Lady sluggers prepare for Patriots, Wolverines

The Penn State softball team opened its Big Ten schedule with a bang this past weekend, taking two out of three games against conference foe Wisconsin.

This week, it has another chance to make some noise.

At 3 p.m. today at Lady Lion Field, the Lady Lions will tangle with George Mason in a doubleheader. It will be the first of two twin bills in two days for the Lions. Tomorrow, No. 2-ranked Michigan comes to Happy Valley.

The task of facing the Wolverines could be daunting for the Lions. They possess a six-game win streak, and a conference winning streak which has reached 16 games. But Penn State coach Robin Petrini said her team will greet Michigan with a strong effort.

As a team, Michigan (24-3, 3-0 Big Ten) is hitting .331, and is holding opposing teams to slightly more than one and a half runs per game. Conference player of the week Traci Conrad is second on the team with a .412 average. She leads the team in runs (23), hits (33) and extra base hits (11). Sophomore Melissa Gentile has also been swinging a hot bat for the Wolverines. The sophomore leads the team with a .456 average and three homeruns.

The Wolverines are equally as strong on the mound. Senior pitcher Sara Griffin has recorded 13 victories without a defeat this season. Griffin has not only hurt teams with her arm, but with her bat as well. Griffin entered last weekend leading the team in RBIs.

George Mason, however, does not possess the weapons or experience of Michigan. The Patriots (10-21, 2-8 Big South) entered the 1998 season with 13 new players, 12 of which never had prior collegiate experience. Coach Beth Fulcher's squad has lost eight of its last 10 games. Despite this, Petrini expects George Mason to come out with extra motivation against the Lions.

"We played George Mason in the fall and we hit them pretty hard," Petrini said. "I expect they'll come out with a little bit of revenge on their mind. But I expect us to get after that pretty well."

The Lions, in the meantime, will hope to ride the added confidence of tying last season's win total in just one weekend to a successful set of games. The team's play drew compliments from its opposition.

"Coach Petrini is going to do a great job with this team," Wisconsin coach Karen Gallagher said. "She has some good, scrappy little ballplayers, and they're always in the game."