The baseball team has played 18 games so far this season. How many have they played at home?

Zero.

The weather had a little bit to do with that two weeks ago, as snow postponed four home games indefinitely. But playing a significant number of games on the road doesn't help a baseball team too much, especially when they all come in a row. It gets even tougher towards the tail end of the trip. It might have showed in this past weekend's series with Illinois, as the advantage of being at home probably gave the Illini a little help.

"We were in all four ball games," designated hitter Eric Gates said. "But we didn't get any breaks at all."

"Illinois is a good team." pitcher Dean Kerns said. "We showed that we can play with them. We just didn't many key hits, and they did."

But the end of the long road trip comes today, as the Lions (9-9) travel to Maryland to face Towson State (10-6-1) in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Penn State has a relatively short history with Towson, the two only having played since the 1986 season, but the Lions lead the series 4-2.

Towson State, though, is a team on the move. It opened its East Coast Conference schedule this past weekend, sweeping a three-game series from Hofstra. Towson won the conference last year, qualifying them for the NCAA regionals, the preliminary to the College World Series.

But Towson State may not be the Lions' toughest opponent. It could be the road.

"It's always tough not to play in front of the home crowd," Kerns said. "But it's something you have to get used to. That's Northeastern baseball."

Fortunately, this doubleheader brings to an end a very long, and somewhat bumpy road trip. It might help the team in the long run, but how much it helps is yet to be seen.

"We're fine," Coach Joe Hindelang said. "We've played some decent baseball. It's tough on us, but we're in a good frame of mind."