It's twins vs. twins as sluggers hit the road to play Michigan

Meet Dan Beers, one of Penn State's recently hot batters. He stands 6 feet and weighs about 190 pounds. Meet his brother, Adam, another one of Penn State's lethal weapons. Adam also stands about 6 feet and weighs around 190 pounds.

Adam and Dan are twins, and lately, both have been putting a twin killing on their opponents.

Dan's .352 batting average leads the team. He ranks fourth in slugging percentage, on-base percentage and RBIs.

Adam and Dan are very close, not just as brothers but in their stat lines as well.

Adam is just ahead of his brother in slugging percentage, ranking third, and just behind in on-base percentage and RBIs, in which he places fifth in both.

Adam is also second on the team in doubles and triples. Together, the Beers brothers have been brewing up some potent offense.

"They are just playing real good baseball now," Nittany Lion pitcher Matt Dalsey said.

It's odd enough seeing Adam and Dan on the same field at the same time, putting up relatively similar numbers. What's even more bizarre, however, is when Penn State plays Michigan, another team that starts twin brothers -- Bryan and Derek Besco.

When Penn State (11-10) starts a five-game series at 3 p.m. today against Michigan (11-9, 2-2 Big Ten) in Ann Arbor followed by a 1 p.m. doubleheader tomorrow and a 1 p.m. closer on Sunday, the Bescos and Beers could make the crowd do a double take -- especially if they play up to their twin billing.

"I think our twins are better," Dalsey said.

The Bescos are juniors spearheading an extremely young squad. Only 10 of Michigan's 41 players are juniors or seniors.

Bryan Besco, a lefty outfielder, is batting .329 with five home runs. Derek is hitting .434 with four home runs.

Michigan finished fourth in the Big Ten last season, but coach Geoff Zahn has high expectations this season. Although his team is quite young, he believes the pitching will come around and complement the offense, which is already off to a hot start. As a team, Michigan is batting .339. Four Wolverines are hitting over .400.

"We don't have veteran players," Zahn said. "I shouldn't say that, our second baseman is a senior. We're still very young. It's just a thing you have got to be patient with. We have struggled defensively, and we have struggled with our pitching."

Michigan hurler J.J. Putz, however, has been an exception to the rule. Against Purdue last weekend, Putz fanned a career-high 12 batters as Michigan crushed the Boilermakers, 7-2. He allowed only one earned run on five hits in his first complete game victory of the season and earned the conference's first pitcher of the week honors for the season.