Every team goes through a stretch of games each season where it is a do-or-die situation. For the Penn State softball team, that time is now.
"Each weekend as we get closer to the Big Ten Tournament it gets more and more important to win games," senior outfielder Karen Gulini said.
With the tournament only about two weeks away the Nittany Lions will play four games this weekend against two conference foes. They will start their road trip by playing a doubleheader against Minnesota at 2 p.m. today. They will then head to Wisconsin to take on the Badgers at 2 p.m. on Saturday and again at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Last season the Lions were the third of six seeds in the Big Ten Tournament. They reached the semi-finals and lost to eventual champion Michigan.
This season the Lions find themselves in a dogfight to get a spot in the tournament. It is imperative for the Lions to win their games this weekend to get a birth. They are currently 7-7 in conference play and are in sole position of fifth place. The way their record stands right now the Lions are in control of what happens to them from now until the end of the season.
"It's kind of boiled down to the end of the season like it always does in the Big Ten," head coach Robin Petrini said. "The Big Ten is just a tough conference. But our goals are still the same. We need to win four of our next six and that will ensure us a clear spot in the Big Ten Tournament, without needing any help from anyone."
Two teams that may need help if they do not play well this weekend are Wisconsin and Minnesota. Wisconsin is only 24-20 overall and 6-8 in the conference, but the tough competition the Badgers have faced has kept them in or near the top 25 for most of the season. If you only looked at Minnesota's overall record you might think that they would be a lock to make it into the Big Ten Tournament. The Gophers are 31-19-1 in total but have only a 4-10 conference record.
The Lions have a 28-20 record overall and have been playing well lately. They have won three out of their last four games, including a sweep of Michigan State last weekend. Their most recent competition came in Syracuse, N.Y., where they split a doubleheader with the Orangewomem. Petrini said that she thinks the team is putting everything together at this point in the season.
"I think we are playing really good softball," Petrini said. "Our defense has sured itself up, our pitchers are giving us a chance, and our offense is going to generate some runs for us."
The second game against the Orangewomen went into extra innings. Even though the Lions have not won an extra-inning game yet this season, senior catcher Colleen Kersey said the experience they gained can help them as the season comes to an end.
"It helps us to finish hard, stay in the game and to keep our concentration and focus longer," Kersey said.
The Lions are coming to the homestretch and know that this and next weekend will determine if they achieve their goal.
