centerfielder Dane Grandizio, watched a blur of a pitch get called for strike as the pitch speed indicator read 92 m.p.h.
All of the batters didn't go down easily for Kelley, however. The next hitter belted the game-tying double into left center field.
"You can't just blow it by anybody, you still have to pitch," Wine said of Kelley's outing. "That's what he got away from. He was trying to light that speed-a-pitch thing up instead of pitching. He'll learn from it."
Penn State ended up coming out on top Tuesday night, but it was David Lutz credited with the save.
On Sunday, after the 15-11 slugfest-win against Ohio State, Wine expressed his dissatisfaction with the bullpen at times this season, but noted Lutz had been a steady performer.
Tuesday was no different.
"He had his good old stuff back," Wine said.
Before Kelley, Mike Franklin took the mound for Penn State. Franklin was credited with four earned runs against while he only sat down one batter, thus justifying Wine's agitation.
But starter Paul Cianciolo, who also plays out of the bullpen, thinks it's just a matter of time until the pitchers in the bullpen eventually settle in.
"Franklin is going to be a very, very good pitcher for these guys down the road. He came out and he was pumping harder than me already. Scott's going to be very good finishing up games for us," Cianciolo said. "Confidence is very high with those guys."
