The Penn State baseball club kicked off their season over the weekend by heading south to play a five-game schedule. Unfortunately, the weather permitted them to play just two of those games versus the North Carolina State club team. The Lions defeated the Wolfpack 5-3 on Saturday, but a 7-3 score dropped them on Sunday to end their first series of the season in a split.

In Saturday's contest, Penn State first baseman Brian Lucot led the offensive charge with a solo homerun and a sacrifice fly. Byron Cotter, John Dutton, and Josh Winfrey rounded out the scoring for the Lions knocking in a run apiece.

Penn State pitcher Mike Ridge notched the win in the season opener by allowing just two hits and one earned run in five and two-third innings. He also struck out five batters. Pitcher Bill Lippert recorded the save for the Lions.

"Ridge pitched better than could be expected for the first game," Penn State baseball club head coach Jason O'Neill said.

On Sunday, Penn State third baseman Nick Baldasari went 2-2 at the plate with a double, and he scored twice. Freshman right fielder Jason Bunda and shortstop Ryan Hostetter combined for all three RBI's, but the Lions could not match the seven runs put up by N.C. State in the five inning rain-shortened game. Penn State pitcher Carmen Comunale suffered the loss by giving up three earned runs and six hits over four innings.

"Our pitchers struggled to find the strike zone due to the five months we've practiced inside," O'Neill said. "The mound was almost a foot higher than the one we practice on."

Despite the disappointing weather, the Lions seemed upbeat about finally getting to play baseball outdoors.

"It was really good just to get the feel back of being outside playing real baseball, instead of being inside," Lucot said.

The Lions remained modest after the split, even though the N.C. State club is one of the best teams they'll face all year.

"It was our first weekend outside," Ridge said. "It isn't really an indication of how things are gonna go."

The club team will head for Miami during spring break to play a six-game schedule over four days against college teams from Florida.

"We are looking forward to going against some top-notch non-club teams," O'Neill said.