When a team that is struggling with its hitting faces off against a team with a struggling pitching staff, one of the two forces is bound to break.

Luckily for the Penn State women's softball team, the hitting overcame the pitching.

After scoring only one run in the past four games, the Nittany Lions blasted the Spartans of Michigan State for 17 runs in the doubleheader yesterday.

Michigan State came into the weekend with a 2.84 ERA, the lowest in the Big Ten.

Playing a struggling pitching staff of the Spartans came at the perfect time for the Lions.

Scoring runs had been a problem for the Lions, who had left five runners on base through the first four innings.

All the Lions needed was a little spark. That single just made it through the infield, a walk, or anything that would put the offense back on track.

Senior shortstop Barbie Pierce put into context what the team needed to do.

"We need to start getting hits in bunches, in order to score runs," Pierce said.

That spark came in the timely hitting of leadoff hitter, freshmen Meghan Wolfer, and Jen Williams.

With the two freshmen getting on base, the Lions went on to take a 3-1 lead.

The hits came in bunches as Pierce had hoped for when the Lions started the second game the same way the first one ended.

The Lions scored nine runs in the first two innings alone, which was more that the team has scored in a game all season.

The two were a combined 7-for-16 in the doubleheader, and opened the floodgates for the rest of the team to score runs.

Hitting was contagious for the Lions, they had 24 hits combined in the doubleheader.

"Getting on base early sets the mood for the team," Wolfer said. "Once I see someone doing their part, it builds up the confidence level."

Confidence is just what the team needed.

Wolfer contributed the stronger pitching from Michigan and Northwestern to the Lions' hitting woes in the past.

The momentum of the game through its hitting keyed the team to its victories.

In past games, giving up six runs would be something the Lions would not be able to overcome.

By the time the Spartans put up their sixth run, the Lions already had 11.

This newly gained confidence helped a team that was batting .217 coming into the weekend hit like it had been hitting 100 points higher.

The hitting can continue in the future for this team.