The winning streak is at seven, and the Penn State baseball team is steamrolling into a weekend series with Big Ten rival Iowa.

After scoring 39 runs in 15 innings on 31 hits in a two-game sweep of Cornell on Wednesday, the Lions are 14-15 overall.

"The way we've been playing the last 10 games is the way I envisioned this team playing," Penn State head coach Joe Hindelang said. "Everyone is playing hard, everyone is focused."

Starting today at 3 p.m. at Beaver Field the Lions will face the Hawkeyes in a four game series. The teams will play two at 1 p.m. tomorrow and round out the series on Sunday at 1.

The Lions' 5-1 conference record is their best start since they joined the Big Ten in 1992.

"Being in first puts the bullseye on your back," Hindelang said. "Teams are going to come in here trying to knock us off, but I'd rather have it this way."

This weekend could be crucial for the Lions. With a few wins they could pull away from the rest of the conference pack. The Lions would host the Big Ten tournament if they ended the regular season atop the conference.

"I think this weekend could be huge for us," said pitcher Aaron Tressler, who shutout the Big Red in his five innings of work Wednesday. "We could probably take all four."

Dan McCall (2.0, 2.90) will take the mound for the Lions today. The lefty has had good control of his pitches this season, striking out 40 and walking only 18.

Justin Nash (3-2, 3.83) will start the first game tomorrow. Nash has thrown more innings than any other Lion's pitcher (42.1), usually extending his starts well into the late innings of the game.

Mike Watson (1-1, 10.12), who was projected as the Lions' closer earlier this year, will probably make his second straight start in the nightcap. Tressler (3-2, 5.96) or fellow freshman David Aardsma (2-4, 5.92) could also get the start.

Lions' ace Pete Yodis (3-4, 6.29) will start the game on Sunday. Yodis, whose statistics are ballooned by early season struggles, went four and two thirds innings in the first game against Cornell, allowing four runs on three hits and fanning five.

Iowa has not released projected starters for this weekend's games. The Hawkeyes are 10-10 following an 8-1 victory over Iowa State on Tuesday. They are 1-0 in the Big Ten after three of their games against Michigan were cancelled due to bad weather.

Ian Mattice has provided the offensive output for the Hawkeyes this season. He leads the team in batting average (.365), doubles (6) and home runs (6).

Nittany Lion first baseman Donnie Wright tied his career-high for home runs when he hit his seventh bomb in the first game against Cornell.

Center fielder Zack Smithlin recorded a career-best six RBI in game one, and had hits in both games, extending his hitting-streak to 16 games.

Third baseman Chris Wright tied a career-high with 7 RBI in the first game against the Big Red, including a 450 ft. towering shot over the fence that scored three.

The Lions, who were 6-14 in their first 20 games, point to a 10th-inning loss to Delaware as the catalyst for their turn-around.

"We knew we were better than a 6-14 team," Smithlin said. "There was no reason for a start like that. Right when the Big Ten started we said, 'This is a new season, let's turn the page right now."