Coaches won't always admit it, but they hate this game.

The so-called "sandwich" game -- a game against an average opponent sandwiched between contests with two superior foes, in which the chance for a letdown is higher than normal.

The Penn State baseball team has found itself in such a situation today as it travels a bit down the road to take on Bucknell in Lewisburg.

The Nittany Lions (7-6) are fresh from a confidence-building weekend sweep of Richmond and have No. 6 Miami on the slate for three games at the end of the week. A mid-week turnaround game against the Bison (9-5) would be easy to overlook, but Penn State baseball coach Joe Hindelang said a letdown wouldn't happen.

"It's another game," he said. "It's not about who you play. We just have to play hard and enthusiastic. I'm not looking ahead to Miami."

The meeting will be the 139th contest between the two schools and the fact that the Lions hold a 107-30-1 lead all-time in the series furthers a mindset that the Bison are overmatched. Bucknell will also be just the second team the Lions have faced with a comparable number of games played.

Catcher Matt Harter said this type of game is usually harder than it seems.

"It's tough sometimes, staying up for these mid-week games," he said. "They can really go either way."

If Harter can perform like he did against Richmond -- hitting two home runs and five RBI -- or replicate his Big Ten Player of the Week showing against Virginia, then the Lions should be set on offense.

Despite owning a record of four games above .500, the Bison's pitching and defense have been far below average, allowing 84 runs in the team's first 14 games. Though Bucknell is coming off of a 16-0 thrashing of Dartmouth, the Bison allowed James Madison to score 16 runs twice, allowed 11 runs to Fordham and nine to Iowa.

Scheduled to take the mound for the Lions is Alan Stidfole, who has a 0.90 ERA over 10 innings in his two appearances this season.