It isn't supposed to snow in March, but that's exactly what happened this past Sunday, forcing the cancellation of the Penn State softball team's doubleheader with Indiana.

The cancellation is particularly rough on the Nittany Lions (17-12, 1-1 Big Ten) as they had just come off a huge come-from-behind victory against Purdue.

The Lions hope to carry over any momentum left from the Purdue victory with a non-conference doubleheader today at 2 p.m. against Kent State.

"We were playing really well and then Friday night we didn't play well and then Saturday night we came back," sophomore pitcher Tina Skelly said. "Non-conference games give us a chance to keep the momentum going."

There is expected rain in the Kent, Ohio, area today, but as of yesterday the game was still scheduled to be played.

The snow-out against Indiana could hurt the Lions' chances to compete for a Big Ten title as they will not be able to make-up two home games against a lowly Indiana team that didn't win a single Big Ten game all last season.

"It's always kind of a downer or disappointment when you disrupt momentum," senior centerfielder Gina Bianchini said. "Not playing those games could hurt us."

The Golden Flashes (9-7, 3-1 MAC as of press time) will hope to catch the Lions overlooking a non-conference opponent, as this series is sandwiched between Big Ten meetings. Kent State took both ends of a doubleheader from the Lions two seasons ago at Kent State. Last season, the Lions won a 1-0 pitching duel at Nittany Lion Field. Senior centerfielder Gina Bianchini said that the Lions have to look at every game the rest of the season as a Big Ten game and bring that same intensity.

"I can't imagine our team overlooking any game," Petrini said. "The Kent game is a regional game which allows you to be regionally ranked and they are just as important as our Big Ten games."

Plaguing the Lions is the fact that of their 68 runs allowed this season, 30 are unearned. The sloppy play against Purdue on Friday resulted in five errors and two unearned runs. Petrini said afterwards that it doesn't matter how well a team is hitting if they make five errors. The Lions rebounded by committing no errors in a tight second game against Purdue, including a great catch by Bianchini in shallow left center.

Marisa Hanson and Skelly concerned Petrini with their outings this past weekend. Hanson struggled in game one and Skelly was pulled in the third inning in game two. Petrini said that the pitchers need to shape up defensively and that the Lions need people to start stepping up and making plays.

For the Lions to be able to step up and make plays, they will have to once again avoid the wrath of Mother Nature.