The weekend didn't go quite as planned for the Penn State softball team.

The Nittany Lions (19-13) opened the Big Ten portion of their season on a sour note, losing three out of four games against Northwestern and Iowa by a combined three runs.

The team lost both games of a doubleheader against Northwestern Friday at Nittany Lion Field by scores of 8-7 and 4-3.

"Both games were battles," Northwestern coach Sharon Drysdale said. "Penn State fought hard, but we were able to hang on for the win."

Pitcher Marisa Hanson kept the Lions close in both games. The freshman entered the first game of the doubleheader in the fifth inning after starter Kelly McCann surrendered eight runs on 11 hits, giving Northwestern an 8-4 lead.

Hanson allowed just one hit and no runs in three innings of relief, but the Wildcats' early lead was too much for Penn State to overcome. The Lions added three runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut Northwestern's lead to one, but that was as close as they would get.

Hanson also started the second game and again kept the Lions close. Penn State held a 2-1 lead after five innings of play, but two Lions errors in the sixth allowed Northwestern to take a 3-2 lead.

Penn State tied the game in the seventh on a single by sophomore first baseman Erin Norton, but a single by Northwestern's Cari Leto in the bottom of the seventh sealed the victory for the Wildcats.

"Hanson gave us a great chance to win," Lions head coach Robin Petrini said. "But our defense was awful. We didn't make the plays in the field, and that was the difference.

The Lions learned from their mistakes and improved their defense on Saturday when defending regular season Big Ten champions Iowa came to town. Penn State beat the No. 12-ranked Hawkeyes 3-0.

Hanson was again the star, allowing just four hits while recording her second complete-game shutout of the season. The Lions fielders also made several sparkling defensive plays to keep Iowa from generating much offense.

"Defense was the difference this time, and I can't say enough about Marisa's performance on the mound," Petrini said. "It was just awesome."

Hanson said that the team's performance came as no surprise, even after two disappointing losses to Northwestern.

"We just needed to focus, that's all," she said. "We knew we were better than that."

Penn State had seven hits and scored all three of its runs against Iowa starter Kristi Hanks, the Big Ten Player of the Year last season. The Lions forced Hanks to leave after just 3 1/3 innings.

"We can hit against anybody," Petrini said. "We've seen Hanks before, so we were prepared. We've been hitting well all year, so it was no surprise."

The Hawkeyes battled back on Sunday in the second game of the series, winning 4-3 in extra innings.

Hanson had another strong outing on the mound and contributed five solid innings. McCann entered in the sixth inning in relief and held the Hawkeyes scoreless for four innings, but Iowa's Hanks ended the game with a RBI single in the bottom of the tenth.

Petrini downplayed the significance of a poor start to her team's conference play.

"We'll be fine," she said. "It's a not a big deal. It's a long season."